Buying a new car : Why I'm not buying the world car of the year 2010 (Polo)

[Rouxenator]

So this weekend I decided its time to buy a new car again. I got my last new car 10 years ago for my 19th birthday and bought one used car since then. I did a little searching around and was surprised that my personal favorite, the Opel Corsa, is a much better deal than the oh so common Polo, the world car of the year 2010 I might add.

Hopefully I will pick up my new Corsa 1.4 Essentia in Ultra Blue (looks like baby blue to me) tomorrow. Here is what makes the Corsa a much better deal than the Polo 1.4 :

Feature	Opel Corsa Essentia 1.4	Volkswagen Polo Trendline 1.4
More Power	74kw@5600rpm	63kw@5000rpm
Lower Emissions Level	Euro 5	Euro 2
Less CO2 Emissions	127g/km	144g/km
More Economical	7 / 4.6 / 5.5	8 / 4.9 / 6.1
Airconditioner	Yes	No (R9,280.00 option)
Electric Mirrors	Yes	No
Alloy Wheels	Yes	No
Multi-function steering wheel	Yes	No (R900.00 option)
MP3 Radio	Yes	No (R4,300.00 option)
Speakers	7	4
Warranty	5 years	3 years
Looks Boxy	No	Yes
Boring Interior	No	Yes
Price	R157,720.00	R144,900.00
Price after extras	R157,720.00	R159,380.00

Not only is the Corsa cheaper when you look at all the extra you have to add, you still end up with a better car overall. Plus its a much more unique car in a sea Yaros and Polis's.

I know some people have this bizarre misconception that Opels are inferior to VWs, well a week ago I went to Sutherland and apart from the fact that my 9 year old Astra made it further up the completely snow covered pass than most other 4x2s (yes we had to turn around on the 1st attempt) it also started first time every time no fan belt squeal - more than I can say of younger VWs that was around.

With temperatures ranging from -4 to 0 all day round I was happy to see at least two old Kaddett Cubs (looked like locals) driving through this small Karroo town without weird noises. So no - VW is no better than Opel and judging from the comparison above it is overpriced and under-speced too. The only thing it has going for it is "perceived quality" - well perception can only change with time and when the price is considered.

 

[the_don46]

Newer Opels are huge improvements.. VW is probably a better quality car but also very much over priced. I would do the same if I had only these 2 cars to choose from. Why? Because Opel is offering more value. Simple. And that's why GM has one more sale, and not VW

 

[geezer]

well a week ago I went to Sutherland

What were you doing in my birthplace! I was born there in the local hospital 47 years and 4 months ago. Still have family there, all of them farming.

 

[Rouxenator]

What were you doing in my birthplace! I was born there in the local hospital 47 years and 4 months ago. Still have family there, all of them farming.

I'm hijacking my own thread here, but for the fun of it :

We went there cause my wife has been nagging me for years now and I have not done anything special for our last 3 anniversaries so I told her we can go if it makes up the the past ones and the coming one this year. What we did not bargain on was the massive cold front that struck the Cape last week Monday. When I filled up the Ultra City in Worcester at 1pm it was 5'C and just after the De Doorns pass we encounter snow for the first time in our lives. This was fun until we got to the Verlatenvallei pass just before Sutherland. The Astra had pretty good handling for a car with no ABS or ESP but there is only so far you can go with front-wheel drive in the snow. We had to turn round and spent the night on a farm at the foot of the pass. The next day we almost made it to the top - with a little hilux 4x4 power the Astra made it to the town

This was just before Touwsriver 2pm

After turning around on the pass it was snowing like this

The coldest temperature at which I started the Astra (ever)

BTW - I am keeping the Astra, it has 174,000km on the clock now. Trading in my 2006 Corsa Lite for the new Corsa.

 

[Freaksta]

So this weekend I decided its time to buy a new car again. I got my last new car 10 years ago for my 19th birthday and bought one used car since then. I did a little searching around and was surprised that my personal favorite, the Opel Corsa, is a much better deal than the oh so common Polo, the world car of the year 2010 I might add.

