By: Jesse Adams
Opel’s funky little Adam hatch is already brimming with flavour, but now it also comes with some extra pepper under the hood.
Launched in South Africa last week, the limited-edition Adam S does away with the weaker two engine options available in our market up until now, and in their place is the same 1.4 turbo as found in the bigger Corsa Sport .
With 110kW and 220Nm the S is a good chunk more powerful than the 85kW/170Nm range of 1-litre Adams launched early last year, and it outdoes the base 1.4 by plenty, but its outputs still hardly qualify in modern hot-hatch big leagues.
But, because it tips scales at an especially light 1 178kg the Adam S clobbers its Corsa Sport sibling in power-to-weight ratio, even if its claimed 0-100km/h figure of 8.5 seconds and top speed of 210 aren’t quite up to snuff against direct market rivals Citroën DS3, Ford Fiesta ST and Fiat 500 Abarth.
RACY KIT
Opel hasn’t gone as far as limited-slip differentials or snappy twin-clutch auto gearboxes, but the warmed-up Adam does get a functional roof spoiler, stiffer suspension at all four corners, and a set of buckety Recaro seats. The previous Corsa OPC’s parts bin has also been raided and a set of bigger 308mm front-brake discs and red-painted callipers have been thrown in to make the slow match the go.
The Adam’s chassis is also based on the current Corsa’s but with dimensions shrunken down into a much more compact package. Where less powerful iterations seem to beg for more power, the new S is able to much better exploit the short wheelbase and wide track – the end result being one of the nimblest little medium-performance micro-hatches for sale today.
ON TRACK
Last week’s media launch was based at the notoriously twisty Aldo Scribante racetrack in Port Elizabeth, where we were able to push the car well beyond what it’ll be asked to do in normal day to day driving environments. The new 1.4 turbo starts building a head of steam just around the 3 000rpm mark, and while it doesn’t exactly pull with the ferocity of, say, an Astra OPC, it’s still boosty enough to be exciting between corners.
But, it’s in the corners where the Adam S really shines. The upgraded springs are firm enough to almost completely eliminate body roll, and without too much lean it’s able to lay down front-wheel traction quite effectively, even without an LS diff.
Turn in is radically sharp, and understeer only rears its ugly head with completely silly attempts at corner speed. The brakes too are exceptional and showed no signs of fading after hours upon hours of hotlaps in 30 degree weather.
Unfortunately our test drives were limited to the circuit only, so I’m not able to comment on how the feisty little Adam feels out on the road.
I do suspect, however, that the taut suspension setup and low-profile 18” rubber will make for quite a jittery ride on rougher surfaces.
NICELY APPOINTED
The Adam S is based on the Adam Jam Xtreme specification package, meaning that cruise control, power windows, automatic parking, blind-spot alert and an Intellilink touchscreen media interface are included as standard equipment. The only options here are a choice of three two-tone colour packages, and numerous interchangeable trim pieces such as the grille, dashboard and mirror caps which can be unclipped and swopped for other colours.
The Adam S comes with a five-year/120 000km warranty and three-year/60 000km service plan. Pricing is set at R330 000, but only 50 units have been allocated to South Africa. Opel SA says it’s not ruling out further allotments, but fears exchange rates could raise later pricing beyond feasible levels.
It also says an even hotter Adam OPC is possible, but has not yet been confirmed.
Follow Jesse Adams on Twitter: @PoorBoyLtd