CAR OF THE WEEK: Opel’s Corsa hybrid is a surprise eco car

BY BRIAN BYRNE

OPEL’S Corsa is the German brand’s oldest nameplate still in production. Around since 1982, it’s now in its sixth generation, or Corsa F, in the manner the carmaker has been labelling model versions since the 1960s. Introduced in 2019, this Corsa version is also the oldest of the current models line-up. It was facelifted in 2023, gaining the current family front look.

The exterior style is tidy. Because the car is not completely from the new Opel design ethos, it has curves rather than edges, and still looks good for that. That new ‘face’ does add an extra level of presence, with a perception of increased size that is just that, an impression.

A point, though, Opel is making a design mistake in certain versions — including the review car — by hiding the company’s logo in black on black. The ‘blitz’ is among the most familiar in the automotive industry, going back to the 1930s when it was the name of a successful line of trucks. Even the Bible says, don’t hide your light under a bushel.

For that facelift there have also been upgrades to the interior, notably a new steering wheel and a change to the now-familiar Stellantis ‘flick’ shifter for the automatic transmission. The basic dashboard shape didn’t change, and for my money that’s good, because it has a little bit more class to it than the latest Opel minimalist look in newer models. Climate and seat heading are operated by good old-fashioned knobs and buttons.

There are also new seats, and though I have reviewed the Corsa before in its electric and petrol versions, I don’t have a recent comparison. All I can say is that I did some long distances in this one, and for both myself and my passenger it was comfortable. The car is low to the ground and I did have to contort a little getting in and out (age, mostly. Mine.) but once ensconced, plenty of space.

The Corsa has recently been made available with a mild hybrid powertrain, which was the main reason for my taking another look at the model. In the Irish market, the car comes in three trims, with a 75hp 1.2 petrol and 5-speed manual transmission base option in each, along with my car’s 100hp MHEV with a 6-speed dual clutch automatic. There’s also a GS version with standard 100hp petrol and an 8-speed autobox.

My review of the Corsa MHEV surprised me. Normally a ‘mild’ hybrid system only offers energy harvesting from braking that is stored in a small battery and simply feeds back to boost acceleration when wanted. This one is different in that, like a full hybrid, the car can operate in full electric mode for short periods. The Stellantis indication of the speedometer turning blue when in EV mode suggested this was quite often in mixed travel. The overall fuel consumption of 4.6L/100km also showed an efficient operation, with the official readings claiming a 19% improvement over the less powerful base engine.

Given that there’s just 100hp on tap, the Corsa Hybrid felt quite nippy and responsive, and the car is a sweet handler. Although the SUV trend has penetrated even the small car segment, there’s still a lot of life in what we used to call the supermini size, and Corsa is Opel’s top seller here, and improving.

Oldest nameplate, top seller. There’s an Opel symmetry here. Now, brighten the blitz again and I’ll be happy.