Opel is continuing its resurgence with the local launch of another, all-new family member. That takes the total count to 12 cars launched in SA since the reintroduction in 2012. This latest Adam Rocks is said to build on the success of the Adam and we took it for a quick spin at altitude.

Why does it Rocks?

The Adam Rocks takes a standard Adam and raises it 15mm, sticks some fancy cladding on the exterior and has a fancy folding roof. Essentially that’s all that makes it different but there are a few other finer details that make it more interesting. For starters, Opel will only bring in 150 Adam Rocks, in three colour variants. The red and white colours are carry over colours from the standard Adam whilst the Goldbuster colour is unique to the Rocks. Whilst the Adam is already quite a chic and trendy urban runabout, the Adam Rocks takes that to a new level.

The exterior and interior can be personalised beyond reason and the carpet folding roof is a neat addition and adds a bit of exclusivity. The plastic cladding around the outside is the main distinction between the two vehicles and gives the Rocks a bit more of a rugged look. With only 15mm extra ground clearance it’s not going to tame difficult terrain however. The 18-inch wheels really pump up the shoulders of the Rocks. The bigger wheels seem to have lengthened the gear ratios somewhat and made the driving experience a little less peppy.

Power puff

The Adam Rocks is powered by the same engine as the standard Adam. That leaves it with the best 1.0-Litre turbo engine currently available (in our opinion) under its bonnet. 85 kW and 170 Nm are available and its overtaking powers are still impressive despite the lack of capacity. The bigger wheels do take away a bit of that perkiness or initial zip that the Adam always had, but it is still reasonable at dashing from light to light. Opel also claims the Adam Rocks uses just 5L/100km. We achieved 6.9L/100km over our drive that took in more than a few heated starts and brushes with the redline.

Full spec

The Adam Rocks has the very top spec Adam Glam features that includes all the connectivity and interactivity with your Smartphone. There’s a seven-inch touch screen to access everything to do with multimedia or applications and it still has a USB port. The Rocks also features Siri Eyes Free, a feature that integrates the Intellilink system with later-generation iPhones and iPads via a USB cable. It activates Apple’s voice control so that you can ask Siri about the weather, where the next fuel station is or set a reminder. As we’ve come to expect from Opel of late, the Adam Rocks is a big hitter on the safety and assistance systems. The Rocks has ESP and the more advanced ESP Plus system, LED lights, ABS and EBD to try and avoid incidents.

Then there’s also premium features available like blind spot detection, the self-parking system and hill-start assist. There are only 150 models to sell so Opel shouldn’t have a hard task pedalling them to customers. The cost is a little more than your top spec Adam but you get the added exclusivity with the limited numbers. Competitors are hard to pick but there’s a few out there like the Fiat 500 or the Audi A1 depending on which way you look at things.

Opel Adam Rocks Pricing

The Opel Adam Rocks will go on sale fromR273 400 and includes a 5-year/120 000km warrant and a 3-year/60 000 service plan.