Is the Opel Adam the new Luxury Supermini to own?

Pretty City Potion

With the trendsetting new Adam, Opel is going for gold in the “boutique hatch” or “luxury supermini” segment, with fierce competitors like the Fiat 500, Mini Cooper and Alfa Mito. This is all part of the resurgence of the Opel brand, just like the recently launched Opel Corsa and the Opel Mokka, their quirky new crossover. Named after the founder of Opel, the Adam can be dressed up and embellished with colours, textures, interchangeable wheel clips and even valve covers in any colour combination that illustrates your individuality.

There are three Adams available in our local line-up: The naturally aspirated, 1.4 litre Adam (R189 900), the Adam Jam (R 209 900) and Adam Glam (R 232 900). I tested the mid-range Adam Jam, with the 1.0-litre ecoFLEX turbo engine, also found in the Glam derivative. It is mated to Opel’s latest 6-speed manual gearbox.

As nice as the Adam Jam is to look at, driving it is just as good. Even though I knew its little engine was quite capable, I didn’t quite expect the screeching rubber as I left my driveway. With a fiery 85 kW and 170 Nm to its disposal, the lithe and nimble Adam just bullets through traffic. My only gripe is with the steering which is too light to make the Adam Jam feel truly athletic. At highway speeds the Adam could also feel more stable. But as a city car, you really cannot ask for more. Fuel economy can be a pleasingly low 5 litres per 100km, but can easily spike to 6.8 if you’re always in a hurry, like me. If you tend to make the engine stall, the Adam will restart all on its own, to spare you the embarrassment.

Instead of copying the competitors’ retro interior, Opel decided on contemporary and clean, yet characterful and interesting. The upper part of the dashboard was covered in a black, embossed plastic and the rest of the front fascia in a type of lined, white perspex. This forms part of the “Pearl White” interior décor pack, which smacks of quality and good taste. I thought the instrument binnacle with luminous red backlighting and sporty needles on the rev counter and speedometer looked very upmarket and technical.

The Adam Jam is also fitted with Opel’s Intellilink infotainment system as standard, with images as crisp as a Highveld midwinter’s morning. You can connect your smartphone to the system (via Bluetooth) which has pre-loaded apps, such as navigation (BringGo South Africa), TuneIn Radio and Stitcher. If you want to use these apps, you need to have them installed on your smartphone as well. (Just remember that using these will incur data charges from your cell provider.) The Intellilink system is also voice activated for hands-free telephony.

And did you know the Jam and Glam models can also pretty much park themselves? By utilising the Intellilink System’s Park Assist 2, it recognises parallel and perpendicular parking spaces via sensors, and the Adam will continue to ease into the chosen spot with minimum human assistance. If you want to see how its done, check out our video review here.

The Adam is very roomy in front, and the footwells are particularly deep. Space in the rear allows for two small children, with short little legs. There are Isofix anchorage points. I wouldn’t really put adults into the back, unless they were dwarfs or amputees. And its pokey boot isn’t meant for much more than two weekend bags and a compact picnic basket. But the Adam isn’t exactly aimed at families. It is very safe though, with six airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, ESP Plus, Hill Start Assist, and Opel’s Side Blind Zone Alert, with warning lights in each each side mirror to prevent you from changing lanes if there’s a vehicle in your blind spot.

The Adam Jam is not super-affordable, but quality and performance come at a price. The person who drives an Adam will probably be an image conscious type with an above average income (or a student with a loaded dad). Opel describes its Adam as “The perfect uptown trendsetter”. In an automotive world ruled by budget and practicality, the Adam is an imaginative and refreshing alternative.

Facts & Figures

Price:	R209 900
Engine:	three-cylinder, turbopetrol
Power:	85 kW @ 5000 rpm
Torque:	170 Nm @ 1800 rpm
Top speed:	196 km/h
0 to 100 km/h:	9.9 seconds
Fuel tank:	38 litres
Realistic fuel consumption:	About 5 – 6.8 litres per 100 km (combined)
Boot size:	170 litres
Ground clearance:	125 mm
Warranty:	5 years / 120 000 km with roadside assistance
Service plan:	3 years / 60 000 km with 1 year / 15 000 km service intervals
Also consider:	Fiat 500, Mini Cooper, Citroën DS3