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  • Vauxhall Mokka – a small SUV that’s big on things

    In Cars, International News, Vauxhall / By / / 9 comments

    Say hello to Vauxhall’s new small SUV called the Mokka. The vehicle is set to make its debut in Geneva, and enter the growing sub-compact B-segment end of the market towards the end of the year.

    On call will be a choice of two petrol engines and a diesel, all with Start/Stop eco-tech, and the Mokka will be available in front or all-wheel drive, with six-speed manual or auto transmissions to pick from.

    The petrol mills are a 115 PS 1.6 litre naturally-aspirated unit and a 140 PS 1.4 litre turbo, which has 200 Nm of torque. The diesel, meanwhile, is a 130 PS 1.7 CDTI turbo offering 300 Nm of torque. Both the 1.4 Turbo and the 1.7 CDTI can be combined either with six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions.

    Design-wise, the Mokka – which will wear 18-inch alloy wheels as standard on most model variants – incorporates Vauxhall’s signature ‘blade’ on the body side, sweeping towards the rear, and looks to be a pretty beefy offering from the photos.

    Inside, Vauxhall says there’s lots of versatility and user-friendly functionality on call, with up to 1,372 litres of load space and 19 storage locations to be had. In addition to the generous cargo volume, the SUV will also feature the fully integrated, latest generation Flex-Fix bicycle carrier exclusive to the brand – the carrier is fully integrated in the rear underbody, functioning like a drawer and accommodating up to three bicycles at a time.

    Safety equipment includes ESC, traction control, Hill Start Assist and Hill Descent Control, among others. Other kit includes an Advanced Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL+) bi-Xenon lighting system that includes High Beam Assist (HBA), as well as an optional front camera system which offers Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Forward Collision Alert (FCA) and second generation Traffic Sign Recognition functions as part of its inventory.

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  • Vauxhall Astra VXR – 280 horses 400Nm hot hatch!

    In Cars, Vauxhall / By / / 54 comments

    GM’s European Vauxhall unit have revealed the first details on their new Vauxhall Astra VXR, a high performance version of their recently unveiled 3-door Astra GTC.

    Under the hood you’ll find a powerful 2.0 liter turbocharged four cylinder direct injection engine producing 280 horsepower and 400Nm of torque, sent to the front wheels through a mechanical LSD differential. The car comes with a manual transmission, as you can see in the photo gallery below.

    Vauxhall has also equipped the hot hatch with a customised version of the FlexRide system, which now features not only a Sport button, but a VXR button, offering drivers the choice of two, more focused stages of damper, throttle and steering control.

    Opel Corsa 2011
    Opel Corsa 2011
    Opel Corsa 2011

    Opel Corsa 2011
    Opel Corsa 2011

     

  • Opel Astra GTC revealed ahead of Frankfurt premiere

    In 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Cars, International News, Opel, Vauxhall / By / / 25 comments

    Opel/Vauxhall has released details on the Astra GTC ahead of the model’s world debut at the Frankfurt show in September. The GTC is a three-door variant of the C-segment Astra, but isn’t the same car with two doors lopped off – the only bits carried over from the five-door hatch are the door handles, wing mirror housing and roof aerial. This approach is also used by VW for the Scirocco and the Renault for the Megane Coupe – cars the GTC will rival.

    The Astra GTC started life as the GTC Paris Concept from Paris 2010, and retains much of the showcar’s looks. However, it must be said that the showcar appeared incredibly realistic from the start, and its production future was never in doubt.

    Prominent design cues include the Opel signature blade (started with the Insignia) and another line that sprouts from the door handles. The front and rear lights have “wing shaped” elements. All of these were also on the Paris Concept.

    Opel is keen to highlight the GTC’s front High Performance Strut (HiPerStrut) suspension, similar to than on the Insignia OPC. Compared to the standard Astra’s McPherson strut, HiPerStrut reduces kingpin inclination and offset and has a shorter spindle length. This improves grip and reduces torque steer, offering GTC drivers the “sporty, crisp feel they expect, with enhanced precision and feedback.” In addition, HiPerStut reduces tyre flops, which allows the car to accommodate bigger wheels.

