Limited edition Corsa sure to have unlimited appeal

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Friday, November 18, 2011

Limited edition cars, I find, also usually have decidedly limited appeal, but I drove one recently which may just have more than that.

The Opel Corsa Limited Edition three-door 1.2i petrol is a fine little car.

Jam-packed with goodies and coming to the market at a cost not much over 16K, this Corsa has plenty up its sleeve when it comes to wooing potential punters.

What with 172 twin spoke alloys, lowered suspension, a number of dark tinted windows, sports style front seats, a leather steering wheel and aluminium pedals, the Corsa may just have what it takes to attract people who want a sporty package without the sporty bills that usually accompany such a thing.

But, there is one inherent problem here.

Nowadays people are looking for cars which have exceptionally low running costs and that usually means something which fits into the lowest tax band.

Unfortunately for this Corsa — even with its 1.2 litre petrol engine — it is in Tax Band B and will cost €156 to tax annually.

When you compare that to, say, a BMW 520d which fits into Tax Band A and only costs €104 to tax annually, you can see why people might baulk.

That said, this engine produces a decent output of 63 kW (84 bhp), will hit a top speed of 172 kph and the 0-100 kph mark in 13.6 seconds and it will also return some 5.3 l/100km (nearly 54 mpg) and is generally a fine unit to live with.

On the road the Corsa is a decent prospect too and the sportier driver will certainly enjoy the sports suspension which provides a much firmer set up than normal.

The downside for many drivers is that this does not always make the Corsa a refined product on bad roads, so the ride quality might not suit.

The three door version we tried is a decent enough package in that access and egress to the rear seats is not bad and the amount of room in the back is quite generous and will easily accommodate two adults.

The boot is surprisingly big and practical.
In the case of the test car, the ‘piano black’ interior with red detailing (to match the Flame Red exterior colour) is very modern, while the ‘sapphire black’ roof also stands the car out in a crowd.

In fairness the sheer weight of added kit is amazing and puts many opponents to shame — even if the Corsa is a special edition — and with stuff like cruise control, multi function trip computer, steering wheel mounted audio controls, CD player with MP3 function and much more, gives the car a cachet that few superminis have.

Opel has also gone a long way to ensuring the interior fixtures and fittings look and feel right and consequently the Corsa has something of a big car feel about it and when you find standard items such as the rake and reach adjustable steering column, this feeling is underlined.

Limited edition, unlimited appeal.