Being active in sports can be very easy. Provided you have a motivating training partner and a strong back.
At the beginning of the year, many people are still motivated to implement the New Year's resolutions. More time for the family, less stress and more sport are high on the agenda of good intentions. Well, according to experience, the verve lets up quickly. At the very least, doing sports is quite easy, provided you rely on the right "training device" and use, for example, the Opel Corsa GSi.
The model variant with the succinct abbreviation (Grand Sport injection) has Opel end 2018 in the program and has remained true to its tradition to offer in each Corsa generation, starting with the Corsa A of 1988, a GSi model. Unlike previous years, the Opel engineers have in current Corsa E for cost reasons, however, no special powerful engine implanted, but resorted to the 110 kW / 150 PS strong 1,4-liter turbo back, which is already offered in the Corsa.
Before well-trained athletes in the possession of more powerful riot boxes like a Polo GTI or Ford Fiesta ST mock themselves: However, 150 HP is enough to be sporty and active, especially in winter when the weather is bad; for beginners anyway. The latter should be lured to more will to move through fun.
This motivating approach is pursued by the small Opel. This also means training willing to frighten not by too intense muscle or loud loud noise. The GSi therefore drives quite discreetly. The large air intakes in the front apron, the slightly more eye-catching honeycomb grille, side skirts, roof spoiler, red painted calipers and 18 Zöller do not attract much attention. Maybe also because the observers are busy with the classification of the paint. Orange? Yellow? Or just glowing?
When boarding, however, shows that the little Opel means serious about being athletic. The Recaro leather seats are tight sporty cut, the aluminum sports pedals and the sports steering wheel also suggest that it can go down to business. But not directly. If you start the engine, it is comparatively quiet. No sound generator amplifies the engine noise. Quietly, the four-cylinder starts its work. If you want, you can take it easy now. Be it that the streets are wet and / or leafy, or that busy traffic stifles sporting ambitions in the bud: with the GSi, you can drive from A to B in a very relaxed manner. One enjoys the good equipment, which scores straight in wet-cold grubby weather with steering wheel and seat heating as well as optional heatable windscreen. The space of the three-door is incidentally right in the back, it is cuddly behind, since the sports seats occupy a lot of space. The rear end users should also be advanced by Pilates stretching exercises, so as to meander on the seat backs of the sports seats to their seats.
However, if road and traffic conditions are right, sporty locomotion is on the program. By means of the crisp six-gear shift, the torque curve is kept in the range between 3.000 and 4.500 revolutions in order to utilize the maximum 220 Nm. From 0 to Tempo 100's theoretically in 8,9 seconds and reaching the top speed of 207 km / h, makes no problems on free highways.
Especially on winding roads shows how the GSi differs from the normal, 150 PS strong Corsa. Sports suspension and front and rear axles were implanted from the GSC OPC offer. In addition, the little athlete has special mechanical dampers, which are softer or harder depending on the load. This makes it easy to bump through bends, leaving the vehicle sporty and relaxed thanks to the sensitive damper settings and the direct-response steering. With this locomotion gear, one also knows what the vehicle has the engumschließenden sports seats on board. These are not necessarily comfortable, especially if you do not have the body of a well-trained athlete, but give very good support. Speaking of comfort: ride comfort was not necessarily at the top of the specifications of chassis tuning. At the end of a ride, your back knows where bumps, potholes and other roadside mishaps can be found. In a driving mix of cozy couch potato and sporty frolic, the average consumption of 8,4 liters settled down, two liters more than the norm dictates.
Exercising with the little GSi is not a cheap pleasure. Opel is calling him 20.040 euros, around 2.000 euros more than for the standard Corsa with the 150 hp turbo. Our test car had extras for just under 8.000 euros on board. The sports seats alone cost a good 2.000 euros, plus the assistant package comes with traffic sign recognition for 700 euros. Even if you do without GPS, metallic paint or an 18-inch model, you are still at the price level of a 200 PS Polo GTI or Fiesta ST. By the way: If you want to own a Corsa GSi, you should hurry. At the end of the year the new Corsa generation came onto the market, then for the first time as a member of the PSA family. It remains to be seen whether the tradition of the GSi variant will be maintained.
Elfriede Munsch / SP-X
Opel Corsa GSi - Technical Specifications:
Three-door, five-seat small car, length: 4,02 meter, width: 1,74 meter (with outside mirrors 1,94 meter), height: 1,48 meter. Wheelbase: 2,51 meter, trunk volume: 280 - 1.090 liters
1,4-liter four-cylinder turbo petrol engine, 110 kW / 150 PS, maximum torque: 220 Nm at 3.00 - 4.500 rpm, Vmax: 207 km / h, 0-100 km / h: 8,9 s, Average consumption: 6,4 l / 100 km, CO2 emissions: 147 g / km, emissions standard: Euro 6d-temp, efficiency class: E, test consumption: 8,4 l / 100 km
Price from: 20.040 Euro
Brief description:
Why: because you want to do sports again
Why not: because you're more of a couch potato
What else: Ford Fiesta ST-Line with 140 PS, Suzuki Swift Sport as well as VW Polo GTI and Ford Fiesta ST