The spare wheel was stolen from my Zafira about a year ago in Homebase car park, South Ruislip

After buying a replacement, I fitted a padlock to the hook that holds the spare wheel carrier. Details are: Obtain a 30mm (1.25 inch) padlock, about £5 from any hardware shop. Drill an 8mm hole in the centre of hook about 15mm from the bottom. (Start by drilling a smaller hole, then enlarge it with the 8mm drill bit). The hasp of the padlock will then fit through this hole and around the bar of the spare wheel carrier.

This will prevent the carrier being prised out of the hook. A plastic bag should be tied around the padlock to keep out dirt and moisture. When I checked my spare wheel last week, it seems that someone has tried to bend the hook, but failed, so it seems to have worked. Of course it would be better if Vauxhall/ Opel fitted a wider and deeper hook as standard, or even a loop that could only be opened after the wheel carrier had been lowered from inside the car.
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The Zafira is a good all round family car

Based on the Vauxhall Astra chassis, there are quite a few similarities between the two cars, such as the general driving ride and the quality of the car as a whole.

There have been a few problems that general users have seen with the cars, such as:

• The engine cutting out when idle.
• The In car radio not functioning correctly.
• A squeaking noise from the brakes after only 10,000 miles or so use.
• Spare wheel thefts.
• A necessity to keep refilling the oil on diesel models (1 litre every thousand miles or so).
• Small storage space.
• Strange engine noises which can not be located or fixed.

Saying this, however. The car is very practical and does have some very good points. The innovative ?Flex 7? seating system makes it very easy to switch the car from 5 to 7 seats without too much hassle.

Other nice features include easy access to the car thanks to the wide opening doors, ideal for families with small children, and an anti-stall device. Designed to stop the car from stalling a low revs.

The car is generally very good and although a minority of owners have had some problems, it represents extremley good value for money and provides a great means of getting the whole family from one place to another.