Updated Opel Corsa puts up a brave fight in a losing battle

The Opel Corsa used to be such a staple in everyday life for so many families. Not just in South Africa, but all around the globe as this hatch became the best-selling car in the world in 1998.

Over the years it has offered seriously good value for money as an entry-level car as well as serving performance enthusiasts with fast OPC versions. But the current generation Opel Corsa is no longer either of these things to be blunt and this reflects in the poor sales performance of the car.

Opel Corsa has its hand full

Does this mean the new Opel Corsa is a bad car? The short answer is no. The updated Opel Corsa in 1.2T GS Line trim as tested by The Citizen Motoring, offers spritely performance from its 96kW/230Nm petrol turbocharged engine. It also gives good fuel consumption, a decent level of spec and safety to go with cool Opel-inspired styling.

But this car and other compact hatches like it have all become victims of circumstance as the buying public continues to shift in huge numbers towards crossovers and compact SUVs. Buyers will not easily part with R459 900 to drive a hatch, when there are cheaper Indian and Chinese imported SUVs for less money and more bling on offer.

The styling speaks for itself and the trim level of this Opel Corsa range-topper is as good as you will expect it to be. A 7-inch digital cluster along with a 10-inch infotainment touchscreen featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with an updated steering wheel design and heated front seats are the first to greet you. Then there are automatic climate control, all-round electric windows and an electronic parking brake.

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Decent performance

Out on the road the 1.2T engine comes alive and delivers solid performance. It ran 0-100km/h time of 9.39 seconds during our test at Gerotek, while Opel claims a top speed of 194 km/h. While not exactly in the same league as the much more powerful 141kW Opel Corsa OPC of a few years ago that got to 100km/h in 7.52 seconds, anything under 10 seconds for a car in this segment in 2024 is considered above average.

The steering is light and the handling sporty enough to keep you interested, with a ride that is geared slightly more towards comfort like I think it should be. Another positive to go with this is the fact that the average fuel consumption we got during our week with the Corsa 1.2T GS Line came in at 7.3 litres per 100km. Owners can expect even better on the open road.

The Opel Corsa GS Line 1.2T is a good car that finds itself at the wrong place at the wrong time in a world gone SUV mad.

Road test data