SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


Review: We Glam up with ADAM, Opel’s luxurious fashion statement

Scope to be unique

Posted: 5 August 2015

The numbers
Price: R235 300
Engine: 999 cc, DOHC, 12-valve, three-cylinder, turbopetrol
Power: 85 kW between 5000 and 6000 rpm
Torque: 170 Nm between 1800 and 4500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9.9 seconds
Maximum speed: 196 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.7 l/100 km
Tank: 35 litres
Boot: 170 – 484 litres
Warranty: 5 years / 120 000 km; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 3 years / 60 000 km; at annual or 15 000 km intervals


What is Opel ADAM exactly? The company bills it variously as a luxury supermini, a high end city car and as a fashion accessory, but what do those terms mean?

Does “luxury” imply that the car should have electronic climate control, powered windows, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights, cruise control with speed limiter, advanced parking assistance, satellite navigation, hill start assist, a mid-boggling music and communications system and a full suite of safety features including six airbags? It probably does, but lots of cars have all, or most, of those. Naturally, Adam complies.

ADAM as a fashion accessory?

Does it mean that, apart from the kit mentioned above, the car should be solidly built with excellent fit, finish and materials? And be great to drive with nicely weighted and responsive steering, brilliant handling, a butter-smooth gearbox (six-speed manual) and a smooth and responsive engine? A few cars do; and Adam is one of them.

Then there’s the “fashion accessory” question. Adam has that down too. A range of wheels, funky body hues, choices of upholstery materials and colours, interior and outside trim items and multiple lighting effects gives buyers literally thousands of individualisation possibilities. The idea is not unique. It’s been done before, by Citroën and others, but Adam does it really well.

Words like “luxury” and “fashion” sound expensive but, placed into context with natural competitors like the one-litre Audi A1, Fiat 500, small Citroëns, Renault Clio, three-door MINI One hatch and smaller Polos, Adam is actually pretty competitive. And it offers far more scope to be unique.
 
We have three models; standard Adam with 1400 cc naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine, mid-range Jam with one-litre turbo triple and more equipment, and Glam with the same motor and lots more kit. Prices range from R191 800 to R235 300.

The basic version provides a five-speed ‘box, ABS brakes with EBD, ESP, dual-mode power steering, alloy wheels, tilt-and-telescope steering wheel with satellite buttons, heated and powered side mirrors, air conditioner, electric front windows (the back ones are fixed on all models), hill start assist, cruise control with limiter, on-board computer, fabric covered seats, a four-speaker radio and CD unit with Bluetooth, USB and auxiliary, six airbags and twin sets of ISOFix anchors on the back seat. The choice of options is limited.

Jam and Glam models add engine stop-start with eco display, disc brakes at the back to go with those in front, bigger alloy wheels, advanced park assist, cloth and vinyl upholstery, blind spot assistance, BringGo navigation, Intellilink with 7” touch screen and many more options.

Our range-topping Glam version boasted special touches like rain-sensitive wipers, automatic headlamps, a panoramic skyroof, automatically dimming inside mirror and pale grape upholstery to go with the car’s Purple Fiction exterior paint. It sounds a bit much, but is actually rather tasty.

But is it practical? That depends on your needs. It has only two doors, so chalk up a demerit point in the eyes of typical family buyers. Its body is short, so tall drivers won’t be able to fit lanky teenagers in behind them. The boot is quite small, but will hold a fair load of groceries if packed creatively and the 50:50 split seatbacks fold down to provide more stowage. Finally, the spacesaver spare is slung under the body, so heels and skirt would be awkward at flat-fixing time.

But the beauty of diversity is that not everyone is a tall family person needing cavernous luggage space. Some of us are medium-sized singles with or without smaller kids, while others are couples without encumbrances. And some just want personal wheels that make a bold statement.

There are thousands of cars out there for average users, but only one Adam – especially if you make it unique. And you can always stash coveralls and trainers in the trunk for those flat-tyre moments.

Test unit from GMSA press fleet

We look closely at the 2016 ADAM Rocks right here



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.