A new brand champion

exterior appointments such as body-colour mirror caps, halogen headlights, and “Opel wing” daytime running lights. Inside the cabin, there is a manual air conditioner, electric windows upfront only, and an auto on/off switch for the lights. The driver’s seat is sixway adjustable. In-car entertainment is handled via a 5” touchscreen radio with Bluetooth and USB port.

Significantly, Opel has made its 7” IntelliLink infotainment system available from the Edition version and up. This comes with Apple Carplay and Android Auto, and gets an upgrade from a fourspeaker, to a six-speaker sound system. Park assist and a rear camera are also part of the deal in these models, as are electric windows in the back.

Outside, the Edition gets 16” alloy rims, but the real enhancements happen for the Elegance, which boasts a black two-tone roof, chrome on the upper part of the grille and along the car’s beltline, and a gloss black roof spoiler and B-pillar embellishment. LED headlights also feature in the top derivative.

The Elegance cabin positively bristles with technology, with climate control, rain-sensing wipers, heated front seats, and high-beam assist, among the highlights. However, it also gets a laundry list of safety technology that is hard to beat in this segment.

Active safety measures include lane keep assist and traffic sign recognition. Accident avoidance is high on the agenda, with driver drowsiness alert, pedestrian detection at the front, and front collision alert that warns of an impending collision when you’re too close to the car ahead of you. Should you activate one of these safety systems at low speed, emergency braking will also engage to avoid an unpleasant situation in a parking lot.

LAST WORD

Given the Opel brand’s significant history in this country and Opel’s still mighty strong reputation, we believe that the new Corsa should impact the sales front for the visibly re-energized team at Stellantis South Africa. The new Corsa stands out in terms of design, build quality, price sobriety and general appeal. The few quirks that don’t get us excited – the uninspiring LCD screen in favour of a traditional dial set-up, for example – are not of such consequence that buyers will avoid the car because of them. On the contrary, the new Corsa is a proud torchbearer for the Opel heritage. If you’ve been a fan before, the chances are good that you’ll fall in love with it all over again.