    The rear suspension combines a torsion beam with a Watt’s link, something unique to Opel. Compared to the five-door, ride height is lowered by 15 mm. The GTC also has wider tracks, +40 mm in front and +30 mm in the rear. Opel’s adaptive FlexRide chassis control system with Standard, Tour and Sport modes is also available.

    At launch, the Poland built Astra GTC can be had with a choice of four powertrains – one diesel and three petrol. The upgraded 2.0 CDTI has 165 hp/380 Nm and does 0-100 km/h in 8.9 seconds. Top speed is 210 km/h. Paired with a six-speed manual and start/stop, combined fuel consumption “does not exceed” 4.9 litres per 100 km.

    Two of the petrols are 1.4 turbos with 120 hp and 140 hp. Both have 200 Nm of torque. There’s also a 180 hp 1.6 turbo that can reach 220 km/h. Not enough? There will be a high-performance OPC variant in 2012.

    Gallery after the jump.
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  • Opel Astra GTC set for production, to debut in Frankfurt

    In Cars, International News, Opel, Vauxhall / By / / 25 comments


    Click to enlarge

    Opel has released the first images of its Astra GTC, which is based on the GTC Paris Concept unveiled at the Paris Motor Show last October. The Astra GTC has been given the nod for series production, and the company is set to give the car its world debut in Frankfurt in September.

    Full details of the production version will be announced in June, which will give European customers the chance to specify their ideal model and place an order early for the vehicle, which will appear in showrooms relatively soon after the Frankfurt debut.


    Click to enlarge

    The production Opel/Vauxhall Astra GTC will be a three-door body hatch with dramatic proportions, much like the rakish concept that previewed it. The Paris car wore a turbocharged, direct-injection four-cylinder mill offering an estimated 290 hp – we’ll have to wait and see what the final form wears.

     

  • Opel Zafira Tourer Concept offers glimpse of third-gen MPV

    In Cars, International News, Opel, Vauxhall / By / / 8 comments

    Opel will be premiering its Zafira Tourer Concept at the Geneva Motor Show, and the vehicle is expected to provide the basis for the production third-generation version of the compact MPV, which will arrive in Opel and Vauxhall forms sometime early next year.

    The concept is powered by a new version of the downsized, fuel-efficient 1.4 Turbo pot featuring Start/Stop technology, while among the items found in the vehicle’s underpinnings is a FlexRide adaptive damping system.

    Externally, things start with a colour scheme called Frost Liquid Metal, a special metallic silver-grey, and the Zafira Tourer Concept features, among other things, dark metallic grey 20-inch twin-spoke alloy wheels with 245/40 R20 tyres and wing-shaped LED daytime running lights, bi-xenon AFL and fog lamps – all contained behind a single Plexiglass cover – at the front.

    Of course, it’s in the interior where all the action is – the concept features a cabin with generous space for rear-seat passengers and a light, airy outlook, provided by a panoramic windscreen that flows into a generous glass roof extending to the rear of the car.

    A second pane of high-tech composite material is edge-lit by LEDs. Tiny metallic particles are embedded in the cabin’s upper sections to reflect the light and give off a warm glow that can be varied in different shades of yellow.

    The seating configuration is versatile enough, so to speak. With two rows in place, providing five-seat capacity, the Zafira concept can be transformed at the push of a button into a four-seater with limousine levels of space. A folding mechanism allows the centre section of the second row to fold down, revealing two armrests for occupants in the outer seats. These seats can then slide back and towards each other.

    The concept’s tiltable three-piece headrests are electrically powered, though the driver’s remains in a vertical position when the car is in motion. In the ‘lounge’ setting, each swivels 90 degrees to the horizontal position while the outer elements curve slightly forward.

    Up front, a large touchscreen display dominates the centre console, above which a covered storage compartment can hold a tablet PC like an iPad. With pivot-mounted tablet PCs on the front seat backs, passengers in the second row can comfortably surf the internet or control multimedia apps.

