First Look Inside The 2017 Opel Meriva Reveals Astra-Inspired Design

These are the first images of the interior of Opel’s upcoming Meriva successor, which is going to move away from the MPV style and more towards the crossover segment.

This change in character means that the future Meriva will lose not only its cool rear suicide Flexdoors for the sake of a conventional pair but it’ll also gain a new name as well.

Our spies were able to take some of the new model’s cabin as well, revealing the design of the dashboard or at least a part of it. The big touchscreen of the IntelliLink infotainment system takes center stage with the instrument cluster hosting a big display between the gauges. A piece of plexiglass was placed there to stop us from having a clear look.

The chassis will be shared with the also upcoming Citroen C3 Picasso, with the two models sharing most of their body panels bar the front end. Opel’s derivative though will use its own powertrains according to previous reports. We still don’t know if the two will share the same interior design or if each brand will go for its own take.

With traditional MPVs losing ground over crossover models in the market, it certainly makes sense for Opel wanting to transform the Meriva and Zafira models. The partnership between GM and PSA allowed the two brands to share the development costs equally.

This will not be the first MPV that will morph into some sort of crossover as Renault has done the same with its Espace and Scenic models. Opel will probably reveal the successor to the Meriva towards the end of the year, with sales starting in 2017.