Behind the wheel of the new Opel Corsa: People’s hero even prettier, more digital and most importantly not expensive – Garáž.cz

See the new Vizor grille with modified LED lights and redesigned bumper? Excellent, so you know the most important things about the changes to the new Corsa. When you have such a legend on offer with a history spanning four decades, during which six generations were created and over 14.6 million units were sold, you already know what you’re doing and you don’t have to make any major changes as part of product modernization.

Therefore, in addition to a slightly modified steering wheel and massage seats, you will find a new digital instrument panel and new infotainment in the cabin – it runs on more powerful technology (Qualcomm Snapdragon), and the state-of-the-art system on a 10-inch touch screen is not only better looking, clearer and friendlier, but also faster. In addition, it is already capable of wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay (for this you can also have inductive charging). Another new feature is a high-resolution panoramic parking camera that provides a far better overview of the space behind the car (even in the dark).

Fortunately, not much has changed under the hood when it comes to petrol engines. The core of the offer is still a 1.2-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine with atmospheric filling (with a power of 75 hp) or turbocharging (100 or 130 hp) combined with a manual (5 steps for the 75 hp version, 6 steps for the 100 hp version) or automatic transmission (8-speed variable automatic for both turbocharged variants).

The novelty just has to do without a diesel engine, but nobody will probably miss it much, they are practically not sold in this category anymore. Its replacement is a hybrid unit combining the aforementioned turbocharged 1.2 PureTech with 48V mild-hybrid technology and an automatic dual-clutch transmission. The result is a combined output of 136 hp, while the 28 hp electric motor collects energy every time the throttle is released and can use it to spin the wheels when the internal combustion engine is switched off (up to a speed of 135 km/h) or to assist the internal combustion engine when stronger acceleration is needed. In the end, it will save almost a liter of gasoline on average, and in an urban environment you should spend up to 50% of the driving time in electric mode.

But if you want to drive purely on electricity, the Corsa-e is for you. You can have this in the original version (136 hp power and 50 kWh battery) or the new, more powerful version equipped with a 156 hp electric motor and 51 kWh battery. This does not sound like a big difference, but in reality it is – the more powerful version has a significantly better performance when driving (it accelerates from standstill to 100 km faster by 0.6 seconds) and is also more economical, thanks to which you can drive up to 405 kilometers on a single charge instead of the previous 353 km . According to German prices, the price difference between them is some 80 thousand, so the choice is quite clear…

And speaking of prices, the Czech price list will be available at the beginning of November, so we can’t tell you any details. But we are promised that the new Corsa will not increase in price. Which is good, because it’s currently not one of the cheapest (hopefully it will compensate with a more extensive basic equipment). And this is especially true for the electric version, which, with a price tag of over 800,000 crowns, simply has no competition today. But let’s be surprised by what Opel comes up with.

Regardless of the price, the Opel Corsa is still a pleasant little city car that is now even better looking, better equipped, more digital and, in the case of the electric version, also significantly more usable than before.