The Corsa Lite made its debut in South Africa in 1996 as a locally produced three-door hatchback with an 8-valve 1.3-litre engine. It quickly became popular among South Africans owing to its lively mobility and affordability, and the Lite name has made a comeback with the latest addition to the Corsa range.

What’s new?

Under the hood, the Corsa Lite features a turbocharged 1.2-litre engine with 74 kW of power, which is a significant upgrade from the naturally aspirated 55 kW engine used in the previous entry-level Corsa.

This engine is shared with the middle-weight Edition model, and the top-of-the-range Elegance model is equipped with a 96 kW-version of the same engine. The Lite is also equipped with OPEL’s six-speed manual transmission and rides on 16-inch alloy wheels.

The Corsa Lite’s exterior is designed to impress, with a drag coefficient of just 0.29, making it one of the most aerodynamic cars in its class, according to the manufacturer. The car's front-end features LED headlights, while the back boasts LED rear lights. The Corsa Lite is available in a range of colours, including Summit White, Mamba Green and Satin Steel Gray.

Inside, the Corsa Lite is not light on comfort or safety features. The car comes equipped with air conditioning, front electric windows, and an IntelliLink Infotainment system with a 7-inch touchscreen radio.

The safety features include Active Lane Keep Assist and tyre pressure monitoring. The Edition models offer additional features such as LED front fog lamps and front and rear parking sensors. The Elegance models are equipped with too many big car features to mention, making it a compact hatch that is packed with tech.

Pricing:

Corsa Lite 1.2T 74 kW 6MT (R349 900), Corsa Edition 1.2T 74 kW 6MT (R356 900) and the Corsa Elegance 1.2T 96 kW 6AT (R436 900).