Has the Corsa Sport got sporting credentials? Let’s see… what are sporting credentials? I decided to look at three key sporting characteristics: styling, performance and handling. I think these three aspects of a car - wearing a Sport badge - are pretty important to justify that badge.
Let’s look at the styling
The Opel Corsa was given a reboot earlier this year and it looks good, in my opinion. The Fifth Generation now features sculptural surfaces and graceful flowing lines, which are key elements in the design of the new Corsa. The Sport version boosts those styling elements with the addition of a subtle OPC line body kit. The kit includes front and rear bumper extensions, sporty looking side steps, a sporty exhaust tip, and carbon-like wing mirror covers. The front blade on the grille is also finished in a carbon fibre-like material. There is also the addition of sport rims, which give the Corsa Sport its unique look.
Inside, we find a familiar sculptural wing-shaped instrument panel design as well as a flat bottom sport steering wheel with silver bezel, alloy sports pedals and a leather gear shift knob. The additions are subtle but then again this is the Sport model and not the OPC variant. I found the interior to be well put together and ergonomically efficient. Opel’s IntelliLink infotainment system is easy to use and incorporates all multimedia and vehicle settings. What’s more, for R5 000, you can fit your Corsa Sport with the very handy Advanced Park Assist 2 feature and Opel’s Side Blind Zone Alert.
So it looks sporty but what about the performance?
The Corsa Sport makes use of Opel’s impressive 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine. This unit forms part of the brand’s Ecotec family of small petrol engines, which combines both performance and efficiency. The engine develops 110kW and 220Nm of torque, which propels this little tyke to 100km/h in 9.6 seconds, with a top speed of 204km/h. So, it has the performance considering its size, but what about getting that performance to the road?
That’s where the handling factor comes in
You see, you can have all the power in the world, but if you can’t get it to the road, what’s the point? To make sure, the Corsa Sport uses its power effectively and offers drivers a sporty handling driving experience. The engineers made some changes to the front suspension geometry, which has been optimized via changes on the front knuckle. This improves the car’s roll behaviour, steering response and understeer behaviour. The Corsa Sport has a lower centre of gravity, and the front spring rates now adapt to axle loads, which improve vehicle ride and pitch behaviour.
So is it worthy of the Sport badge?
After spending time with the R255 200 Corsa Sport, it was clear that this little car has a fiery heart; it handles well and makes good use of its performance. Could it have looked more aggressive? Maybe, and it could have also sounded sportier but in the long run it does deliver what the badge says, or does it? You see, the Corsa Sport doesn’t have a Sport badge on it, instead, it features a Turbo badge and, unlike my mom’s washing machine, the Corsa Sport does have a turbo.
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