Specifications
Price:
£10 595 (about R77 000).
Performance:
172km/h, 0-200km/h in 11.8sec.
Combined fuel economy:
6.2 litres/100km.
This isn't going to be pleasant for any of us, so let's just get it over and done with, shall we? No one really wants to read about Opel Corsas, and I can't say that I am that inspired by having to churn out 600 words on the subject.
But true to January's mean spirit of self-discipline and denial, let's give it a go. After all, we can't have Lamborghinis every week.
Up until now the Corsa has been a car for people who don't really like cars - or at least, for those happy, well-adjusted members of society who have more important things to think about.
Anyone who gets a mild thrill when a new copy of Car magazine arrives on the newsagent's shelves would no more consider buying a Corsa than a wine buff would think of stocking his cellar with Tassenberg. But the Corsa has always been an important car in the sense that people actually bought them with their own money.
A Corsa has featured in the top five best-selling cars in the UK since Adam Ant occupied a similar position in the top 20 (that's around 1983 to the uninitiated). Opel has sold 9.4-million of the things worldwide; it's a wonder any other companies have had a look in.
As I approached the 1.4 SXi two-door version I had borrowed for the week, I was deep in thought (if you must know, I was rather depressed.
My wife had just pointed out to me that if Prince William, with all his resources, can't arrest male-pattern baldness what hope had I got, so why didn't I stop moaning and get on with my life?).
But within seconds of moving off, the Corsa had swept away all such concerns. I was having fun. FUN! Driving a Vauxhall Corsa! Hair loss, get lost!
This new Corsa not only rides with the suppleness and maturity of something that your dad would drive, but it maintains that composure when you turn the steering wheel.
I always like cars that make you feel good without an excess of power; cars that are fun at legal speeds, and the Corsa is such a car. You find yourself anticipating bends and roundabouts as if you were in a Caterham... OK then, a Ford Ka.
Like the new Renault Clio and me, the new Corsa is a little bulkier than it used to be. It is now almost four metres long, but that means it seats four adults comfortably and there are signs that GM has made some effort to jazz up the interior with "funky" transparent plastics and "groovy" soft-fading lights.
Clever details
There is also a rather clever built-in bike rack - a £500 (R3600) option - that folds out of the rear bumper. Why has no one ever thought of that before? And you can store the parcel shelf behind the rear seat - which, if you ask me, is the kind of thing the Nobel jury should be hearing about.
There is a caveat: I can't imagine a smaller-engined Corsa would be quite as much fun - the three-cylinder, one-litre model, for instance, might well struggle with sped bumps or the ramps in multistorey car parks.
Other than that, if you are looking for a refined, spacious, large-small car for a reasonable price, you should think seriously about the Honda Jazz, chuckle ruefully at the thought of a Peugeot 206, but at least take a look at a Corsa.
Don't worry, next week I'll be back driving something fast and vulgar. But that wasn't so bad, was it? - The Independent, London
- General Motors SA now says the Corsa will be released in South Africa in the third quarter of 2007 - not "early in the year" as we were told in answer to earlier enquiries - in 1.4 and 1.6 petrol versions (including the red-hot 1.6 OPC turbo!) and "at least one" diesel derivative.
It will also be a fully imported model for the first time, rather than locally built, although the Corsa Utility bakkie will still be made here.