THE recent emergence of Opel in the Australian car market makes for interesting times for small-car buyers. The car once sold here as the Holden Barina is back, this time carrying its original name of Opel Corsa.
Opel, a division of General Motors since the 1930s, hopes to gain an image that’s European, thereby pushing itself further upmarket than the Asian-produced small cars.
Made in Germany and Spain, the Opel Corsa offers buyers the chance to own a sporty looking hatch — albeit with less-than-sporty performance. However, it’s a chance to own a European compact hatch at a competitive price.
There are three variants – Opel Corsa, Corsa Colour Edition and Corsa Enjoy.
Prices start at $16,490 for the Corsa three-door manual and top out at $20,990, plus on-roads, for the Enjoy five-door automatic.
The Australian Corsa has been the subject of serious design upgrades recently. The lower of the double radiator grilles is expanded, giving width to the front of the car. The Opel Blitz (lightning) badge is incorporated in a sculpted chromed bar.
At 285 litres with the rear seats up, cargo space is at a premium. Fold the backs down and there’s 700 litres.
There is a choice of either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions. No choice with the engine, though, just a 1.4-litre producing 74kW of power at 6000rpm and 130Nm of torque at 4000 revs.
— Ewan Kennedy
