Meet the cool, new Opel Corsa-e

Why doesn’t everyone drive an electric car? That was the question put to me by my 7-year-old niece recently.

Why indeed.

The answer of course, is that right now, for many, it simply isn’t practical or affordable. The EV market continues to grow, but the options are still expensive. However, with new models hitting the market with increased frequency, it is certainly making electric cars hard to ignore.

Not that we would want to. Because apart from the obvious, positive impact it has on our CO2 emissions and our environmental good health, owning an electric car comes with far less day to day financial outlay than their petrol and diesel counterparts.

Up until recently, the brands making waves in the EV market (Tesla etc), were at the top end of the market, making the initial purchase price out of bounds for lots of us. And for those of us looking to purchase a decent second-hand car, going electric just doesn’t give us enough choice right now.

What we have all been waiting for, is an affordable, practical, everyday car that gives us all of the good bits of going electric (good for the environment, less impact on our pocket), but also has the reliability of decent range and an acceptable re-sale value.

We have seen a few in the last year or two, the Kona and the Zoe being two of our favourites.

Personally, I have been looking out for something that brings all of the practicalities of driving electric, but I’d also like it to look pretty cool. (I’ve driven the (older) Nissan Leaf and while I liked the drive, I felt like my mother in law getting her first driving lesson at age 65).

So far, I’ve tended to see a lot of the Electric cars on offer to be practical, but lacking in style.

Enter the new Opel Corsa-e.

Forget your previous images and impressions of the Opel Corsa. This is something very, very different. Firstly, it looks bigger, funkier, cooler. It just looks like a car that means business. It’s a contender, not a compromise.

Opel are claiming a range of 330 Km, but my research has said it’s likely to average closer to 280Km. Which is still okay and absolutely fine for those using it for shorter city / suburban trips. It will still get from Dublin to Galway on a full charge. Putting it into Sport mode doesn’t deplete the battery that much either, according to Opel. Good to know. You can charge it fully in just over 7 hours and if you have access to a ‘dash’ charger, you can get to 80% in half an hour.

And with a price range starting at just over €27K with grants and VRT relief, it will certainly be a contender for those looking to make their first journey into the EV market.

Frankly, it’s the first of the smaller EV cars I have seen that I’d be happy to go out and buy.

Check out the full feature list here: New Opel Corsa-e

Or visit the Windsor dealer network Windsor.ie

Greg Gaughran, Wasted.ie

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