Opel Corsa 1.2i SXi
Road test - April 2007

by Kevin Fenix

Opel’s new Corsa, looks like a smaller version of the Astra. It has a very prominent nose and a steeply raked windscreen. Under its rakish lines it shares a platform developed jointly by General Motors and Fiat, during the period when those two manufactures each held a financial stake in the other. My test car was the sporty SXi version with the 1.2 litre Twinport engine. Part of its sportier specification is a stiffer suspension and a lowered ride height.
On the road the roadholding was very good, with excellent grip on twists and corners. The firmer suspension will probably go unnoticed in the civilised world, but here in Ireland and especially in north Dublin and Fingal, it gives a very hard ride, that can become uncomfortable very quickly. The steering was nicely direct and positive, with just 2.25 turns of the wheel from lock to lock. The SXi version has sports style seats, with pronounced bolsters to hold the front seat occupants firmly.
The rear bench seat is comfortable and supportive for two adults. Surprisingly a third can be squeezed in, with reasonable comfort, as the centre section is softly padded. The only discomfort for three abreast, would be the lack of adequate shoulder room. All five seats have lap and shoulder seat belts and height adjustable, head restraints. The rear seat has two sets of ISOfix fittings, in the outer places, for child safety seats. Sensibly the childproof locks in the two rear door jambs, need the ignition key to to set or release them. The car comes as standard with two front and two side airbags, for the front seat occupants and two side air curtains for the benefit of all passengers.
As the SXi is the sporty specification, driving comfort and satisfaction are naturally high on the list of design priorities. These include a reach and height adjustable, leather covered steering wheel, with controls for the audio equipment on the two horizontal spokes, electric front windows, electrically adjustable, exterior rear view mirrors and a height adjustable driver’s seat. Very surprisingly only one vanity mirror is provided, on the driver’s sun visor.

The facia is clearly and simply laid out. Reading from left to right, the tachometer, fuel gauge and speedometer are in a hooded binnacle behind the steering wheel. While the figures are small, the gauges are easy to see. The silver finish centre console dominates the facia and indeed the whole interior of the car. It houses the audio equipment, with the heating/ventilating controls at the bottom of the assembly. At the top there is a digital panel that gives the time, date and outside temperature. Unfortunately the silver finish, especially the strip around the top of the unit, reflects into the windscreen and becomes very irritating after a while. A section of this reflection can be seen in the picture above, against the green bush in front of the car. While the picture only shows a tiny portion, it runs all the way up to the top of the windscreen.

Although it is the sporty version, the SXi has a relatively small capacity engine, just 1229 cc, delivering 59 kW and 110 Nm. It is not even tuned to a very high degree, with a specific output of 48.006 kW/lt. This gives it a top speed of 168 kph or 104 mph, while acceleration from 0-100 kph takes 13.9 seconds. That is certainly not going to set the tarmac alight. However, if young couples with small children are the potential owners, that performance is more than satisfactory and the fuel consumption is likely to be a greater source of interest. On that score the Corsa SXi does rather well, with an urban cycle consumption of 35 mpg (8.0 lt/100 km), 56 mpg (5.0 lt/100 km) on the extra urban and an average of 46 mpg (6.1 lt/100 km) on the combined cycle. Young unmarried sporty men and women, without small children, are likely to prefer the more racy looking three door version.

Even though the performance, velocity wise, is rather modest, the Corsa SXi comes with a comprehensive braking system that includes, anti-lock, electronic force distribution, emergency brake assist, cornering brake control and straight line stability management. This latter keeps the car travelling in a straight line, when wheels on one side experience more grip than those on the opposite side under braking. The system uses ventilated discs at the front and drums at the back.

When it comes to luggage space, the designers have been quite ingenious. In its normal five seater guise, it has space for 0.285 cubic metres of luggage. That compares more than favourably with most five door hatchbacks in the small car class. When only two seats are needed and you do not load above the lower edge of the windows, it provides 0.700 cubic metres of space. If on the other hand you load to roof level, you have 1.100 cubic metres at your disposal. Opel manage to give you all this space and still supply a full size spare wheel ! To keep costs down it is a normal pressed steel ventilated design, rather than a alloy wheel to match the road wheels, but it is full size and has a full size tyre to match those on the four road wheels.
The boot itself has a detachable panel that gives you two levels. With this panel in place the floor is level with the sill of the luggage door, which greatly eases loading heavier items. It is also on a level with the folded backs of the rear seats, giving a level floor from the rear door all the way to the back of the front seats. If you want to keep items separate, you can load the boot to this level, then insert the floor and continue to load above it.

Above left : normal boot without detachable floor
Above right : Normal boot with detachable floor in position

Above left : Extended boot without detachable floor
Above right : Extended boot with detachable floor in place

If you need even more space, the Corsa will carry up to 75 kg on the roof, but that weight includes the weight of the roof box and all the necessary fittings and attachments. Alternatively you may want to tow a small trailer. It will tow up to 500 kg without brakes, or a small caravan of up to 850 kg when fitted with brakes. That should be more than enough for most young families’ needs.
Routine servicing is required every 30,000 km (18,600 miles) or once a year, whichever comes first. Opel give a two years unlimited mileage guarantee, with two years roadside assistance and two years paintwork cover. You also get a twelve years anti-perforation warranty.
Opel’s designers have undoubtedly achieved a breakthrough with the styling of this latest Corsa. It certainly got noticed and the comments were invariably favourable. Many people expressed surprise that such a sporty looking car was an Opel Corsa, as the previous model was something of a sour lemon.

Technical data