Opel has come out strong recentlywith the launch of new and impressive products in the form of Adam, Corsa and Mokka. As a result, sales are on the up in South Africa and spirits are high in the Opel camp. Opel, however, isn’t sitting on its laurels, as the brand has launched yet another new model to the mix to make life hard for the likes of the Volkswagen Polo, Ford Fiesta and Mazda2. This time it’s the 1.4T Corsa Sport and we attended the launch in George to see what it hasto offer.

Sporty Persona

This Corsa Sport is by no means a high-performance hatchback in the true sense, but it has been rather beefed up to look and feel like a superstar. On the outside, you will notice some sporty-looking OPC Line kit fitted as standard, which goes a long way in differentiating it from its siblings. The kit includes front and rear bumper extensions, side rocker mouldings, a stainless steel exhaust tip and the side mirrors and grille trim feature a carbon fibre look. The Corsa Sport strikes a perfect pose with 17-inch Dark Titanium alloy wheels fitted as standard.

On the inside, the OPC Line theme continues with a leather-wrapped multi-function sports steering wheel, alloy foot pedals, leather gear shift lever and handbrake lever inspired by the OPC. There’s also a neat-looking sports instrument cluster and infotainment comes in the form of Opel’s Intellilink system via a 7-inch touchscreen that’s Bluetooth and USB compatible. Cloth Moonray sport seats are also a standard feature and provide some contrast in a predominantly black interior and customers also have the choice between 15 exterior colours.

How does it drive?

The Opel Corsa Sport makes use of a gutsy 1.4-litre turbocharged engine that produces 110 kW and 220 Nm of torque. Opel reckons the Corsa Sport can hit 100kph in 9.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 204kph. In real world driving, the Corsa Sport is fit and will, in most cases, offer more than enough grunt for the average city slicker. To help you along, the Corsa Sport is fitted with a 6-speed manual transmission.

Our launch route took us through Robertson Pass and the Outeniqua Pass, roads thatoffer a mix of wide and tight bends, the perfect playground to get a sense of the Corsa Sport’s ability. Overall, the Corsa Sport did a decent job of tackling corners at speed. It must be said however, that the steering felt a bit light and combined with poor road surface quality, the overall ride was wafty and not as precise as I had hoped.

The suspension did a fair job of soaking up the irregularities on the road and I was particularly impressed by the Corsa Sport’s no-nonsense overtaking prowess thanks to decent in-gear acceleration. We will hopefully have the Corsa Sport on test soon to give it a thorough evaluation.

Safety Features

In terms of standard safety, the Corsa Sport is well equipped with six airbags, ABS with EBD, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control, Straight Line Stability (SLS) and Brake Assist System (BAS). The Corsa Sport also features a City Mode button which lightens up the steering during congested city driving and front and rear parking sensors are fitted as standard.

If customers opt for Option Pack 1, Opel will fit Advanced Park Assist 2 and Side Blind Spot Alert at an additional cost of R5000.

Opel Corsa Sport – Price in South Africa

Opel Corsa 1.4T Sport – R255200