    The interior is finished in high-quality caramel leather for the seats, with colour-matched quilted seams and stitching contrasting with cocoa dark brown door trim, soft deep-pile carpet and a host of premium materials.

    Gallery after the jump.
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  • Facelifted Opel/Vauxhall Corsa is a big fan of the Mazda2!

    In Cars, International News, Opel, Vauxhall / By / / 16 comments

    Opel has facelifted its Corsa supermini (Vauxhall Corsa in the UK), which first came on the scene in 2006. GM’s 2011 model year B-segment contender to the Polo, Clio and Fiesta gets a “sportier, expressive look” to cloak the internal updates for 2010 cars, which got new engines, upgraded suspension and retuned steering.

    The facelift re-proportions the upper and lower grilles. The lower one is wider and taller to visually widen the car. In addition, a mesh grille design replaces the current horizontal bars while the chrome “wings” of the Opel logo is bigger. The German brand has also added “eagle eye” headlamps along with signature wing-shaped daylight lamps that made their debut in the Insignia. Six new alloy designs and a larger Opel Blitz logo at the rear are included as well.

    There are also new fog lamp units with “integrated chrome blades” that really reminds me of the Mazda2; the green colour on the Corsa helps the visual link to its Japanese classmate too. What do you think? See the familiar smiley face?

    All variants have been updated with new trim or fabrics. The new Touch & Connect navigation system has a five-inch touch screen that displays both 2D and 3D bird view maps from SD navigation cards. Features include an option to choose the most ecological route and the proposal of alternative routes when faced with traffic, even when navigation is not active. It’s Bluetooth, iPod and USB compatible, too.

    Gallery after the jump.
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  • Opel GTC Paris Concept previews three-door Astra hatch

    In Cars, International News, Opel, Vauxhall / By / / 20 comments

    This is the Opel GTC Paris Concept that will be unwrapped at the Paris Motor Show next month. Much more than just a show car, it previews the three-door hatchback version and the VXR performance flagship of the current Opel/Vauxhall Astra, which made its debut last year as a five-door hatch. A wagon version called Sport Tourer surfaced in June.

    This rakish three-door measures 4.46 metres long (slightly longer than the five-door) and the lines on its body is “similar to tendons in a sprinter”. We can see the “Opel signature blade”, a fine crease along the rocker panel, in the same direction as on the Insignia, where this cue first appeared. The five-door hatch and Sport Tourer have theirs in a different direction – back to front.

    There’s also another prominent line that shoots from the door handles to the rear of the car; this gives the GTC broad shoulders and wider impression. Opel says that the brushed aluminium upper outline of the glasshouse guides eyes to the integrated spoiler. Of course they had to include LED running lights, and those on the GTC have “wing” motifs.

    The concept is realistically powered by a four-cylinder, 2.0-litre turbo engine with direct injection. As with most new cars in Europe, there’s start/stop tech and a six-speed manual gearbox. Autocar UK says that the production car will debut late next year alongside a VXR range topper, which could have up to 300 bhp and an electronic limited-slip differential – the latter already on the GTC concept.

    The GTC and the three-door Renault Megane are examples of carmakers putting in a lot of effort on differentiating their three-door “Sport” models from the regular five-door hatch, instead of just chopping off two doors. More pics after the jump.
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  • Vauxhall/Opel Meriva interior unveiled!

    In Cars, Opel, Vauxhall / By / / 21 comments

    GM’s European unit have unveiled the interior for its new Vauxhall/Opel Meriva compact MPV! The Meriva is an MPV in the B-segment, built on GM’s Gamma/SCCS platform so I don’t think its a Zafira replacement, which is a C-segment vehicle.

    A key feature of the Meriva being touted extensively in press releases (and probably soon ad campaigns) are the vehicle’s FlexDoors, which are basically rear-hinged suicide doors for the rear doors. GM says this provides easier access into the interior, and it’s probably one of the very few examples of suicide doors on a concept car making it to production. But since the B-pillar remains, I don’t see how it being rear-hinged changes anything.

