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.

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Review: We drive Opel’s Cosmo-politan fifth-generation Corsa

More than it used to be

Posted: 24 August 2015

The numbers
Price: R236 300
Engine: 999 cc, three-cylinder turbopetrol
Power: 85 kW between 5000 and 6000 rpm
Torque: 170 Nm between 1800 and 4500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10.3 seconds
Maximum speed: 195 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 5.7 l/100 km
Tank: 45 litres
Boot: 285 litres
Warranty: 5 years / 120 000 km; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 3 years / 60 000 km; at annual or 15 000 km intervals

The latest Opel Corsa is more than just a pretty new face. It has actually been sufficiently changed, beyond remodelling of panels and glassware, to justify its “all new” hype.

It is smaller; 4021 (l) x 1746 (w) x 1481 mm (h) on a wheelbase of 2510, vs 4288 x 1912 x 1615 mm and 2644 mm between the axles. Passenger space does not appear to have been compromised unduly; it’s still capable of accommodating four grown-ups, but boot volume shrank from 400 litres to only 285 on the new car. Its spacesaver spare is housed in the boot as before.

Every component in the McPherson strut front / compound crank rear suspension has been replaced or revised to improve comfort, precision and enjoyment. Opel describes it as “finding the optimal balance between enjoyable dynamics and predictable, safe road holding.” 

Brakes are now discs at both ends with ABS and EBD, but further improvements include ESP, traction control, BA with fade assist, straight-line stability assistance, hill holder, drag torque control and cornering brake control. That’s practically the same electronic safety kit you get in those really expensive cars from the Fatherland, but for much less money.

Steering is electrically assisted, as it was last year, but now has switchable City Mode to lighten low speed manoeuvring, although we found it didn’t really make much difference in practice. Then, to improve directional stability and safety, Opel changed the mounting points of the rack-and-pinion steering shaft, optimised its geometry and added special impact absorbers. A new, active cornering component keeps you going straight in crosswinds or on convex roads.

The chassis was stiffened, lowered by 5 millimetres and given new spring rates and damper settings. Your benefits are reduced pitching during aggressive braking and less tilting while cornering. They also made the car quieter by 2.3 decibels, or 38.333 percent. That’s quite impressive.

Last year’s plain vanilla, 1400 cc, Corsa had two airbags. The new one has six. While they were at it, Opel changed the standard engine to a turbocharged, 1000 cc, three-cylinder unit that develops somewhat more power and torque than the 1400 did. And a new, lightweight, six-speed manual gearbox replaced the old five-speeder to take better advantage of the new engine’s characteristics.

It develops 85 kilowatts vs. the Ford one-litre triple’s 92, and torque outputs are the same at 170 Nm, although the blue oval product’s grunt kicks in about 400 rpm lower down the scale. Then there’s the ongoing debate over smoothness of power delivery. Opel uses an industry-standard, counter-rotating balance shaft to overcome the inherent vibrations of three little pistons jiggling up and down, while Ford discovered a cheaper fix using balance weights.

It is argued that Opel’s solution saps power but is smoother, while Ford maintains that its solution works just as well. You would find it difficult to detect any differences in real world conditions however. Both engines’ lugging power is so good that you will probably spend most of your in-city driving time in third gear and seldom change down from sixth on the open road – in either vehicle.

While a six-speaker radio and CD unit with Bluetooth, USB, auxiliary and steering wheel buttons is optional on entry-level Essentia and standard on mid-level Enjoy, top of range Cosmo, like our test car, brags with Intellilink. This provides all the above plus full smartphone linking capability with access to podcasts, hundreds of overseas radio stations and BringGo satellite navigation. This particular satnav’s selling point is that it’s purely a phone application that utilises the phone’s built-in GPS – no continuous broadband connection is needed.

Further, if your phone’s an Apple iOS device you can use Siri Eyes Free voice control to make calls, play music, send and receive messages and emails and access calendar functions (alarms, reminders, meeting requests) – all while keeping your eyes on the road and your hands to yourself. Finally, all this is controlled via a hi-res 7” touch screen; unlike Ford and some others that still rely on a bewildering array of buttons.

Other standard kit on Cosmo includes cruise control with limiter, bi-xenon lights with cornering feature, automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, onboard computer, LED daytime running lights, front fog lamps, smarter Graphik black upholstery with vinyl bolsters, ambient lighting, flexible cup holders and two seat back pockets. Blind spot alert, front and rear parking sensors and park assist form part of an option package.

Final thought: Why does Opel offer both Corsa and Adam with very similar pricing, same engine, same safety kit and same platform? The glib answer is that they’re made for different kinds of users, but what are the essential differences?

Adam is smaller, has less boot space and carries less fuel, offers fewer doors, has less rear seat head- and leg room and its spare is slung under the body rather than in the boot. On the flipside, it’s slightly quicker over the 0-100 km/h sprint, has more standard equipment, offers a funkier range of colours, is far more customisable, has plusher fit and finish and feels (subjectively) a touch more solidly built.
 
Adam is sexy. Corsa is practical. Therefore, to satisfy our Jekyll and Hyde personalities, we will need both. Thank you.

Test unit from GMSA press fleet


To see the launch report click 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.

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