2015 Opel Corsa hatches slinky new style

Fri, 03 Oct 2014

Opel's slinky answer to the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo debuted on Thursday at the Paris Motor Show, ahead of its launch in European markets late this year. The long-running Corsa – 32 years and counting – getting its first major refresh in eight years.

Opel dialed up the design for the 2015 Corsa, and the new front end has chiseled headlights with LED daytime runners, a trapezoidal grille and a prominent Opel badge. In back, there are wide split taillights and sculpted fenders. The Corsa will come in three- and five-door configurations.

The Corsa will offer a wide range of engines, including a three-cylinder, two four-cylinders and a diesel. Opel markets the Corsa for young families, and pricing starts around 11,980 euros, or about $15,000, in Germany.

Underscoring the Corsa's renewed attention to style, supermodel Claudia Schiffer assisted with the reveal, and Opel used a fashion-show theme for its press conference. In addition to the style, Opel added plenty of substance to the new Corsa, and it will feature an array of technology, including blind-spot alerts, a front camera and traffic sign recognition. Another feature, called
"city mode," increases the steering's power assistance at lower speeds to help the driver navigate congested urban areas.

The Corsa will also be sold under the Vauxhall brand in the United Kingdom.

Scroll down for more detail and videos detailing the design and technology.

Opel at Paris Motor Show

In Top Shape: New Opel Corsa Sets Standards in Small Car Segment

– Fifth generation Corsa continues 32-year-long success story
– Comfortable, strong and economical: New chassis and powertrain technology raise standards
– Top connectivity: IntelliLink integrates smartphone functionalities
– Active safety: Innovative driver assistance systems protect Corsa occupants
– Enhanced appeal: Striking looks with signature brand styling elements

Rüsselsheim/Paris. The Opel Corsa is well established as a perennial bestseller: through four model generations spanning 32 years, almost 12 million Corsas have been sold across Europe. Together with the Astra, it is Opel's most popular model, accounting for over a quarter of the company's sales every year. Available in three and five-door body formats, the Corsa is currently number four in the small car segment in Western Europe. In Germany and the United Kingdom, it is number two and still keeping the competition at bay. When the new fifth-generation Corsa rolls off the assembly lines in Eisenach and Zaragoza at the end of this year, a star will be born to continue the model's success in the small car segment. It has everything it takes to do so. The chic, fifth generation Corsa offers a fresh look and a fresh driving experience with a new chassis and optimized steering, combining the art of German engineering with emotional design, superb digital connectivity and a great price/performance ratio. New generation gasoline and profoundly reworked diesel turbo engines ensure a new level of comfort, top performance and low fuel consumption. The fifth-generation Corsa can already be ordered in Germany at an attractive entry-level price of just 11,980 euros (3-door, 1.2 gasoline engine; 750 euros more for the family-friendly five-door model – RRP incl. VAT in Germany).

"The Opel Corsa has always been widely praised, particularly for its appealing looks and its efficient use of space within compact dimensions," says Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann, CEO Opel Group. "I am confident the new fifth generation, with its new level of comfort, its modern driver assistance and infotainment systems, will continue the model's exemplary success. I promise that the driving experience of the new Corsa will surprise everyone."

Absolute precision: New chassis and steering for top driving stability

The new chassis does not inherit a single component from the current model. Straight line and cornering stability is increased thanks to a center of gravity lowered by 5 mm, a stiffer sub-frame and new suspension geometry including a new front knuckle. Roll behavior, steering response and understeer characteristics are all improved. New damping characteristics also give the fifth-generation Corsa better filtration of disturbances from potholes and uneven road surfaces, providing exemplary comfort in a small car. The development of a completely new electrical architecture enables a more sophisticated level of interaction between the car's various systems. New steering geometry and steering software calibration benefit the new, speed-sensitive electric power steering system: it has a more precise response and improves both driving pleasure and comfort.

Power and comfort: New three-cylinder engine and gearbox for more driving fun

The highlight under the hood of the new Corsa is the installation of Opel's newly-developed gasoline-powered three-cylinder, 1.0 ECOTEC Direct Injection Turbo. Just premiered in the Opel ADAM, this ultra-modern pocket powerhouse that has been designed from a clean sheet of paper sets a new class benchmark for exceptionally low noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) characteristics, as well as high driving comfort: the compact, all-aluminum 1.0 ECOTEC Direct Injection Turbo is fitted with a counter-rotating balancer shaft – a unique feature in its class. It is available in two output configurations, giving 66 kW/90 hp or 85 kW/115 hp. Both of course already meet Euro 6 emission standards, and the 66 kW/90 hp version only consumes 4.3 l/100 km in the combined cycle for emissions of just 100 g/km CO2. Opel's new generation small gasoline engine does not only stand out with its quietness and silence, but also with its great responsiveness thanks to its massive torque already available at low revs. Both versions pump out 170 Nm of torque from just 1,800 rpm.
The gasoline powertrain line-up also includes 1.2 and 1.4-liter four-cylinder engines. New to the range is a 74 kW/100 hp 1.4-liter turbo with 200 Nm maximum torque available from 1,850 to 3,500 rpm. This makes it the current torque hero within the new Corsa powertrain portfolio. Of course, both engines meet Euro 6 emission standards.

