When Opel’s best seller, the Kadett, grew too big, Opel realized that there was room for a new small car. The Corsa was born in 1982 and has now been through four generations. And after total sales of just under 12.4 million, the fifth has now arrived.

The car is built at Opel’s factories in Zaragoza and Eisenach in three and five door versions.

It therefore shares production with its new little brother, Adam.

This is a totally new Corsa, designed to create a simple but good car. Opel’s PR material states that the target market is young families, singles, the young at heart and young mothers.

Anonymous design

Well, I don’t know whether the PR and Marketing departments are always right in their analyses, but it does seem that Opel wants to attract younger buyers.

Taking a look at the design, the new Corsa is pretty anonymous. The exterior is unremarkable, even though I am personally pleased that Opel created the rounded and exaggerated lines. Simplicity is good, but this is bordering on the boring.

From the front, the car is deplorable, and I really miss some of the boldness Opel dared to show in the little Adam.

Modern interior

The interior is modern, with a large, 7” colour touch screen. Opel’s IntelliLink means that the screen is fully compatible with our new online lifestyle, and has meant that Opel has been able to dispense with a number of buttons, simplifying the cockpit interior.

Opel can also boast a number of interesting details and systems that we usually only associate with much more expensive cars:

* Opel Eye – a front-mounted camera able to read traffic signs.

* Queue warning system. Light dipping and warning of possible collision.

* Rear-mounted reversing camera.

* Parking assistance and blind spot sensors.

* Hill start aid.

* A sort of ‘city setting’ for the steering, making the car easy to steer at low speeds.

* Heated steering wheel.

* Panorama sun roof.

Impressive performance on the road

I was impressed by the Corsa’s performance on the road. We drove on main roads and also small, minor roads with poor surfaces. Opel has lowered the point of gravity, built a stiffer chassis and improved the steering – which is really noticeable.

With its much superior sound insulation, the Opel Corsa is more like a medium-sized car than its small car competitors. Many manufacturers have a problem with making money on their small cars, which can be seen in economy measures here and there, but Opel has realised that it cannot save its way out of the crisis.

Surprising power

We test drove the three-door Tannis, with a three cylinder, 1000 CC turbo engine generating surprising power even at high speeds. But the five door version will probably sell best in Sweden.

Opel has really thought innovatively with the new Corsa. It’s an attempt to return to its roots with a simple but smart small car that has broad appeal.

 

SCORE

Engine 

We test-drove Opel’s new generation of small, 1000 CC petrol engines. They come in two versions: 90 and 115 horse power. We tested the latter. Power is transferred via a six-speed manual gear box and the drive line works well. The engine is quick and the gear box precise.

 

Ride 

The stiffer chassis and new steering have improved the ride, but technology is progressing faster amongst the competition, which means ”only” three buzzing wasps. New MacPherson suspension at the front makes the Corsa roll a little less.

 

Equipment 

IntelliLink with touch screen and charging facilities for various appliances are optional. And a lot of the goodies and details are found in various equipment packs, so don’t be fooled by a low advertised price. Opel used to be relatively good at charging extra for various packs and engines.

 

Comfort 

Excellent for such a small car as this. We drove the small 1000 CC engine with 115 HP, and I had almost expected a lot of noise from a howling engine, a lot of wind noise and road noise from uninsulated doors. What I got instead was a pleasant surprise in a quiet and comfortable cabin.

 

Environment 

The new 1000 CC petrol engines return consumption figures closer to half their size. Opel’s new diesels can only manage just over one decilitre less. This has become relatively normal and shows that Opel is keeping up with engine development without being one of the very best.

 

Safety 

There are a whole range of safety systems, and we look forward to seeing whether the Corsa will get five stars in the EuroNCAP crash tests. Standards have been set higher this year, which has meant that several models have had to make do with four stars. Better steering and chassis also improve safety on the road.

 

Design 

The old Corsa was no beauty and Opel’s chief designer Mark Adams has almost been just as cautious with the fifth generation. Slightly cleaner lines on the side and sharper headlights, but the car remains anonymous and a bit boring.

 

Interior 

The big round fan has gone, and the small display screen has been replaced by a big 7” screen a bit lower on the console. Opel has also cleaned up in the interior, and created a totally new cockpit. There is a range of eye-catching seat covers available that brighten the Corsa up a little inside.

 

Economy 

The prices for Sweden are not yet known, but for the Corsa to succeed they cannot be higher than its competition. Launch with Opel’s three year new car guarantee and three years free service is expected, which will affect the overall economy for the first three (expensive) years.

 

Load space 

The three-door Corsa has 280 litres of load space, add a further five litres for the five-door version. By way of comparison, the larger Skoda Fabia can carry 330 litres behind the back seats. The Corsa has three safety belts on the back seats, but the middle seat is very small, which means the car is only really suitable for four people.

 

Total: 29 (out of 50)