Opel’s Meriva is one for the long haul

I DON’T often visit Donegal; it is a haul from Cork. But during the past ten days, I found out how much of a haul. I had to go to a funeral there.

The last time I wasin Donegal was 1993, when I had travelled via Dublin and had not taken the Limerick-Galway-Sligo route. At 472.2 km, it was not going to be a joyride, and I was not sure Opel’s mini-MPV, the Meriva, was right for the gig. It might be handy for driving around town and tending to family needs — particularly with its unique rearward-opening back doors — and the very handy Flexspace rear seating system, but what would it be like on a no-nonsense cross-country thrash?

Well, the answer was that it acquitted itself remarkably well — not just on the outward leg from Cork to Gortahork, but also on the longer, 585.7km trip back to Crookhaven in West Cork.