Opel Sintra

Opel Sintra
Overview
Manufacturer	Opel (General Motors)
Also called	Vauxhall Sintra (United Kingdom)
Production	1996–1999
Assembly	United States: Doraville, Georgia (Doraville Assembly)
Body and chassis
Class	Large MPV (M)
Body style	4-door MPV
Layout	Transverse front-engine, front-wheel drive
Platform	U-body/GMT200
Related	Chevrolet Venture Pontiac Trans Sport Buick GL8 (previous generation) Pontiac Montana Oldsmobile Silhouette
Powertrain
Engine	2.2 L X22XE I4 (petrol) 3.0 L X30XE V6 (petrol) 2.2 L DTI I4 (diesel)
Transmission	5-speed manual 4-speed automatic
Chronology
Successor	Opel Zafira Tourer Chevrolet Uplander (except U.K.)

The Opel Sintra is a large MPV produced under the German marque Opel for the European market. It was sold in the United Kingdom under the Vauxhall Sintra nameplate) between 1996 and 1999 by Vauxhall.

The Sintra is one of the second-generation U-body MPVs (known internally as GMX110s).

History

Opel Sintra Rear

The name was chosen by a computer from a list of short, easy to pronounce words and not after the historic Portuguese town of Sintra.

The Sintra is specifically based on the short-wheelbase version of the second generation U platform and has the same wheelbase, front and rear track as the short-wheelbase Chevrolet Venture and Pontiac Montana/Trans Sport, and similar exterior dimensions. Along with other U-body minivans, it was made in Doraville, Georgia. It featured a supple, quiet luxurious ride, yet had excellent road handling characteristics. ABS was standard as well as dual front airbags, dual front side airbags, and seat belt tensioners. The hood was made of aluminium in order to save weight and increase the crumple zone for safety. It had the largest interior of all the MPVs in the European market including those from Daimler-Chrysler.

It did not use the LA1 3400 V6 engine, but rather a selection of Opel engines (which had to be imported to the United States for assembly). New for this generation, cabin air filters were installed, and the filters can be accessed from behind an access panel easily accessed from inside the glove compartment.

The Sintra had an important influence on U-body development – because GM wanted to keep it similar in dimensions to European large MPVs (such as the Volkswagen Sharan/Ford Galaxy/SEAT Alhambra or the Eurovans), the platform was made quite narrow, which in turn made the GMX110s narrower than the previous "dustbuster" minivans, and more importantly than most American competitors.

This influence continued through the third and final generation U-body minivans, even though none of them were sold in Europe.

The Sintra featured sliding rear side doors on both sides and was available in different seating configurations, which provided seating for from 5 to 8 passengers. Unlike its North American counterparts, it offered manual transmission instead of automatic transmission, and had the gear shift mounted directly on the floor like the older generations of European MPVs.

Many reviewers and customers found that the materials, fit and finish were below the usual Opel quality, and also below what European competitors offered – this was only partially addressed by several changes made throughout the model lifetime, like replacing the upholstery fabric for the 1997 season.^[1]

Reliability

This model proved relatively unreliable.^[1] In April 2001, by now no longer sold in the United Kingdom, the Sintra achieved position 182 out of 182 in an J. D. Power "customer satisfaction survey", covering cars first registered in the United Kingdom, between August 1998 to August 1999.^[2]

Safety

The EuroNCAP frontal impact crash test performed on an 1998 model revealed significant deficiencies – the cabin structure proved unstable and the steering wheel (along with the airbag) broke off (unlike the IIHS test of its North American twin, the Pontiac Trans Sport where the steering wheel only moved upward), which might have caused fatal neck injury to the driver, and that the damage to the dummy's feet were extremely high.

Despite relatively good performance in side impact tests, the Sintra only managed to score 2.5 stars (3 stars with one struck due to the fatal neck injury hazard).^[3]

Consequently, the Sintra's popularity plummeted even further, forcing Opel/Vauxhall to drop the model in April 1999. Because the Astra-based Opel Zafira compact MPV debuted at the same time, it is sometimes said that the Zafira replaced the Sintra. However, Opel never had a large MPV after the Sintra (until the launch of the Zafira Tourer in September 2011), and GM eventually abandoned this segment of the worldwide market altogether.

Engines

• 2.2 L I4 16V DOHC (X22XE)
• 3.0 L V6 24V DOHC L81 V6 (X30XE)
• 2.2 L DTi-4 16V Diesel - Available during last year of production (1999) with only 394 built.

References

1. Enright, Andy (8 November 2008). "Vauxhall Sintra (1997 - 1999) : Forgive us for our Sintras". Uk.cars.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
2. Kevin Blick (Ed) (May 2001). "J D Power Survey 2001". BBC Top Gear Magazine (92): 99–124.
3. "Opel/Vauxhall Sintra". euroncap.com. Retrieved 1 August 2012.

External links

• Opel Sintra at the Internet Movie Cars Database