Opel Corsa 2011 Review - International

Opel Corsa

No need to rub your eyes. If this car looks familiar, you'd be right. It's not a case of deja-vu: it's the Opel Corsa, a car that in earlier guises we used to call the Holden Barina.

Holden sourced its Light, Small and Medium cars from General Motors' German sibling Opel through most of the 1990s and the first half of the 2000s. The European-sourced Barina ran across two generations, from 1994 to 2005 but the supply ended abruptly when Holden decided to source its smaller cars from General Motors' Korean division, then known as GM Daewoo.

The switch was a shock to the media who pointed out that the Barina had taken a massive step backwards: from an award-winning vehicle (it was Wheels Car of the Year in 2001) with four-star safety and superb dynamics, to a rebadged Daewoo with, at the time, two-star safety and ho-hum dynamics. But Holden didn't care as buyers didn't notice. Indeed, GM's local arm went on to sell more Korean 'Barinas' than it ever did of the Opel-sourced product.

Now a little more than half a decade later, we represented with a Euro-sourced GM Light car – only this time it's wearing its original brand and model badges…

Opel is on its way to Australia. And the Corsa tested here will be in a new network of Australian Opel showrooms from October 2012 taking on its German peer Volkswagen, and the rest of the Light car marketplace.

Opel has ambitious local sales targets. For the time being, all we're really interested in is the car itself.

This generation Corsa will come to us nearing the end of its model life. This body style was released in 2006 and received a freshen-up in 2010 with more efficient (Euro V) engines and a few turns of the spanner on the suspension.

We got to drive the car on a mix of city, highway and backroads in Germany over two days following the recent Frankfurt motor show. And first impressions are relatively positive: it steers and handles competently and looks presentable. But if we're being picky, some of the interior plastics looked on the cheap side, and we're not sure how that will translate if Opel is to price the Corsa at a modest premium.

The other mild disappointment in an otherwise okay package is the engine. We were given a 1.4-litre four-cylinder to sample matched to a five-speed manual. A four-speed (yep only F-O-U-R) auto will be optional.

Even though the Corsa range has five petrol engines (from a 1.0-litre three-cylinder to a 1.6 turbo) and three diesel engines (from 1.3 to 1.7-litres) from which to choose, it seems as though Opel has settled on the non-turbo 1.4 petrol powerplant for the Australian offering. This will put it on the small side compared with its likely peers.

The output numbers are fairly respectable (66kW/125Nm)and compare well with the class average but you have to wring its neck and rev it above 5000rpm to reach the power band. Until then, the car feels quite lethargic. And please note, we are not comparing this car to a Ferrari, rather other Light Cars with similar engines.

Australian traffic conditions prefer engines with more torque. I'm not sure what Opel's other options are in this regard.

The Corsa evidently polled very well in research groups in Australia – Opel came away beaming and told us so. But it was a static display. We wonder what the reaction will be once people drive it.

Of course, until Opel announces pricing, it's hard to deliver any form of qualified verdict.

But, in our humble opinion, based on the current crop of rivals, the Corsa needs to start at $16,990 – at most – or risk being left behind.

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