The last thing I want is to get all girly about it, but let’s be honest… Opel Corsa’s new Colour Edition range seriaasly turns heads!
It’s got that whole sporty-meets-stylish-meets-sassy ingredient down pat, and what it lacks in speed and power, it makes up for in looks and driving pleasure – just sitting behind the wheel at a red robot, for Pete’s sakes, was a self-esteem boost!
The perfect city car
Okaaaay… So, the 1.4 litre engine means the Corsa’s no ninja. But, its compact size and sprightly performance made mince meat out of traffic and Cape Town’s small suburban surroundings.
I enjoyed the drive… the clutch is easy, the gears are simple and the ride is smooth.
Feature and safety-wise, it’s standard. Accessory-wise, it’s not…
Inside
There’s radio, CD and MP3 functionality with *SCORE!* extra knoppies on the steering wheel, an auxiliary slot for your iPod and *SCORE!* BlackBerry to play music off of, built-in speakers that boom, air con, ‘lectric windows, airbags, ABS and EBD (can someone please explain Electronic Brake Distribution and tell us what exactly it’s used for?), safety aids, aluminum pedals, colour-coded interior trimmings, bucket seats in the front and the convenience of a centralised locking system.
The seatbelts, however, are a *FAIL!* because you can’t just grab them on the side and clip them into place. Noooo. Instead, it’s a tedious and laborious affair that involves turning around, stretching, tugging and fighting to get them even released.
Oh, and while space is suffice in the front, it’s quite suffocating at the back. And leg room… What leg room? Only kidding. But it’s smallish – with perhaps too much of a boot? Hm.
Outside
The 3-door (really two, plus a boot) racy design is accentuated by a range of 5 or 6 edgy colours (I drove a bright, almost-neon yellow one) and sleek glossy black roof.
The windows are tinted and I am told that there is a choice of either black or silver trimmed 17-inch alloy wheels (whatever that means) and front fog lamps which complements the look.
Trivia: The Colour Edition replaced the former 1.4 Sport 3-door which boasts a couple of fancy engine upgrades like lower CO2 emissions and better fuel consumption.
Verdict
The Corsa is perfect for a varsity student or for those without a big, budding family. It’s simple to drive, light on juice and provides everything (and a bit more) you need out of a city car. But, I am just a girl and this is just an opinion. Here’s a motoring expert’s take…
Lance Branquinho of Wheels24 says:
The second-generation Corsa is a thoroughly accomplished car. Its spacious interior is a comfortable environment even for tall drivers (unlike many other Oriental compact city cars), whilst the engine, characteristic of all Opel products, offers a good blend of power and economy for its capacity. Steering is light to the touch at low speeds (facilitating easy parking), yet lacks positive feedback just off the ‘dead-ahead’ position when cruising at highway speeds – resulting in slightly fidgety dynamics when driving the Corsa at three figure speeds for prolonged periods of time. The eye-popping new colour schemes are sure to appeal to youthful or generally extrovert buyers – be warned though: those individualistic hues will not be cheap to re-spray in case of an accident or scratch damage...
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