What is that new three-door hatchback you’ve just seen whizzing past you? Could it be the brand new Opel Corsa that’s only recently been released onto the Australian market?

Opel hasn’t been around in Australia very long, apart from a few privately imported cars coming in from overseas. This is mostly because up until now, over here, one of Opel’s best sellers has been handled by Opel’s Aussie cousin. This model was, of course, the Holden Astra. The Holden Astra was based on the Opel Astra, but now that Holden has discontinued its unique-to-Australia Astra to replace it with the Cruze, it’s Opel’s turn.

Anyway: the Opel Corsa. If you’re into nippy little European hatchbacks, this could be the car for you. It could especially be the car for you if you want a more emissions friendly unit that goes beyond the Euro IV specifications. As an up-to-date car made by savvy manufacturers, the Opel Corsa meets not just Euro IV emissions specifications but meets the Euro V specifications. This means that the 5-speed manual version of the Opel Corsa only puts out 136 g/km of CO2 (the 4-speed auto is a tad behind this with 147 g/km). And the fuel economy is, naturally, just as attractive: the manual version has a combined economy figure of 5.8 L/100 km, while the auto does the same distance on 6.3 L of fuel (the four-speed auto is an option that’s only available in the Corsa Colour edition or in the five-door Corsa Enjoy). So you won’t be needing to fill up the 45-litre tank with petrol very often.

The frugal little unit that produces these impressively low emissions and fuel consumption figures is a 1.4 litre VVT engine. The engine may be small but this doesn’t mean that the Opel Corsa is a slouch. This engine is capable of reaching 74 kW of power at 6000 revs and the torque curve is really quite impressive for a standard small petrol engine. Bearing in mind that power is linked with mass (weight), this means that this small car can go quite fast, and while it’s not a sports car and isn’t designed to be, the Opel Corsa can do the zero-to-hundred acceleration sprint in 11.9 seconds, which is quite respectable for a little city hatchback.

The list of standard features on even the base model of the Opel Corsa is also quite respectable. Needless to say, all of the safety features available for all models of Opel Corsa are found in the basic model – if the cheaper version sounds like your cup of tea, you won’t be compromising on your safety. These safety features include dual front, front side and curtain airbags; electronic stability control and traction control; ABS brakes; active headrests; a pedal release system and front seatbelt pretensioners (as a bit of trivia, Opel introduced seatbelts as standard features in all its models in 1973). Other things you’ll find in the standard version of the Opel Corsa include power steering, a fully adjustable steering wheel column, comfort front seats (the driver’s seat has four-way adjustment; the front passenger seat has two-way adjustment), fast glass, front reading lights (handy for checking the map at night), air con, a power outlet at the front, power mirrors, remote keyless entry, steering wheel mounted audio controls, Bluetooth mobile connectivity with voice control, an MP3-compatible CD player/radio with USB input, and a graphic information display.

If you go to the Opel Corsa Colour, you get a few additions to the bells and whistles. The Colour adds in rear privacy glass, sports front seats, “piano black” trim with air vent surrounds that are designed to complement the exterior paintwork (the base model has matte chrome trim), sports alloy pedals, cruise control, a leather covered steering wheel, a trip computer. This model also has a sports package available that includes 17-inch painted alloy wheels and a lowered sports chassis.

And what does the Opel Corsa look like on the outside? In a couple of words, it looks good. If you want a longer description, it has the classic looks of a modern city hatchback, but with a windscreen that seems surprisingly wide. You’ll look twice to see if the front pillars are actually there on the grey versions (they are!). However, the Opel Corsa doesn’t look like a “granny car” (even though it would be a fun and stylish choice for older people who want to combine practicality, frugality and modernity). It has a few sporty and aerodynamic touches that give the little three-door hatch an eager appearance. The body colours aren’t into dull, with a number of vivid shades available along with the more sedate silver-grey and blacks – the green would have to be my favourite. On even the basic model, this pert little body sits on 15-inch steel wheels (16-inch alloys on the Opel Corsa Colur and 17-inch black-painted with the Colour’s sports package). The body itself features body coloured door handles and exterior models, and the halogen headlights almost look as though they’re going to wink at you, especially the dark bezel halogens in the Colour. Both the basic Opel Corsa and the Colour have rear fog lights and daytime running lamps, but the Opel Corsa Colour adds in front fog lamps and darkened tail light lenses.

There is a five-door version of the Opel Corsa, if this is more the sort of thing that you want in a new set of wheels. This is the Opel Corsa Enjoy, which is the upmarket version of the Corsa and just about merits its own review…

The current Opel Corsa models include the:

• Opel Corsa 5-speed manual
• Opel Corsa Colour 5- speed manual
• Opel Corsa Colour 4-speed automatic
• Opel Corsa Enjoy 5-speed manual
• Opel Corsa Enjoy 4-speed automatic

For anymore information on the Opel Corsa, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Opel dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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