Opel Adam S – how does Little Red Riding Hood do in the 'hood'?

Fun cars.  Do these have to be a hot hatch or sports car?  Must these be expensive?  No, to these questions.

By way of introduction, why is the Adam S here?  When the much-hyped Adam finally made it to South Africa in just after New Year 2015, the marketing was all about its fun styling and character, in 3 distinct flavours:  the 1.4 base, or with the 1.0T 3-cylinder turbo engine, either the sportier-looking Jam or the luxury-spec Glam (for Glamourous) which you can have in purple, with a plum interior.  Then the Adam Rocks arrived, as reviewed, being a raised-height extra-cladding city hatch.  The sportiest is the Adam S, which arrived in February 2016, though only available in limited numbers – GMSA says only 50 will be imported.

Ready to play

The Adam S feels energised, full of zest, and ready to play.  Some reviews say the Adam S is disappointingly slowly, but don’t worry – the 8.5 is just someone’s decimal 0-100 km/h number, which does not indicate the mid-range punch this boy can throw.  OK, it is not exceptionally fast, but that is part of the fun: you see, you can floor the 1.4 turbo to hear its “give me more” grumble, and have quick reaction.  You’d want to plant your right foot whenever you wish… whether you’re a boy racer or someone who likes to drive briskly but not hard (not fast, of course, yet not thrashing the car).  If so, then this sportiest of Adams would have you grinning.

The engine may be “just” 1.4 litre in size, but remember it has an Opel turbo (they know how) under that super-compact bonnet.  110kW at 5000 and 220Nm from 3000-4000 are, again, just numbers – the number you should be moving your eyes to is the power:weight ratio of 93 W/kg, thanks to the light kerb weight of 1178kg.  Even with 3 adults on board, the Adam S will make mince-meat of a decent highway on-ramp, getting you to the speed limit before you’ve joined the multilane.

A benefit of a small engine with turbo in a fairly small/light car is the don’t-worry fuel consumption.  Opel says it will do 7.6 around town, 4.9 on open road, and a 5.9 mixed.  This car uses the proper modern l/100 km unit for its driving computer (unlike the Astra tested elsewhere which uses km/l) so when the time came to hand the Adam S back (teardrop) it showed 8.3 l/100km… and this was counting the joy rides to let other people feel the eager little Adam S.  So you can drive with vigour, without watching the fuel needle move much.

Corsa GSi spirit lives on in Adam S

The Opel Adam S is in spirit what the Opel Corsa GSi was (the original one – the shape where Corsa became Corsa Lite).  In other words, a small sporty 3-door hatch – Corsa GSi and Adam S share these Opel fun-car genes, so the Corsa GSi fun is not missing from the Corsa Sport (as tested) because its spirit lives on in Adam S.  Hurrah!

To identify the S, look out for those ADAM S badges on the rear side pillar, the cheeky curve-up rear roof spoiler, and those 18-inch rims.  No tailgate badge, but you can spot the roof spoiler and those bucket seats from any angle.

S vs S

Opel versus MINI?  Adam S versus Cooper S… both have red curved S badges.  Is Opel copying MINI?  The swishy S’s do look remarkably similar.  Both are compact hatches with a sporty streak.  Only one is still small, nippy and young, and urges on your urges (the Adam S).  The other has become too big, sophisticated, refined and expensive (the Cooper S).  Indeed, the latest MINI 3-door is nearer the size of the bigger Corsa!  Adam is the size of the 1st BMW MINI (the 2002-2007 supercharged Cooper S).  Shame on you MINI.  Well done Opel.

The price of the Adam range tops out at R 330 000 for this Adam S.  The Peugeot 208 GTi would make a nice contender, though will SA see the facelifted GTi as per the 208 facelift of 2015?  A Ford Fiesta ST is an alternative, though its identity is more grown-up, restrained, compared to the Adam S.  It costs R 318 900 new.  The Citroën DS3 Sport would be a fun alternative, though it is getting expensive at R 358 400.  Perhaps the Abarth 500 595 turismo, at R 362 900?  A new MINI Cooper S Hatch manual now sits at R 395 552, before options.

Missing the open roof like the Adam Rocks has – in overseas markets there is a combination of the open-roof raised Rocks plus S performance, in the Adam Rocks S.  That would be 1st prize, at a price, and is not destined for SA.

Some spec?

A lot of spec.  The Adam S is well-equipped, with standard features ranging from 225/45 R18 5-petal alloy wheels, City Mode power steering (hit a button to make the power steering super light), Interior Décor Pack called Red Your Engine (not making this up), ESP stability control, ISOFIX child seat anchorage, seat belt warning (for front and rear passsengers), front and side and curtain airbags, Side Blind Zone Alert (warning lights in the mirror will light up if a vehicle is approaching in your blind spot), 7-inch IntelliLink touchscreen with BringGo Navigation app pre-loaded, Bluetooth, USB, aux, and image&video player (for while you’re parked).

You will be highly visible (apart from that red roof) by bright LED daytime running lights and LED tail lamps.

That “Red Your Engine” Interior Décor Pack is the red you see on the steering wheel lower half, gear knob and handbrake grip.  The red S flash on the dashboard is for every Adam S.  The black-red-silver interior is both sporty and timeless.  

The front seats are proper genuine Recaro bucket seats – not sports seats, note.  These big chairs are squeezed into the Adam, and do a marvellous job of squeezing you into a set position, so you can scurry through those S-bends or quickly dodge an obstacle (probably a driver texting).  Rear seat mates are not so happy, though, as anyone who is short or have long legs will feel intruded upon by those high big seats.  These front buckets seats have cut-outs in them – could these be for that racecar wingback seat look, or grab handles for panicking rear-seat passengers?

Inside you have the circled dot-dot-dot automatic climate control to keep you(r) cool, rain-sensor wipers, hill start assist (no need to work the clutch leg here to avoid an embarrassing roll-back), cruise control, automatically dimming inner mirror, Advanced Park Assist 2 (find a parking, hit the auto-park button, and the Adam S will steer-park itself, making you look the parking pro you are, anyway).  The steering wheel houses controls for cruise control, phone and audio.  The on-board computer is on a stalk to the left, where the scroll-through menu button is a awkward to reach, and unsafe when driving.

The warranty and roadside assistance is for 5 years or 120 000 km, and you get a service plan (free services) valid for 3 years or 60 000 km.

Little Red Riding Hood

The so-called “Twisted” colour combinations give the Adam S a visually-interesting 2-tone paint finish, in a choice of white with red (as tested) or grey with red or red with grey.  If you like a white car but find the colour a bit too default / fleet / government / delivery van, then you may well be convinced by this bright white-white with red-red contrast roof, gloss black patches and shiny wheels.

The test car was quickly given the nickname Little Red Riding Hood, as in the fable of the little girl who wanders into the woods, wearing a little red hood.  This little girl met the wolf in the woods… well, you have to go read the story.

So how does this Little Red Riding Hood do in the ‘hood?  In the urban jungle the Adam S is small and brave and agile, it growls (handy), is well-equipped with great safety features, will hold you tight in those bucket seats, and it stands out with red for danger, showing no fear… exactly what you need to make it in the neighbourhood.

Pricing
Opel Adam S	R330 000