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By stripping out the interior for the new Corsa,
Opel proved less is more and created the fasted cellphone-
pairing car that we drove in 2013. PHOTO: Quickpic
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I did not just enjoy my time with this four-door hatchback, but
went from mild surprise to total relish in 12 seconds and two days. The seconds
was how long it took us on average to take the willing little turbo engine from
0-100 km/h.
The efficient little engine makes 88 kW from 4 800 to 6 000 pm and
175 Nm from a low 1 750 to 4 750 rpm. The torque may not sound a lot, but a
variable turbo and proven gearbox makes the most of this power for a delightful
drive, with no torque steer or turbo lag.
The two days was how long it took to discover just how pragmatic a
hatchback the Enjoy is,
swallowing the family luggage; playing the few music files on the cluttered memory stick with one press of the Media button; and pairing the cellphone in record time.
swallowing the family luggage; playing the few music files on the cluttered memory stick with one press of the Media button; and pairing the cellphone in record time.
Price and
competitors
The Enjoy sells for
R195 400 and in this price range, it is powered on par with its hatchback competitors. Notable
on the list is GWM's C20R, which is cheaper; Renault's Duster, which offers a
lot more for the same money; and Nissan's Livina, which has more space for the
same money (for those who can stand the looks).
Opel’s price includes a five-year or 120 000 km warranty and a
three-year or 60 000 km service plan.
As for the other hatches, the website states the Corsa Enjoy is
“surprisingly spacious, convincingly energetic, big-hearted in every way. The
Corsa 5-door is perfect for friends or family, but always fun to be alone with”.
For once, we wholeheartedly agree with the company line.
The handling
Where most affordable
car makers still go for a cheap torsion beam under the rear axle, Opel added a
few pieces of iron to the conventional beam of twisted metal at the back to
create what is known as a compound crank. The extra effort shows in a ride that
is perfect for every day commutes — soft enough to dampen the rough tar strips
but firm enough through a sweeping turn.
Pressed hard into a closing corner, this comfortable tuning will
make the compound crank in the rear lift as the McPhersons in the front dip, but
at legal speeds the front wheels remain tractable with what more experienced
racers than I often refer to as a “hint of understeer”.
The tractability has less to do with talented driving and more to
do with Opel’s cornering brake control (CBC) system, which uses the ABS to
improve stability by reducing brake pressure to the inner front wheel while
braking ahead of the apex.
All those tiny
touches
Compared to the
plethora of buttons in the Astra, Opel has stripped out the Corsa’s cabin and
the result shows that less really is more.
All the buttons and stalks are where your fingers expects it to be
when you fiddle around in the dark and one push turns everything on and another
push turns them off.
To connect the cellphone in the Corsa Enjoy proved to be the
easiest process in any of the cars driven this year. Three key presses was all
it took to get to tapping in the code on my old Nokia.
Further, the passenger airbag switches off on the driver’s side,
which means dads do not have to go around to switch off that useless explosive
device in front of the child’s chair.
While on the tedious topic of car safety, the Enjoy comes with two
dual-stage front airbags and has a Euro-NCap rating — none of which will help
you if you are not wearing your seatbelts and first checking that the truck has
indeed stopped before crossing a green light.
Best of all are the front seats. Firm in all the right places, with
flares that lightly hug the sides and a height adjusting lever so that even the
shortest driver’s legs can fit without hitting their knees against the
console.
No niggles in the
Enjoy then?
There are two: On day
three I wanted a cruise control and unless you curb your enthusiasm, the Enjoy
will be heavy on fuel.
Regarding the cruise control, this is one turbo hatch you want to
take on a long road, for all the above reasons.
As for the consumption, unless you drive with Tinkerbell’s right
toe, having all that boost through the revs soon sucks out the juice. I
got to 205 km when the 45–litre tank’s needle pointed to half,
which equates to about nine kilometres from every litre of high octane petrol.
Opel instead claims double this (18 km/l), but I’ll wager you will have to
travel at 50 km an hour on a hot day in the Highveld — going downhill all the
way — to match this claim.
The price and power competitors
GWM C20R 1,5 (77 kW/138 Nm) R154 900
Hyundai i20 1,4 Glide (73 kW/136 Nm) R191 900
Honda Jazz 1,3 Comfort (73 kW/127 Nm) R192 600
VW Polo 1,4 Comfortline (63 kW/132 Nm) R193 000
Mazda 1,5 Dynamic (76 kW/136 Nm) R194 000
Kia Rio 1,4 Tec (79 kW/135 Nm) R194 995
Opel
Corsa 1,4T Enjoy (88 kW/175 Nm) R195 400
Ford Fiesta 1,4 Trend (71 kW/128 Nm) R196 500
Nissan Livina 1,6 Acenta (80 kW/153 Nm) R193 200.
Renault Duster 1,6 Expression (75 kW/145 Nm) R194 900