Hopefully I will pick up my new Corsa 1.4 Essentia in Ultra Blue (looks like baby blue to me) tomorrow.

Not only is the Corsa cheaper when you look at all the extra you have to add, you still end up with a better car overall. Plus its a much more unique car in a sea Yaros and Polis's.

I know some people have this bizarre misconception that Opels are inferior to VWs, well a week ago I went to Sutherland and apart from the fact that my 9 year old Astra made it further up the completely snow covered pass than most other 4x2s (yes we had to turn around on the 1st attempt) it also started first time every time no fan belt squeal - more than I can say of younger VWs that was around.

With temperatures ranging from -4 to 0 all day round I was happy to see at least two old Kaddett Cubs (looked like locals) driving through this small Karroo town without weird noises. So no - VW is no better than Opel and judging from the comparison above it is overpriced and under-speced too. The only thing it has going for it is "perceived quality" - well perception can only change with time and when the price is considered.

I looked at the exact same thing two years ago but i did it with every car in that sort of price range.. Opel, citeron, vw, ford, etc... And for value for money you could not beat the Opel, it had all the little extras that none of the other cars had such a speed control, electric mirrors, onboard computer for fuel consumption etc... I ended up getting my Opel corsa Enjoy in 2008 and i am very happy with it so far.. No problems at all so far, good service so far and good drive

Have fun with your new car!

 

[Stokstert]

Enjoy your new Opel and may it be a trouble free marriage. (No pun intended)

 

[Ou grote]

I'm hijacking my own thread here, but for the fun of it :

We went there cause my wife has been nagging me for years now and I have not done anything special for our last 3 anniversaries so I told her we can go if it makes up the the past ones and the coming one this year. What we did not bargain on was the massive cold front that struck the Cape last week Monday. When I filled up the Ultra City in Worcester at 1pm it was 5'C and just after the De Doorns pass we encounter snow for the first time in our lives. This was fun until we got to the Verlatenvallei pass just before Sutherland. The Astra had pretty good handling for a car with no ABS or ESP but there is only so far you can go with front-wheel drive in the snow. We had to turn round and spent the night on a farm at the foot of the pass. The next day we almost made it to the top - with a little hilux 4x4 power the Astra made it to the town

This was just before Touwsriver 2pm

After turning around on the pass it was snowing like this

The coldest temperature at which I started the Astra (ever)

BTW - I am keeping the Astra, it has 174,000km on the clock now. Trading in my 2006 Corsa Lite for the new Corsa.

That looks like a cool trip.
I'm going to do that soon.

I was up the Swartberg pass and a few few others in the garden route last weekend.
Was awesome.

Saw a Hyundai Getz going up the Swartberg pass in the rain, nippy little cars those.

 

[Rouxenator]

Enjoy your new Opel and may it be a trouble free marriage. (No pun intended)

I know you are a VAG lover but I really enjoy your comments on my posts I am very excited about my new Opel indeed. I have never bought one new, only a Ford new, never an Opel.

That looks like a cool trip.
I'm going to do that soon.

I was up the Swartberg pass and a few few others in the garden route last weekend.
Was awesome.

Saw a Hyundai Getz going up the Swartberg pass in the rain, nippy little cars those.

What a coincidence! I did Swartberg pass on my honeymoon - in the Astra when it was just a few 100km shy of 100,000km. It was an unforgeable drive and my wife cried her eyes out cause she is really afraid of heights. Luckily there was no rain but it was back in September 2006, a month after they they had those terrible floods that wiped out part of the N2 at Wilderness. Lets just say my idea of a shortcut to avoid the N2 did not work out well.... :erm: But we did still sleep in the same bed that night

In retrospect I guess the only thing that did get dirty on my honeymoon was the Astra :

 

[Brawler]

Great choice!

The new Corsa is always a pleasure to drive.

 

[alkit]

Why not look at the Hyundai i20? You can get the 1.6 in that price range...

 

[Rosaudio]

lolz Opel sucks

 

[Rouxenator]

lolz Opel sucks

Yeah, if you read my post about driving below freezing point you'd know just how much Opel sucks. Oh, wait a minute, that was about how much VW sucks

 

[Rosaudio]

Which car manufacturer actually sucks more than Opel?


