2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
Manoeuvrable, practical, economical: the Opel Agila feels right at home in congested inner cities. With an automatic transmission, the small Rüsselsheimer becomes a versatile shopping bag for those who don't want to change gear.
By Sebastian Viehmann
Get in - find your way around immediately - drive off: That's what makes a good city runabout. The cockpit of the Opel Agila is not as fresh and cheeky as the Ford Fiesta, Fiat 500 and Co., but it serves its purpose. The instruments are easy to read and the seats are comfortable even on long journeys. Large cup holders, a tidy glove compartment and other storage areas such as the folding compartment on top of the dashboard are available for the things of everyday driving life. The processing looks rock solid. The Agila can easily accommodate four adults. The front windows are electric, the rear is cranked.
Practical load compartment floor
With 225 liters, the trunk is quite decent in this vehicle class (for comparison: Daihatsu Sirion 225 liters, Chevrolet Aveo 220 liters, Kia Picanto 127 liters). When the rear seats are folded down, a bridge automatically slides over the gap, so that even bulky items can be stored relatively easily on the almost flat loading floor. Opels Mini swallows a maximum of 1050 liters under the roof. The double load compartment floor is particularly practical. There is a plastic tub under the cover, in which, for example, you can stow dirty shoes after a Sunday excursion. Then you simply take out the tub and clean it with the garden hose.
The big hour of the little Rüsselsheimer strikes when parking. You can't see the hood very well, but it's so short that it doesn't bother maneuvering. The all-round view is good and the turning circle is small, so that the Agila can be squeezed into any gap. The overall driving behavior is as one can expect in this class - the Agila can be easily steered around every curve and is neither too hard nor too spongy. Apart from short transverse joints, which it acknowledges with a slight bob, the Opel cuts a fine figure on any road surface. He is not particularly fond of fast corners, but in this class of vehicle you are used to worse early understeer.
Jerk-free automatic
The basic engine of the Agila is a one-liter three-cylinder with 48 kW / 65 PS. The automatic transmission is only available in conjunction with the more powerful 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine (63 kW / 86 PS). The Agilomat needs almost 15 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h, but at city speeds of up to 60 km / h you are fast enough on the road. The 4-stage automatic shifts almost always smoothly and at the right point, so that you can glide through the city gently. When going downhill, you switch to level two to use the engine brake. When it goes steeply downhill - for example with spiral car park exits - the L level proves itself.
You should have a little better nerve on the autobahn and country road, because due to the lack of cubic capacity, the engine turns very high before the automatic allows the next level. In order to force a shift, you usually only have to take your foot off the accelerator for a short time. Since the wind noise is kept within limits, you can endure it quite well in the Agila on longer motorway sections between 100 and 160 km / h. However, our test car swallowed around three liters more than the 4.9 liters per 100 kilometers specified by the manufacturer. In city traffic there was a positive surprise at the gas station: With 7.4 liters per 100 kilometers, the Agila even consumed a little less than the 7.8 liters specified by the manufacturer.
Starts at 9,950 euros
If you can do without the convenience of the automatic system - and most customers do that with small cars - you can still use the manual switch for less. The three-cylinder approved an average of 5.9 liters in the city, the 1.2-liter four-cylinder 6.9 liters (factory information). The most economical model is the 1.3-liter diesel (city consumption 5.5 liters).
The prices of the Agila start at 9,990 euros (1.0, 65 hp). The automatic version is only available in conjunction with the Edition equipment, which means that the price climbs to an impressive 14,970 euros - there is already a Golf for around 2000 euros more. After all, the Agila Edition is well equipped, including a rev counter, on-board computer, air conditioning, electric windows, fog lights, electrically adjustable exterior mirrors and a CD radio. However, ESP costs 360 euros extra even in the top equipment.
Big surcharges for the automatic
Even the competition demands heavy surcharges for the rarely ordered machine versions. A Daihatsu Sirion 1.3 Automatic (91 PS) costs 12,590 euros, a Kia Picanto 1.1 Automatic (65 PS) 12,855 euros and a Chevrolet Aveo 1.4 Automatic LT (101 PS) 14,590 euros - all of these cars start just like the Agila in the basic version Combat prices just under 10,000 euros.