Completely revised, more refined and now also Euro 6 compliant 1.3 CDTI engines with 55 kW/75 hp and 70 kW/95 hp expand the Corsa's powertrain offer. At launch, the most frugal Corsa diesel variant – with 70 kW/95 hp, a five-speed manual gearbox and braking energy recuperation system – can reduce the three-door model's CO2 emissions down to 85 g/km and fuel consumption down to 3.2 l/100 km over the combined cycle. This earns it the German A+ energy efficiency label (according to Regulation [EC] No 715/2007).

But it is not only all-new and further developed engines which make the new Corsa even more fun and comfortable to drive. The introduction of new transmissions also contributes to the enhanced driving experience and improved efficiency. Both versions of the 1.0 ECOTEC Direct Injection Turbo are mated to an all-new, compact six-speed manual gearbox, which is distinguished by low friction design for its internal components and exemplary shift precision and comfort. New six-speed automatic transmission is also available in the new generation Corsa, introducing a higher level of driving luxury for the small car segment and setting a standard previously reserved for larger vehicle classes. In addition, with the Corsa, Opel launches a new generation automated transmission: Easytronic 3.0. Mated with the 66 kW/90 hp 1.4 gasoline engine, it impresses with excellent fuel efficiency (4.7 liter/100 km, 110g/km CO2) and a substantially smoother gear shifting compared to the previous unit. Easytronic affordably combines the comfort of an automatic with the efficiency of a manual gearbox. As it only costs half the price of a converter-based transmission, it is a great alternative for price-sensitive customers who do not want to forgo the comfort offered by an automatic.

Stylish: Opel design philosophy and clean interior with new IntelliLink

Designers of the new Corsa have combined its popular, dynamic silhouette with flowing, sculptural lines and precise details which characterize Opel's award-winning design philosophy. The new frontal styling incorporates elegantly chiseled headlamps, with wing-shaped LED daytime running lights, and a trapezoidal-shaped grille carrying a dominant chrome bar and the Opel logo. This fascia gives the new Corsa an enhanced presence on the road. The rear end has a lean, stretched and athletic look: the wide horizontally split tail lights help to visually widen the car and also flow round to the rear shoulders, giving the Corsa an even better stance. At just 4.02 meters in length, the Opel bestseller still offers plenty of space for up to five occupants – in both family-friendly, five-door and sporty three-door body formats.

The Corsa's high-quality cabin is also stylish, modern and designers have given it a new level of inspiring sophistication. The cleanly designed cockpit is organized along stretched horizontal lines that enhance the feeling of spaciousness. It is laid out around an eye-catching driver control center and the instrument panel fascia. The optional IntelliLink infotainment system's 7-inch color touchscreen is ideally located on the center stack, between driver and front passenger. Opel's award-winning infotainment system offers optimum connectivity opportunities. It is compatible with Apple and Android devices and makes the Corsa the best connected small car on the market. The driver can use apps like BringGo for navigation, as well as Stitcher and TuneIn for worldwide radio and podcast reception. The integration of Apple iOS devices within IntelliLink enables SIRI EYES FREE voice control. This makes it possible for drivers to hear an incoming SMS read aloud or dictate an SMS and emails – all while keeping their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road ahead.

Assistant on board: Ultra-modern systems increase driving comfort and safety

"With the fifth generation Corsa, we want to offer a new driving experience in this vehicle class in term of pleasure, comfort and safety," says Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann. "This is why our bestseller is coming onto the market with so many new technologies."

At the touch of a button, the City mode of the steering system, fitted as standard except when the Opel Eye front camera is chosen, increases power assistance at lower speeds, which is particularly useful when maneuvering in congested urban areas. Hill Start Assist also comes as standard. It maintains the brake function for about two seconds. This prevents the Corsa from rolling back when starting on a slope.

The new Corsa introduces a host of driver assistance systems, many of which are unrivalled in its vehicle class. The Advanced Park Assist identifies spaces and automatically parks the vehicle, without the driver touching the wheel. This ultrasonic sensor-based system measures suitable parallel or perpendicular parking spots, calculates the vehicle's trajectory and automatically steers the Corsa into a parking space. The Advanced Park Assist always comes with Side Blind Spot Alert, which also uses the ultrasonic sensors to warn the driver of an imminent collision when changing lanes. The sensors have a range of three meters to the left and right of the vehicle, and detect objects or other vehicles in the driver's blind spots. Whenever another vehicle comes within range of the sensors, a warning LED illuminates in the relevant exterior door mirror. The second-generation Opel Eye front camera, with Traffic Sign Recognition, Lane Departure Warning, High Beam Assist, Following Distance Indication and Forward Collision Warning, also further increases driving safety. To further increase safety, the new generation Corsa can be equipped with a Bi-Xenon lighting system that includes cornering light.

By Greg Migliore