From a branding perspective, Opel’s re-entry into the New Zealand market has come at an opportune time – after all, it’s not often that a 161-year-old brand reappears with a logo that is perfectly suited to a massive change in what moves the cars we drive.
I am, of course, referring to the "blitz" logo, or in other words, the little lightning bolt in a circle that sits on the nose of the little orange all-electric Corsa-e you see before you.
Now that Opel is part of the Stellantis family, the Corsa no longer shares its underpinnings with cars we can loosely group under the “Things we used to know as Holdens” umbrella, but instead shares its bits under the skin with Peugeots and Citroens. More specifically in this case, the Corsa-e shares a lot with the fantastic little Peugeot e-208. This sets the Corsa up rather nicely with the chance to be a very good thing indeed, as the 208 is a thoroughly delightful car to drive.
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First impressions, however, aren’t quite so exciting. In fact, “not quite so exciting” is a very good way to sum the Corsa up when compared to the 208: where the little Peugeot is all sharp edges and strikingly handsome design, the Corsa looks more like it is a leftover from the early 2000s, with a rather generic design that could have easily worn a Holden badge. Or a Vauxhall one. Or a Daewoo one...
That’s not so say it is unattractive or unpleasant, just, well, ordinary and a bit dated. Still, back in 2000 this would have been a cracking looking little car.
The slightly generic/not too interesting theme continues on the inside, with far less sizzle and design flair than its sister Peugeot brings to the small hatch party. Again, it’s not offensive; it just would be more at home blasting “Smooth” by Santata on its stereo than anything from this decade.
It’s not as high quality as the Peugeot either, with more hard plastics and rough edges, plus those gloss red highlights clash horribly with the exterior orange. However, the seats are superb and the driving position is perfect, so that’s something the little German definitely inherited from its French cousin.
Happily, as it turns out, it also inherited the 208’s superb dynamics, engaging character and pin-sharp accuracy on the road as well, meaning that while the wrapping may be dull, the present inside is quite brilliant.
Like the e-208, the Corsa-e's power delivery is tuned to be more like an ICE vehicle so lacks the neck-snapping off-the-line responses of a lot of EVs, but that more progressive power delivery shines when it is up and running.
The fatter mid-range torque and flatter power delivery means powering out of corners is muscular and superbly adjustable with the throttle, only descending into gentle understeer when you have got it wrong.
The steering is sharp and accurate, while the chassis is so delightfully agile - and largely unaffected by the extra weight that batteries bring - that you could easily forget the Corsa is an EV and simply think it is a very well-sorted small ICE-powered hatch.
Ride quality is also impressive, with the Corsa sharing the 208’s supple, yet tightly controlled responses to all road surfaces, making it not only great fun on a winding road, but impressively comfortable on a longer cruise.
While the Opel shares all the Peugeot’s good qualities on the road, it also shares the one less-than-good quality in the form of a soft, spongy brake pedal. Like the Peugeot, the brakes are perfectly fine and always come through when you need them, but the pedal simply feels awful, with a total lack of feel. If you have ever driven an early Toyota Prius, you will know the feeling.
However, this is the sole dark spot in the Corsa’s otherwise shining on-road abilities and one that actually gets less jarring the more time you spend with it.
The Corsa packs a 50kWh battery, with a claimed WLTP range of 383km, with an achievable real world range of easily more than 300.
The Peugeot may be the more stylish and interesting option, but we aren’t all after that – the Corsa fills that less showy gap nicely, albeit perhaps a little too enthusiastically, erring on being slightly dated and dull looking, rather than simply conservative.
But get it out on the road and it shines brightly with all the good qualities of the Peugeot in terms of ride, handling and performance.
OPEL CORSA-E
BATTERY: 50kWh lithium-ion with single electric motor
POWER: 100kW/260Nm
GEARBOX: Single-speed automatic, FWD
0-100KM/H: 8.1 seconds
CONSUMPTION: 15.2kWh per 100km, range 383km (WLTP)
PRICE: $59,990 ($8,625 Clean Car rebate)
