Test drive Opel Corsa 5 doors 2003 - 2006 hatchback
Melodies for Corsa
The compact Opel sounded in a new way
Machines can cause different feelings and associations, including musical ones. Say, the BMW seven is a hard technique, Jaguar is a classic, American cars are country and rock and roll. And the weekend driving up the updated Corsa turned out to be associated with popular melodies. No, not with the domestic tasteless poppies, but with the quality compositions of this genre. Like Sting or the last things U2. Corsa has become more convenient ...
This car was created to accompany its owner throughout the day. And, as sometimes in one musical style you can find elements of another, so Corsa manifests itself from different angles. Here, let's say, the salon. Outside, it seems completely cramped, and inside it seems to be a curvature of space. A high ceiling gives rise to a feeling of amazing space. We must pay tribute to those Opelian specialists who worked on the internal layout. Sitting behind me, on the back sofa, I did not feel the lack of a place at all. And to say it is easier, then a man of the same height calmly fits behind the driver under 180 cm. Unless, of course, the driver set up the chair correctly and does not lie, extending his hands. However, in this way, you are unlikely to want to get a job in the cabin. Why? Firstly, modest body dimensions. In the city, this means that you need to constantly turn your head. After all, look, from the side there will be some insolent who judges you by the size of the car. Accordingly, you can expect sharp rebukes from him. It’s not clear to him that this baby is much more dynamic than his channel. Secondly, the chair itself is designed so that you want to put it vertically, otherwise the contact of the upper back with the surface disappears. From these words it may seem that Opel has a slight miscalculation in ergonomics, but this is not at all. It’s just that if you get aim to buy Corsa yourself or the lady of the heart, come to the dealer show room, sit inside-and you will understand everything yourself.
At the same time, by the way, notice easy changes inside the cabin. For the most part, they lie in other materials of the finish, slightly updated instrument panels and the central tunnel. Actually, the interior of Corsa does not differ in any particular sophistication. Hard plastic, in texture resembling a Kirza, strict lines. And again there is an association with pop music. She is exactly the same, without intricacy. This, however, is not necessary. The eye does not cut, in the sense of ergonomics, everything is fine. What else is required for every day? I did not have enough of any additional niches or mess on the central console to put the phone and box of Montansier. True, this was due to the configuration of the machine that fell on the test. I got a almost top version performed by Cosmo. In addition to a variety of additional equipment in the cabin (radio, electric drives of the front glasses and external rear -view mirrors, adjusting the driver's seat in height) involves light external changes. To the bumpers on the bumpers, updated after restyling, are added, as the press release, three-dimensional headlights are added to the bumpers. In fact, they are simply equipped with a transparent scatter under which three separate wells with bulbs are visible. Such a version of Corsa, by the way, will cost the future buyer $ 12,705. And if you want an additional CD player, heating chairs and mirrors, air conditioning, staining metallic, adjustable steering column and tape recorder buttons on the steering wheel (all these benefits were installed on a test car ), prepare an additional $ 2175. If you compare prices with direct competitors - first of all, Ford Fiesta and Citroen C2 - then it turns out a little, but cheaper. In general, six different design styles are offered for the base model: Eco, Enjoy, Cosmo, Sport and GSI. Plus 15 bodies of body.
... frozen ...
But back to the car. Perhaps the main reason for re-acquaintance with it was the new 1.4-liter EcoteC engine, the design of which uses Twinport technology. It provides Opel Corsa (depending on the gearbox) to 23% of the decrease in fuel consumption compared to the previous model. In my case, this figure was somewhat more modest - 13%, since a manual gearbox was installed on the car (quite a modern unit, from which I wanted only a milder operation of the switching mechanism, there were no complaints at all). But with it, the baby’s appetite is firmly kept at a mark of 5.9 liters per 100 km. If you equip the machine of the branded automated EasyTronic checkpoint, then the consumption will decrease to 5.3 liters per 100 km of run. In life, these dry statements result in very pleasant sensations. We rush all day around the city as a madman, you are self -affirming at the starts from a traffic light (90 hp, believe me, they really contribute to this, and have never brought me in disputes with domestic machines), then you go to the airport farthest from the city A colleague, on the road, checking the dynamic characteristics (140 km/h for Corsa is not a limit, only in the cabin after this mark it becomes noisy), and the arrow of the fuel pointer over all this time moved to the left to one division. Excellent economy, you can’t say anything. But with all this, the engine remains surprisingly responsive to the gas pedal, and, as it seemed to me, if it is squeezed for the sake of environmental standards, it is very intelligent: Opel experts managed to find a compromise between a decrease in traction at low speeds and the release of harmful substances during acceleration. 
As for handling, it, if you continue the musical theme, can be called rock and roll. An electronically controlled hydraulic power steering began to be installed on the restyled model, due to which the steering wheel has gained a clear reactive effect and even some sharpness. In combination with a well -tuned suspension, this allows time to time a little fuck on the road, forcing pedestrians to turn on to the squeal of the tires. However, any sliding is a loss of time, right? You can calmly and not bring the situation to them, since the machine makes it perfectly to feel like a body. The rolls are small in corners, but they are present, and on them, as well as by the opposite effect on the steering wheel, it is completely easy to determine the degree of adhesion of the wheels with the road. ... and richer
What else did I forget to mention? Yes, so, in essence, trifles. But pleasant and warming soul to any driver or future buyer. For example, a list of additional equipment has been expanded. In particular, it includes a system of dynamic ESP stabilization, headlights with xenon lamps, cruise control, an emergency braking system, the Follow Me Home function - a delay in turning off the light of the headlights after you leave the car in the parking lot. The branded automated EasyTronic transmission, combining the advantages of automatic transmission and simple mechanics, which is now available for cars with all gasoline engines with a working volume of up to 1.4 liters. In addition, an indicator appeared on the dashboard, reminiscent of the need to conduct a planned inspection. 
As befits a modern car, the Corsa salon can be turned into a cargo compartment and vary its dimensions: fold the rear sofa completely or in parts, and if the full-time trunk is only a little bit, just transfer its back to a more vertical position. Did I like the car? Yes. Modern design, cozy and convenient salon, powerful for compact sizes of the motor, a clear algorithm for the work of the gearbox. And yet - a decent audio system. By the way, on what button is the poppy radio programmed here? ..
Sergey Ilyinsky
Brief technical characteristics of Opel Corsa 1.4 Twinport
Engine volume, cubic meter. See: 1364
The number of valves for the cylinder: 4
Power, l. With. at about./min.: 90/5600
Max. Torque, Nm/at about. min.: 125/4000
Acceleration to 100 km/h, p.: 11.5
Maximum speed, km/h: 179
Average fuel consumption l./100 km.: 5.9
Fuel tank volume, l.: 44
Dimensions, mm.: 3817x1646x1440
A source: Newspaper "Automobile Izvestia" [No. 23 (46), 2003]
