Opel Sintra
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The Opel Sintra was a minivan manufactured by General Motors for sale in Europe (in the United Kingdom under the Vauxhall Sintra nameplate). Introduced in 1996, the Sintra is one of the second generation U-body minivans (known internally as GMX110s). It was named after the Portuguese town of Sintra. It featured sliding rear side doors on both sides and was available in different seating configurations, which provided seating for from 5 to 8 passengers.
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 did not, however, use the LA1 3400 V6 engine, but rather a selection of Opel engines (that had to be imported to the United States for assembly).
The Sintra had an important influence on U-body development - due to the fact that GM wanted to keep it similar in dimensions to European minivans (like the abovementioned Espace), 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 also continues through the present generation U-body minivans, even though none of them are sold in Europe.
The Sintra did not fare well in the European market, never reaching its sales targets. Many reviewers and customers found that the materials, fit and finish were below the usual Opel/Vauxhall 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. The model also proved relatively unreliable.
On top of that, the EuroNCAP frontal impact crash test performed on a 1998 model revealed significant deficiencies - the cabin structure proved unstable and the steering wheel (along with the airbag) broke off, which might have caused fatal neck injury to the driver. Despite relativelty good performance in side impact test, the Sintra only managed to score 2.5 stars (3 stars with one struck due to the fatal neck injury hazard). Consequently, the Sintra's popularity plummeted even further, forcing Opel and Vauxhall to drop the model in 1999. Due to the fact that the Astra-based compact minivan, Opel Zafira, debuted at the same time, it is sometimes said that the Zafira replaced the Sintra, but in fact Opel never had a regular-size minivan after the Sintra, and GM eventually abandoned this segment of the European market altogether.
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