Meet the Opel Corsa B – From the Old Box

In the early 1980s, Opel entered the fast-growing compact car market. Where Volkswagen mainly ruled the roost with the Polo and Ford with the Fiesta, from 1982 there was also an answer from Opel. A somewhat conservatively designed answer and that would be an often recurring point of criticism until the end of the Corsa A’s no less than 11-year career. So that had to be better with the new Corsa. At the beginning of 1993 it became clear that Opel had taken the criticism to heart. The Corsa B was a fresh appearance that, as we noted when we got to know it, was ‘nothing more reminiscent of the old one’.

Smoother lines and larger

So the first look at the new Opel Corsa was positive. “Opel’s styling team put a set of smooth, curved lines on paper, which formed the basis for this kitty Opel. If we look closely, we even find some Japanese touches. It makes the Corsa a very smooth car.” Then we were actually talking about two cars, because the Corsa three and five doors looked quite different to our surprise. “It is striking that they are completely different from the rear. The three-door has a sporty profile with a quickly sloping roof. The five-door is more conservatively lined and has an almost straight rear. Tailgate and light blocks are also different. Opel expects that they will each have their own get a fan base.”

As is often the case with a generation change, the Corsa B was larger than the A. That also worked out positively in our opinion. It was therefore a bit more pleasant in the Corsa. “In the front we have no problem at all to accommodate our 1.81 meter long body; there is more headroom than before. In the back, the Corsa offers a surprising amount of legroom, about seven centimeters more than in its predecessor. In the three-door we are still in the back with our heads against the roof, but in the five-door there is about four centimeters more headroom. So that is the variant you should choose if you regularly want to take larger children or adults in the back.” More positive news? Yes: the luggage space in the back was also increased and there was a lower tildrempel. However, we found the lining of the trunk a bit disappointing.

OK, not great

Once behind the wheel of the Corsa, we immediately noticed that the dashboard was nicely designed. As far as we are concerned, the design deserved a compliment and the digital display certainly received our approval: “All Corsas have a digital panel in the middle of the dashboard. It shows the time from left to right, the tuned radio station and (unique in this class) to read the outside temperature.” We were less pleased with the quality experience. Opel had dropped stitches there, we thought. “By using plastics with different textures and a mediocre fit of the various panels, the dashboard makes a qualitatively less impression than the rest of the car. In addition, with such a cheerful coat we get a bit sad about all those shades of gray in the interior .”

The handling itself was good, but not above average. We found the 60 hp 1.4 in the popular (as it turned out later) Swing test car to do its job sufficiently. The power was sufficient for the small Corsa and the engine was not very audible. We were less pleased with the vague clutch and ditto gearbox. Little feeling in both and ‘the gear lever is further back than you are used to’. “The steering is clearly more precise with considerably more feeling. Suspension and damping are geared to comfort, a good choice for this type of car. The chassis does have some difficulty with small bumps, which are passed on to the passengers in a less filtered way. The seats provide a good seat: sufficiently firm and well supported.” So positive and some disappointing points, but all in all we found the new Opel Corsa a ‘nice driving car’.

More for more

The starting price of the new Opel Corsa was 1,350 guilders above that of the Corsa A and we thought that was a significant increase. Well, one that was worth it as far as we were concerned. The Corsa B made a much better impression than its predecessor on many fronts and came standard with many modern plus points compared to the A: “Such as seat belt tensioners, the digital display, adjustable dashboard lighting, six speakers, a pollen filter and a five-speed gearbox”. The Corsa therefore seemed to have a bright future ahead. That turned out to be true: it became the most popular Opel Corsa ever in the Netherlands. Every year, between 14,000 and more than 17,000 copies were sold in our country.

Do you have special memories of the Corsa B? Let me know in the comments!