New Opel Corsa GSi lands here in May

The sporty looking Opel Corsa GSi will finally be available in South Africa from May 2019. Powering this cheeky newcomer is a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine that sends 110kW and 220Nm through a short-ratio six-speed manual gearbox. Opel claims that these numbers will see the car sprint to 100km/h in 8.9-seconds and run on to a claimed top speed of 207km/h.

To ensure nimble handling, the Opel engineers fitted the Corsa GSi with their OPC sports suspension system and brakes package, both of which were apparently perfected around the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife. Finishing the chassis off in style are 18-inch alloy wheels shod with high-grip tyres. Complemented by an aggressive body kit, the Corsa GSI certainly looks every bit the junior Astra OPC.

The interior is equally racy thanks to the addition of ultra-supportive Recaro front seats. Clad in black leather they'll definitely help keep your body pinned in position through high-speed corners. Other highlights include a small-diameter sports leather steering wheel plus full set of aluminium pedals. Aesthetically speaking Opel has done a great job.

In terms of price the new Corsa GSI will set you back R365,900 – kind of expensive for a hatchback that, despite looking the business, delivers fairly pedestrian on-paper performance figures. And the fact that the considerably quicker and more powerful Volkswagen Polo GTI is only R28,600 dearer doesn't seem to help its case either.