LOOK closely. What you see is the new Vauxhall Zafira Tourer but not the new Vauxhall Zafira.

Why? Because the current Zafira will remain on sale when this smart newcomer arrives in UK showrooms next year.

Vauxhall will reshuffle its MPV pack to make the older Zafira more of a value offering, a move that allows it to pitch the Zafira Tourer further upmarket.

There's a precedent for keeping popular MPVs on sale alongside their successors. Citroen did it with the Xsara Picasso and the C4 Picasso/Grand Picasso a few years ago.

Vauxhall claims its newcomer will "raise the bar for design, luxury, flexibility and innovation in the MPV sector" - big claims, but don't how the original Zafira kicked off the whole medium-sized seven-seater class with its clever "Flex 7" system more than ten years ago.

The new Tourer will be larger than the Zafira - the wheelbase has been stretched by 57mm and it's 190mm longer overall - allowing it to trade punches with the Ford S-Max rather than the C-Max, and the Flex 7 is even cleverer.

The third row still folds flush to the boot floor, but the second row seats now split and tumble individually rather than as one big bench. Each seat can be slid backwards and forwards, by up to 210mm, to give anyone riding in the third row a bit more extra legroom.

Top spec Tourers will have another trick up their sleeve - the middle seat in the second row can fold up and transform into armrests for passengers in the two outer chairs which slide inboard for limo-like levels of legroom. The C-Max has a similar system.

The Meriva's trick "FlexConsole" central storage system is also available.

As you'd expect, the boot is substantially bigger (710-litres when the third row is folded down, an increase of nearly ten per cent) and can be extended to a cavernous 1,860-litres with all the seats dropped. The rear doors are conventional hinged-types, rather than the currently-fashioned sliding jobs or centre-opening as in the Meriva.

And it looks good for an MPV, with boomerang-style headlights and Vauxhall's signature lower bodywork swage line.

Beneath the skin it's a mash up of Astra and Insignia bits with the larger car's front suspension mated to the Astra's rear.

Vauxhall will offer the Tourer with a full range of pokey 2.0 diesels in various stages of tune, a turbo 1.4 and a 1.8 petrol. All except the latter feature a six speed gearbox - autos will be available on some models.

On first glance, Vauxhall's confidence in the new Zafira Tourer looks to be justified. Building on the current model's practicality, the newcomer will add extra space and grace. If it drives as well as it looks, the S-Max will have serious competition next year.