Test drive Opel Corsa 5 doors 2000 - 2003 hatchback

Wede and drive

Women and resorters love him. Women consciously, for compactness. Kurortniki is forced, for the availability in the rental offices of the entire Mediterranean. This is Opel Corsa.
On the Opel Corsa of the previous generation, I happened to ride very fairly on the roads of Spain - I twice took it at the box office during summer vacations. Based on the low cost - a three -door option with a 1.2 liter engine cost about $ 20 per day. So the new Opel Corsa had something to compare with.
Signs of acceleration. I want to note right away that I did not find cardinal changes in the appearance. Probably, it was conceived - the previous generation Corsa turned out to be very successful in terms of external design, and there was no urgent need to change the image of the car. Well, they raised the rear lights to the rack, changed the shape of the hood-this is not a fatal face lifting, and Corsa is recognizable in the city stream.
But the new car was made a few centimeters longer - and it is immediately felt. I will never forget how my 14-year-old daughter complained during long trips to Andalusia, which is crowded behind. And in the new Opel Corsa, engineers provided an extra 8 cm for rear passengers. Plus, you can adjust the angle of inclination of the back of the seat. As a result, our photographer, a man of very large sizes, got out of the back seat with a surprised face and said that it was spacious, even comfortable.
I could only assess the size of the trunk - in the old Corsa all the luggage collected by my two ladies for a two -week vacation was not placed. In the new one - I repeat, visually - it will not fit either.
Solid packaging. On our test there was a model in Comfort. This means that to the price of the base model, it is necessary to add the cost of the CD player with very convenient drives on the steering wheel and a full electric package.
But even the standard equipment of a car of this class looks quite solid - the air conditioner adjustable in height is the steering column, two airbags.
I really liked the steering wheel with an electric amplifier. Firstly, it does not take the power from the engine, which is typical for all car with a hydraulic wiper. Secondly, the system is with a variable reinforcement factor. If you twist the steering wheel at small speed, taxiing, for example, from a close parking, then the force on the steering wheel is practically not felt. Conversely, the steering wheel is noticeably heavy at speed, and the feedback with the road improves markedly.
Some bewilderment caused a driver's seat. It is equipped, in addition to standard adjustments, the possibility of choosing a height of landing behind the wheel, but I could not get a comfortable way in the car. The sensations are such that the seat literally shoves you. Maybe this is a special female design - it is no secret that most of the Opel Corsa drivers in the West are women. By the way, the interior decoration in the car does not coincide with my ideas about the female car. I do not urge to tighten the cabin with a cheerful seat. But the combination of dark gray and black plastics and discreet, selected in the tone of the upholstery of the seats is boring-although cheap and practical.
The point of no return. So, Opel Corsa with a 1.4 liter engine and a mechanical gearbox. I must immediately note that the car is traveling amazingly. Although it is very noisy: starting with 2.5 thousand revolutions, the engine is clearly audible in the cabin.
But it is very responsive - it easily spins to a red mark on a tachometer - 6.5/7 thousand revolutions. I liked the long -speed accelerator pedal. There is always an extra opportunity to think before a decisive jerk in a cramped hole in the city stream - do I need it? After all, power and traction are quite enough in order to quite briskly move around the city at medium speeds, without forceing the gearbox and not to play Schumacher out of yourself. On the other hand, a combination of 90 hp Power and small weight are sometimes provoked to abruptly break into the point and see the Audi A6 driver in the mirror.
A rather original front suspension is installed on Corsa, similar to more serious cars - Astra, Vectra and Omega. It has the effect of steering the front wheels, which is definitely felt when passing smooth turns at decent speed. With sharp throws from a row, it is not possible to feel this effect into a row. The springs of the front suspension are also arranged in an original way - they are not straight, but have the shape of a banana. As a result, the entire stand is installed not at an angle to the road, but strictly vertically. The progress of the front suspension has increased significantly, and it works out numerous bumps and cracks on the asphalt much quieter and softer than the back.
The rear mind. Is it a ladies' car? It seems to me not. At least because it is so believed that ladies do not really like to bother themselves with a mechanical gearbox. Therefore, if Opel Corsa becomes the same popular machine as in the West, then success will definitely fall to the share with a 1.2 -liter engine. A new mechanical gearbox with an automatic EasyTronic switch system is installed only on it.
Thanks to the original design, the EasyTronic box greatly facilitates the driving in critical situations. For example, during emergency braking, at the moment when the ABS system worked, it will turn off the clutch with the reaction of an experienced driver, regardless of the selected control mode. As you know, turning off the front drive wheels from the engine allows you to implement an optimal brake moment on wheels and improves their adhesion to the road. With normal, Easytronic working braking, even in manual control mode, turns on the reduced gears. And if necessary, to make a sharp overtaking electronic control system will choose the optimal low transmission.
In short, sit and lead. And if you want to work a little with your hands, you can just put the box into manual mode. You still do not have to work with your head, in this mode, most smart functions Easytronic are preserved. It turns off the clutch before stopping at a traffic light, helps to move off the raising.
The new Corsa has just appeared among dealers. As they say in Odessa, we will see who will like it more.
Text Nikolay Kachurin, photo Alexey Ilyin
       
Easytronic
The world premiere of the new automated 5-speed EasyTronic checkpoint took place last fall at Opel Corsa 1.2. In appearance, this is a sequential machine. In fact, a mechanical transmission, which is much lighter and cheaper than automatic transmission.
Switching gear in EasyTronic, created on the basis of the mechanical gearbox Opel, occurs on average for 300 milliseconds, and the best time is 240 milliseconds. Such rapid switching is provided by three electric drives and an electronic control system, which monitors almost all parameters of the car and engine operation.
Each electric drive of the switching mechanism performs a certain function. One controls the clutch, the second moves the transmission shift rod, the third includes the necessary transmission. The last two electric drives are combined together with the control electronics in one unit located on the side of the gear crankcase.
 

Source: "Autopilot"