General Motors Europe will unveil its Opel/Vauxhall Meriva Concept, which it bills “the next level of monocab flexibility” at the Geneva motor show next week.
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The concept – previewing the next generation of GME’s popular Corsa-based B-segment MPV (minivan) – has rear-hinged rear doors on both sides called ‘FlexDoors’ while the front doors are conventional with front hinges.
Front and rear doors can open independently of each other. Rear-hinged rear doors already on the market (eg Mazda RX-8, Mini Clubman, Honda Element, various pickup trucks) can only be opened after the front door has been opened which, GM says, severely limits their practicality.
GME has patented the FlexDoors and says they make entry and exit easier as the rear doors open to a 90-degree angle, creating a much wider aperture than standard openings. Thanks to the high roofline, rear passengers also have more headroom when getting in and out of the car. The interior is much more accessible, so stowing a briefcase behind the front seat, for instance, is considerably easier.
Securing children in the back seats is much easier, GME says. The rear-hinged rear doors also improve control over children exiting the car, as they can be better seen from the different seating positions. The “safety zone” created between both doors also makes it much more difficult for them to step out into traffic than with conventional doors.
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By GlobalDataA safety system ensures the doors can only be opened from the inside or outside when there is no risk to the passengers. The concept also has an automatic electronic child lock, which supplements the conventional mechanical system. The concept car also has B-pillars both for independent opening but also for side-impact safety reasons.
Production? “The concept car’s distinctive window line, arched roof, wide track and impressively sculpted body give a good indication of what is to be expected from future Opel/Vauxhall production monocabs,” GME said in a statement.
“The FlexDoors concept is a logical enhancement of our monocabs’ flexibility,” said GME chief marketing officer Alain Visser. “With the Zafira’s Flex7 seating system and the Meriva’s FlexSpace concept, we took on a similar pioneering role in interior flexibility.”
