GM India did not exactly experience market 'nirvana' with the launch of its first product, the Astra, in India in 1996. Though the Astra was quite capable and sold well initially, the sales department soon faced an uphill struggle and got bogged selling a couple of hundred vehicles every month. The reason being that though market studies done at the time revealed that a fair number of individual and corporates possessed the financial means to procure vehicles such as the Astra, they did not possess the will to purchase them. Everyone in India wanted a three - box (bonnet, passenger compartment, boot) but at a price they could afford. This fact was driven home when the Maruti Esteem's sales and market share increased despite the arrival of better but more expensive rivals. It didn't take time for car companies to realize where the action was as far as 'booted' or sedan versions were concerned. Most of them have introduced suitably priced three-box cars that they hope will make business sense in our price sensitive market. The introduction of such cars like the Siena, Accent and Ikon alongside the Esteem and Cielo has spawned the newly emerged 'lower mid-size segment'. The Corsa is the latest model to join the bandwagon. After an exclusive test over 1500km, we find out if it's worth the wait.

It's an interesting design story and one that accurately demonstrates the true global nature of the automobile business today. The Corsa was designed initially and exclusively for consumption in the European market in 1993 with a tremendous amount of input from members of the fairer sex. Its natural competition at the time were European and Japanese models such as the Ford Fiesta, VW Polo, Peugeot 106, Fiat Punto, and Nissan Micra, among others.

Though the Corsa was originally conceived at Opel's design center in Germany, it wasn't the European version of the Corsa that attracted the interest of product planners responsible of the Indian sub-continent. Instead, it was a specially developed three-box version done by the Boys from Brazil, where GM's subsidiary, GM Do Brazil, has a huge design facility. Manufactured and built under the Chevy badge, due to the fact that this brand has more equity in the Americas, the Chevy Corsa caters to a similar customer demand profile as we have here in India. Brazil, South Africa and India, due to similarities in the economic environments, have similar demand profiles for most affordable notchbacks or three-box saloons. The first alterations were carried out to the hatchback model by GM Do Brazil under technical supervision of its German counterparts from Opel.

GM Brazil beefed up the chassis and floorpan, suspension mounting points and boot area of the Corsa to help deal better with the extra stress that would have to be absorbed due to the poor roads of the region; perfect as far as India is concerned. G.M. India took its shopping trolley into the General Motors supermarket and picked the most robust parts available, most robust parts available most of which came from GM's 'rough road' package. The body structure, for example, is sourced from the South African Corsa which has more chassis stiffening welds on the structure than even the Brazilian version. The suspension package for India has been adapted from that found on the Brazilian Corsa, though calibration of the springs and dampers to suit the Indian market was done again. This particular option uses the tallest springs available as it is their loaded height that ultimately dictates the extremely important ride height to clear those nasty speed breakers.

The front wheels are suspended by the universal coil spring over shock absorber arrangement known as a MacPherson strut with an anti roll bar. The steering knuckle design for India has also been altered and is lighter and easier to manufacture locally. Another suspension package alteration for India is the inclusion of the gas shock absorbers that provide more effective damping to help it float along our 'public sector' roads.

Any model that has sold 80 lakh examples worldwide requires a facelift and this Corsa is the recently face-lifted Brazilian version first launched in July 1999. The bonnet gets a more pronounced and aggressive 'V'. The bumper is wider, stretched and has a pair of fog lights and an air-dam.

The rearview mirrors have been specially designed for India and the bracket that holds the mirror has been redesigned to make it difficult to steal. Just ahead of the front fenders lies another interesting and aggressive design feature, a short and pointed slash that is indented into the front bumper. The new rear blistered lights too look fresh and, though not as classy as the Ikon's are quite distinctive. Opel Brazil has attempted to give the Corsa a more aggressive stance and, by the look of it, has succeeded.

The good news as far as Opel and potential customers are concerned is that even with just this mild revision the Corsa looks extremely contemporary, certainly not half-a-dozen years old. Credit for that must go to what was an extremely fresh design back in 1994. The only obvious criticism we have of the looks is the rear section which looks as if the boot has been added on as an after thought. To save costs, the designers used the rear doors of the hatchback, virtually unaltered. As a result, the C-pillar and door frames are not well integrated into the boot section. The wheel caps though superb look are secured under the wheel nuts.

The equipment levels and quality of the Corsa's interiors places it a notch above its competition. Quite simply, no other car in this lower mid-size segment comes packed with so many features. In fact, standard equipment on the 1.6 GLS version is comparable to several premium segment mid-size cars. Apart from power steering, central locking, and power windows all around (done specially for India), you also get power-operated mirrors, a first for a car in this segment. The standard Blaupunkt tape deck/ radio/ amp known as the Radio 620 integrates with the adjustable digital read-out and simply blew our mind with its punch, clarity and depth, all delivered with air of effortlessness, even at concert hall volume. Slot in a Well-recorded cassette and make judicious use of the volume knob, and you'll happily make it through even the most galling of traffic jams.

