Opel Corsa 1,0 Turbo 5-door

For a number of reasons, the outgoing Corsa lost favour in the B-segment of the South African market. Newergeneration rivals like Renault’s Clio and Ford’s Fiesta were more modern, an impressive new Kia Rio hit the showrooms and the Volkswagen Polo remained as popular as ever.

Now, however, Opel’s parent company General Motors, looking in much better shape after its reshuffling following Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2007, has come out swinging with a host of new models, including a new version of the global bestselling model in its range the Corsa.

A row of Corsas awaited international motoring media upon arrival at Frankfurt International Airport and what was immediately clear was how much more hunkered down the new model looks. Chief designer, Carsten Aengenheyster, later explained that the illusion is created by positioning the new, wider front grille lower on the nose, along with placing the foglamps in the far corners of the front bumper and implementing the use of an integrated spoiler just below the bumper.

The arrow-tip-shaped headlamps are less vertical than before, while the theme continues at the rear with new horizontal lamps that are now larger. The model I drove was fitted with wheelarch-filling 17-inch alloys wrapped in 215/45 tyres (whether or not these will be standard fitment in SA is yet to be confirmed).

Interestingly, bar a 2 mm difference in length, this Corsa is virtually identical in size to its predecessor. Opel’s designers believe they have reached maximum levels of interior room with the new model. Overall, I found the Corsa to be quite attractive, and so do the Germans judging by the lingering glances and craned necks as we left the confines of the airport.

Impressive too is the company’s 1,0-litre three-cylinder turbopetrol, so much so that making my way towards open roads, the refinement of the powerplant was such that I suspected I may have gotten into the wrong derivative. That offbeat thrum is barely detectable, an element of the driving experience that is enhanced by the lack of unnecessary noise and vibration. Powertrain development engineer Arno Noé attributed the improvements in NVH to a counter-rotating balancing shaft and engine components that minimise noise.

The turbopetrol didn’t once feel as if it lacked oomph as the speed limit on the autobahn gradually rose. Yes, 85 kW is nothing to write home about, but the 170 N.m of torque is spread from 1 850 r/min all the way through to 4 500 r/min. I found that the power tapered off drastically over 5 000 r/min (the red line is a further 1 500 away), but the Corsa felt quite strong thanks to a usable band of torque between 2 000 and 5 000 r/min.

The 1,0-litre engine feels strong thanks to a usable band of torque between 2 000 and 5 000 r/min

This, of course, meant infrequent stirring of its six-speed manual gearbox. Only on certain hilly sections of B-road was I required to drop a ratio, but otherwise the three-cylinder was tractable on inclines.

Despite the fitment of lowprofile rubber and large alloys, the Corsa wasn’t exactly shaken on the rougher sections of road (admittedly, these are rare in Germany). What did bother me slightly was the revised electric steering system. Despite new geometry, mounting points and speed-sensitive assistance, the system was far too quick at motorway speed and required constant correction in angle to track true. That said, it wasn’t an issue when pressing on along twisty roads that cut through forests.

The new Corsa is also packed with features that increase its appeal to prospective customers, some of them optional. Heated steering and front seats, DRLequipped bi-xenon headlamps with cornering-light function and an Opel Eye front camera system that incorporates traffic-sign recognition, lane-departure warning and frontcollision warning are some of the big-car stand-outs.

The only real disappointment was the Bring Go navigation app loaded onto the Opel Intellink system its seven-inch touchscreen monitor is mounted too low, requiring your line of vision to drop far from the road ahead. It lagged a lot and even froze once. Perhaps that mishap was all due to poor signal on the iPhone to which the launch vehicle was connected. I generally find pre-loaded maps to be far more accurate, anyway.

Overall, however, I was really impressed. The Corsa is another much-needed model that shows enough promise to once again make Opel a big player in the largest segment of the market.