Vauxhall

 

[Rouxenator]

Well, I'm sure that if the Corsa had a Vauxhall badge on it would still be better value for money (as pointed out in the first post) than VAGs.
Quit trying to argue with cold hard facts - VW is over priced, undersped'ed and common.

 

[Rosaudio]

Well, I'm sure that if the Corsa had a Vauxhall badge on it would still be better value for money (as pointed out in the first post) than VAGs.
Quit trying to argue with cold hard facts - VW is over priced, undersped'ed and common.

The reason VAGs are common and Opels are not is because the masses know which the better car is!

 

[Rouxenator]

The reason VAGs are common and Opels are not is because the masses know which the better car is!

The masses might like VAGs or simply buy them because they have no minds and just do what the rest do. But perhaps Opel is on the right hand side of the bell curve, you know, along with Mercedes, Jaguar and other not so popular but excellent cars.

 

[BCO]

Just got this press release, Roux:

Opel’s popular B-segment hatch, the Corsa 1.4 Enjoy, Essentia and 1.4 Sport are now available in South Africa with an upgraded drive train. The new Euro 5 compliant engine sees an increase in power from 66 kW to 74 kW and torque increases from 125 Nm to 130 Nm. Opel’s new engines offer substantial improvements in performance whilst at the same time reducing CO2 emissions with a new figure of 129 g/100km down from 146 g/100km, which is an improvement of 13% on the previous engine. Fuel consumption is now 5, 5 l/100 km down from 5.8 l/100 km.

“Opel has done well to improve the performance of the Corsa 1.4 and at the same time reduce the impact of our vehicles on the environment by reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The 2010 Corsa 1.4 has a more powerful engine with better performance than the previous models and the lowest CO2 emissions in its class. All 2010 models now incorporate a shift indicator in the cluster to help the driver reduce fuel consumption by driving more economically,” says GMSA Passenger Vehicle Marketing Manager Tim Hendon.

The 1.4 Eco-tech is lighter and more fuel efficient. It features variable valve timing and port de-activation technology to reduce CO2 emissions and fuel consumption out on the road. A new oil pump also contributes to the lower fuel consumption of this engine as it now gives optimised oil pressure and reduced friction.

The chassis and rear axle have undergone substantial revisions resulting in significantly improved driving comfort, further strengthening one of Corsa’s biggest attributes of being a fun to drive vehicle.

Most of the steering components have been reworked for the 2010 Opel Corsa line up resulting in a high degree of steering precision and excellent steering response.

The Opel Corsa range which has consistently been in the top ten in its segment offers unparalleled driving dynamics delivered through innovative German technology. It also boasts a wide range of models from the entry level Corsa 1.4 Essentia retailing at R 162, 350.00 to the range topping Corsa OPC at R 254, 900.00.

The complete Opel Corsa model line up available in South Africa includes:

1.4 Essentia A/C 5dr R 162,350.00
1.4 Enjoy 5dr R 179,750.00
1.6 Sport 5dr R 224,400.00
1.4 Sport Sunroof 3dr R 191,500.00
Corsa OPC 3dr R 254,900.00

Be aware of that before you buy. *edit* looking at the stats you posted it seems you already know the new info.

 

[Rouxenator]

Thanks for the heads up - but yes - I knew that.

I was at Reeds on Saturday, was actually planning on buying a low mileage used Enjoy model but when I heard they were all ex-rentals I changed my mind. This was when the salesperson pointed out that the new Essentia range has everything the Enjoy had except for cruise control and it also has more power because of the whole EU5 upgrade. Guess I am buying at just the right time them

Shame, and to think I did actually also considered a Polo! Glad it was blown out of the water by Opel (again).

 

[Brawler]

1.6 Sport 5dr R 224,400.00

Scary

 

[Rouxenator]

1.6 Sport 5dr R 224,400.00

Scary

To quote the salesperson when I asked about the sport model "Wil jy regtig R225 duisend vir 'n Corsa betaal ?"