Flexing its value: Opel’s Adam Jam 1.0 EcoFlex
R350 000 doesn’t buy you a heck of a lot of large car or hatch, but strangely R215 000 can get you almost all you need. An entry level executive hatch is like an empty shopping cart wanting for options, so why then are small hatchbacks leading the technology charge? Trevor van de Ven drives the Opel Adam Jam to find out.
Adam is a neat little hatch
Like reflecting on fads like Croc sandals, Oakley Frogeyes and Levis Twisted jeans, it’s reassuring to see how far we have progressed in a ‘relatively’ short space of time
Five years ago finding a USB port in a car was the exclusive realm of a high-end brand. Auto park? Unheard of. Navigation? A R20 000 option. And if your BlackBerry integrated with anything, it was only with your email server and not the infotainment system in a small hatchback.
But the sad reality of today’s motoring times is that R250 000 doesn’t buy you a whole lot of car, and strangely R350 000 buys you even less. Surprisingly though, it’s in the sub-R250 000 segment that – broadly speaking – we are getting to experience some of the best cars launched in South Africa.
Forget the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class or Audi A4, which used to epitomise the pinnacle of new car technology. Today it is the emerging brands who have tapped into the desires and needs of the Generation-Next (or whatever we are calling the youth of today), and will lead the car desirability race in the future. Just look at Ford. Five years ago sales were lackluster, and there wasn’t really a Ford that people were queuing for come Saturday morning at the showroom. Nowadays Ford is the brand for the up-and-comers, the tech savvy, those who seek something that is equally cool, reliable and functional. And it’s here too where we find the Opel Adam, which might just be the poster-car for the new generation.
GM’s little baby from its German stable, Opel, is every bit the techno-marvel that I used to applaud the Mercedes Benz S-Class for being five years ago. The R218 800 Opel Adam Jam (base price R209 000) 1.0T, with the OPC Line (R8 300) and Twisted (R1 500) packs, is one of the most advanced hatches I’ve had the pleasure of driving. It is small in size but huge on new technology. That it makes you feel happy every time you look at it is an added bonus.
I wasn’t holding out for much. My daily is a even-year-old three-door diesel hatch. It doesn’t have a USB, satnav, voice control, parking assist, or climate control, but it did cost R200 000 back in 2007. So seven years later i question its value for money because with the Adam you realise that you get a whole lot more car for much less.
It’s not a tarted-up Chevy Sonic or re-bodied fourth generation Corsa. The Opel Adam was designed from the ground up and named after the founder of Opel, Adam Opel. It’s befitting then, that like its founder blazing new trails, it is a car that heralds the German brand into the new age. With technologies like the Intellilink entertainment system with a 7” touchscreen interface, seven speakers, voice integration if you are using an Apple device with Siri, a reverse parking camera, and its pièce de résistance, automated parking – both parallel and alley docking its every bit the techno showcase that the S-Class is for 15% of the price. And the tech is standard. A R700 000 executive saloon couldn’t do all of that unless you threw another R100 000, at it.
Unlike ‘integration’ systems in the likes of Ford and Fiat, Intellilink from Opel allows the driver access to audio streaming services like Tune-In Internet Radio or Stitcher for podcasts and even integrates satellite navigation through BringGo (for a simple in-app purchase) – simply load the app on a smartphone and access it through the entertainment system. It’s wonderfully simple. An iPhone integrates better with the system for browsing the audio library, while Bluetooth streaming worked better when tested with an LG G3 Android device. Of course the system includes hands-free phone functionality through Bluetooth.
And the power from that 1-litre?
Under the hood the turbocharged 1.0 three-cylinder petrol engine thumps out an admirable 85 kW and 170 Nm of torque between 1800 and 4500 RPM. If you’ve ever wondered what those figures mean, having 170 Nm of torque available from as little as 1800 RPM means you can pretty much step on the accelerator at anything above idle and be rocketed off into the moonlight/sunset/towards the horizon with more vigour than your old 1.6 4-cylinder petrol. Overtaking becomes a blast and hills pose little problem for maintaining speed. Best of all you’ll use less fuel.
Set aside your prejudices, there’s nothing wrong with today’s 1.0 engines.
It’s only a three door and that’s not going to suit everybody. You’re not likely going to trade a Hyundai Getz in on one if you’re concerned about practicality, but it’s plenty spacious inside despite its proportions – a perfect work-commuter. If you can see past its cutesy demeanor and lack of rear doors you will realise its value. Far cheaper than an Audi A1, Volkswagen Polo and even the Ford Fiesta, yet somehow the Adam has a sense of quality befitting something far grander. It has the competition beat.
For a little bit more you can get a more practical Corsa – a review of which will come in the near future – but for sheer customization and youthful spunk there’s little that can match the Opel Adam’s big heart. Five years ago I would have wanted to own something fast, something racy, something a lot more expensive nowadays I want an Opel Adam.
Quick Specs: Opel Adam Jam
Engine: 999 cc turbocharged petrol
Torque: 170 Nm @ 1800-4500 rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Claimed Consumption: 6.3 l/100 km urban (6.1 l/100 km as tested – mix of urban and highway)
Service Plan: 3-year/60 000 km Service Plan (15 000km intervals)
Warranty: 5-year/120 000 km
Price: R209 000 (Base Opel Adam Jam) OPC Twisted Line Pack (R9 800)
Visit the Opel site for more info
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