Opel Sintra

large MPV manufactured by General Motors

The Opel Sintra is a large MPV produced by the German automaker Opel from 1996 to 1999. The Sintra is branded as Opel in Europe and Vauxhall in Great Britain. It was a European version of GM’s U-Body minivans and built on the same production line in Doraville, Georgia.

Opel Sintra

The reason the Sintra was not a success was because EuroNCAP tested a 1998 model and found it only scored 2.5 Stars, forcing Opel and Vauxhall to drop the model in early 1999. The model was criticised for its dull styling and poor build quality as well as being unsatisfying to own. Because the Astra-Based Zafira MPV debuted when the Sintra finished production in 1999, sometimes it is said that the Zafira replaced the Sintra, but actually Opel never had another Large MPV after the Sintra and then eventually Opel abandoned the Large MPV market in Europe.