Opel Agila

The new Agila is 20 centimeters longer than its predecessor, it has grown by six centimeters in width, and the most interesting fact is its height: it is seven centimeters shorter, which brings the Agila closer to its more classic competitors. With a good external length of 3 meters, it's clear you can't expect marvelous space in the cabin, but the new Agila is able to carry five passengers relatively comfortably - as is common in cars in this class, and trunk space is very limited. expected to suffer.

That's for the base 225 litres, and by folding down the rear seat or seats (depending on trim) it can be expanded to a nice cubic capacity (and the more equipped version with the Enjoy label has an additional 35 liter drawer on the bottom of the boot). Of course, engineers and designers also took care of the storage space for small items in the cabin - after all, Agila is primarily a city car, which means that there can always be a lot of small items in its cabin. .

Of course, the city car label doesn't mean the Agila isn't out of town. A longer wheelbase, much wider tracks (by 50 millimeters) and of course a new chassis design give it much more stability (compared to its predecessor) even at high speeds, and at the same time it is not embarrassed by cornering. The front axle with MacPherson struts and triangular guides is similar in design to its predecessor, but is a completely new rear axle - the rigid axle has been replaced with a semi-rigid wheel suspension with a torsion bar. So the Agilo's short lateral bumps are a lot less confusing and as a result, it's also more comfortable to ride.

The power steering is electric, and the engineers also reduced the driving radius (9 meters). All Agiles will come with an ABS braking system and four airbags as standard, and interestingly, Opel decided that the base version would not have air conditioning as standard (it comes in an optional package with power windows and remote central locking). , which is pretty outdated thinking considering it's being written in 6. The list of additional equipment includes (still understandable for this class of car) ESP. .

The new Agila currently offers three engine options. The smallest gasoline engine has a liter capacity and (traditionally) three cylinders, but it can (for a car weighing less than a ton) still take 65 "horses". In terms of consumption (five liters per 100 kilometers), it can almost compete with the much more powerful 1-liter turbodiesel (CDTI), which can produce ten "horsepower" more, but also twice as much torque for half a liter less . consumption. The most powerful one is the 3-horsepower 1-litre petrol that you can wish for, paired with a four-speed automatic transmission.

In the past, two-thirds of all Agil were sold in Italy and Germany, while sales in other markets (including Slovenia) were much worse. Opel is hoping the new Agila will change that, so they put more design effort this time around. Instead of square, van-like strokes, it had rounded lines, a Corsino-like nose and a rear that hides the strokes of one room well. Outside, Aguila is actually quite a classic city guy. ...

It comes to Slovenia only in the fall, so, of course, we cannot yet write about prices and final lists of equipment. Note, however, that in Germany the base version will cost € 9.990 1 and a reasonably equipped (electricity, air conditioning, etc.) Agila with a 2-liter engine, which is the best choice, will cost around € 13.500.

Dusan Lukic, photo: factory