Photo: S. Baldauf / R. Kah
Truth be told, the Opel Agila mini MPV wasn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the box. Even its name, inspired by the Latin term for agile, is somehow deceptive considering the humble underpinnings and tall body shell. But with the Karl, Opel has improved the recipe.
Following the same branding strategy that was used with the Adam, the 2015 Opel Karl will be known as the Vauxhall Viva in the UK and get a 1-liter three-cylinder EcoTec with 75 horsepower moving a feathery 939 kilograms (2,070 pounds) of mass.
Considering that you also get a tall roofline and sufficient space for five adult passenger, €9,500 appears to be quite a bargain for a car that was designed to go from A to B in the urban jungle. But we can’t give the Karl a proper thumbs up after we’ve met it at the Geneva Motor Show for two apparently small but important aspects in real life.
First of all, peer through the live photo gallery below and concentrate on the the plastic of the door panels. Looks kind of rough due to its poor texture and trust us, it feels even worse when you run your fingers across it albeit it gives you that certain hard-wearing feeling. Then there’s the hatch.
In a similar but more dramatic way than the Renault Clio IV’s hatch door, the Opel Karl’s hatch opens at a very high angle. This tidbit is going to prove rather troublesome for people shorther than 1.70 meters (5.57 feet). On an ending note, the Opel Karl mini MPV is the proverbial great value for money and a neat overall package, but do keep those 2 details in mind before putting a deposit on one.
Considering that you also get a tall roofline and sufficient space for five adult passenger, €9,500 appears to be quite a bargain for a car that was designed to go from A to B in the urban jungle. But we can’t give the Karl a proper thumbs up after we’ve met it at the Geneva Motor Show for two apparently small but important aspects in real life.
First of all, peer through the live photo gallery below and concentrate on the the plastic of the door panels. Looks kind of rough due to its poor texture and trust us, it feels even worse when you run your fingers across it albeit it gives you that certain hard-wearing feeling. Then there’s the hatch.
In a similar but more dramatic way than the Renault Clio IV’s hatch door, the Opel Karl’s hatch opens at a very high angle. This tidbit is going to prove rather troublesome for people shorther than 1.70 meters (5.57 feet). On an ending note, the Opel Karl mini MPV is the proverbial great value for money and a neat overall package, but do keep those 2 details in mind before putting a deposit on one.
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