    The Meriva will also have a ‘FlexRail’ system which is basically a storage zone for random items like handbags, books, iPods, sunglasses, etc. FlexRail’s floor module comprises two cup holders, Aux-in/USB connections and a 12-volt socket.

    Above this area, there are two polished aluminum rails, and on the top of the line SE model, there is a flip-top armrest module attached with a smaller cupholder tray below it. Both can be shifted into a variety of fixed positions along the rails, while rear seat passengers benefit from the option of a rear armrest module, which can be fitted to the centre seat back section when it’s folded down between them.

    And finally the final ‘Flex’ feature is FlexSpace, which allows various cabin configs without having to remove any seats. Both outer rear seats can be moved fore and aft individually, and can also slide inwards o provide more shoulder width and leg room in a spacious four-seat layout. Additionally, rear seat backs can be fully lowered without having to remove their head restraints. The Meriva’s boot capacity grows from 400 litres up to 920 litres with the seatbacks folded. If you use all the space up to the roof, 1500 litres of capacity is available.

    The Meriva strikes an uncanny resemblance to the Suzuki MPV concept shown in India this month but that could be due to the fact that GM used to have some kind of stake in Suzuki. But Suzuki is in bed with Volkswagen now.

    Look after the jump for hi-res images of the new Meriva.
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  • Vauxhall Meriva leaked pics: suicide doors retained!

    In Cars, International News, Opel, Vauxhall / By / / 35 comments

    These are leaked official images of the new Meriva MPV, badged here as a UK-spec Vauxhall (Opel in Europe). It appears to have survived the transition from concept to production pretty well, retaining much of the 2008 Geneva show’s Meriva Concept styling cues.

    The design headline here is the suicide doors. Called FlexDoors, they can be opened to an angle of almost 90 degrees (only when the vehicle is stationary, of course!). The Meriva’s FlexSpace system has been updated to improve space usage. There is also an innovation called FlexRail – a rail above the centre console where storage bins can slide the length of the cabin.

    As with the Astra and Insignia, a signature “blade” runs on the flanks of this MPV. The stepped windowline not only adds distinctiveness to the design, it gives the rear section more glass area for the kids to have a better view out. There’s also a full length panaromic roof. It’s more spacious than before too – wheelbase is longer and tracks are wider. A five-star EuroNCAP crash rating is almost a given.

    The Meriva is set for its formal debut at this year’s Geneva show, and should hit the market by mid year. More pictures after the jump!

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  • Santa retires his reindeers this Christmas with the Vauxhall slEigh-REV – ho ho ho!

    In Laughs, Technology, Vauxhall / By / / 6 comments

    Vauxhall slEigh-REV

    Stressed at work? Here’s some news to cheer you up. According to GM’s UK outpost Vauxhall, Santa Claus has been in contact with them to request “swift and ultra-clean transport” for his annual blast around the world to deliver presents on December 24.

    The jolly fat man said: “The ’08 Model Year reindeers have taken a rest this Christmas. In their old age they’re becoming more flatulent and their increasing methane emissions just can’t be good for the environment – never mind the fact I have to sit behind them.

    “I’m as pleased as punch with my new slEigh-REV supplied to me by those kind people in Luton (Vauxhall’s HQ). They tell me it uses specially adapted E-REV (extended range electric vehicle) technology from their upcoming Ampera electric car, which means I won’t have to worry about re-charging as I do my chimney drops around the world on Christmas Eve.”

    The slEigh-REV is propelled by an electric motor, and if juice is running low, Santa can count on a gasoline engine – just like the Opel/Vauxhall Ampera which goes on sale in early 2012. The Ampera is the European version of the Chevrolet Volt, which differs from hybrids by having electric to power its wheels at all times and all speeds – its 75 bhp 1.4-litre engine only works as a generator to supply the car electricity should the batteries go weak. The plug-in Volt’s battery-only EV range is 64 km and the total extended range is “over 480 km”.

     
 
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