New Corsa Lite is no lightweight

An old South African favourite is back in the form of the Opel Corsa Lite.

Launched as a Mzansi-specific model based on the second generation Corsa in 1996, the first version of the locally built three-door hatchback was powered by a 1.3-litre eight-valve engine and went on to become one of the best-selling hatchbacks at the time. The third generation ran alongside it with an uprated 65kW 1.4-litre engine under the nameplates Lite, Lite+ and Lite Sport.

The Corsa Lite has now been resurrected and will be offered as the entry-level model for the hatchback range.

The new Opel Corsa Lite is powered by a 74kW turbocharged 1.2-litre petrol engine that also serves on the Corsa Edition derivative. The drive is sent to the front weeks via a six-speed manual transmission.

The top-of-the-range

Elegance

model still makes use of the 96kW version of this engine.

The Corsa Lite is anything but lightweight when it comes to specifications. Front electric windows, air conditioning, LED headlamps, tyre pressure monitoring, active lane keep assist, seven-inch touchscreen radio, IntelliLink infotainment system come standard,

Upgrading to an Edition model will see the addition of LED front fog lamps and front and rear parking sensors.

Elegance models come with a seven-inch digital instrument cluster, black two-tone roof, heated front seats, rain-sensing wipers and a comprehensive set of safety features.

The Corsa Lite is priced at R349 900 alongside the R356 900 Corsa Edition and R436 900 Corsa Elegance. Pricing includes a five year/120 000km warranty and three-year/45 000km service plan. –