The only features we missed is height adjustment for the driver's seat. What sets the interiors apart is that it comes loaded with finer touches you learn to appreciate only after owning and living with the Corsa. Back-lit power windows switches, rear defoggers, height adjustment for all seat belts, an instrument light dimmer, a 60:40 split rear seat may seem insignificant, but they all add up along with the well-crafted insides to give the Corsa a feel-good factor you won't find in other cars. Even the central locking system has intelligent and subtle conveniences that make living with the Corsa a pleasure. Stroll up to your Corsa with a piece of luggage that need to use your keys only once. Unlock the boot and the entire system gets unlocked, that's all for doors and the fuel flap!

In fact, the design and feel of the Corsa's interior is more in line with its big sister, the Astra. The steering wheel, the barrel-shaped air vents, the same chunky and solid switchgear, even the unusual location for the cabin light (turned on by pulling the headlight switch) is identical. The plastic of the Corsa's facia are matt black and do not possess the same quality or texture as the Astra. We would have preferred a lighter shade.

What's obvious is that the driving position has been designed by Germans, for Germans, and the generous front seats are best suited to those with large frames. The oversized steering wheel is placed higher that usual and will clear even Ben Johnson's thighs if he ever decided to get behind the wheel. It's the opposite of the Ikon, where large drivers can have tough time squeezing in between the steering wheel and the seat.

After a few minutes of prodding the switches, adjusting the seat and mirrors, you realize how well made and functional the interiors are. The instrumentation with yellow needles and markings is a sporty touch and lifts it from the black expanse of the dashboard.

The Corsa in GLS trim comes with Opel's unique triple information display (TID) housed in a pod above the facia, giving you info on the time and date, audio settings and even the outside temperature. The jazzy seat fabric is again made of superb material and extends into the moulded side- door pads. The rear seat has ample width and legroom for a car in this segment. The squab is well padded to give generous underthigh support. However, the overall comfort at the rear is marred by the steep angle of the back rest, which keeps your back ramrod straight in true military fashion. In contrast, the Ikon's rear seat is distinctly more comfortable. We think GM India should seriously consider re-engineering the back rest angle to achieve the right comfort levels.

The air conditioning system is completely new, a unique design for the Indian Corsa. GMI and its suppliers pitched in to develop a new blower, compressor and condenser. The brief was that it had to be the most effective A/C in this segment. This involved extensive desert testing in Australia by Holden, which is known for its technical competence for A/C systems worldwide. However, we could not gauge how good the A/c was because the system on our test car was playing up! The compressor kept cutting on and off every few seconds which did not allow the cabin to cool with maximum efficiency. Even so, we managed to record a grille temperature of 4.5deg C and a back-seat reading of 17.2- 20.0deg C in an ambient temperature of 29.8deg C.

The top-of-the line Corsas in India will come powered with a 1598cc 92bhp firecracker of an engine. The Corsa's engine comes with a bore and stroke similar to that found in the earlier Astra. In fact, the block is identical. What's new is the multi point fuel injection system and cylinder head which has a higher compression ration of 9.4:1.

The engine is sourced from Brazil essentially because the fuel quality there is similar to ours. The fuel injection system of the Brazilian engine also has an additional knock sensor slotted into the system, another device that makes tremendous sense in our market, especially since the possibility of filling the tank with adultered fuel is pretty high.

This engine, though available in a dohc 16V version, is a two-valve per head job for Indian use. Opel has chosen this route in the interests of simplicity and cost. The two-valve engine also does quite well for itself with a peak output of 92bhp at 5600rpm and 12.2kgm of torque at 3200rpm. Very similar to those of the 1.6-litre Ikon engine that, however, produces its peak torque 1000rpm lower. Interestingly, both European manufacturers prefer a larger engine capacity, while manufacturers from Japan and Korea have all gone for multi-valve 1500cc engines for our market.

The Corsa overall is also the amongst the shortest geared cars here and this, along with its punchy engine, pays the demanding driver rich dividends when flat-out performance is called for. From a standing star, the Corsa blitizes to 60kph in a mere 4.89 sec, obliterating all the lower mid-size competition. 100 kph comes up in 12.2sec but the Ikon is quicker at 11.9sec. Take the game upto 140kph and the gap widens, with the Corsa requiring an additional three-odd seconds to hit the mark.

Get behind the wheel of these models from longstanding rivals GM and Ford, and the Ikon's meatier bottom end and ultra-responsive engine places it distinctly ahead as far as driver appeal and sportiness are concerned. The Ikon feels superior in gear too, save for the Corsa's blistering 20-80kph third gear time of 12.6sec, even quicker than the Honda City 1.5! Flat out on the high-speed bowl at the National Centre for Automotive Testing (NCAT) at VRDE, Ahmednagar, the Corsa managed an extremely quick maximum speed of 172kph in fourth gear, more than enough for even the most hardened of speed nuts.

Around town the superb in-gear acceleration, a combination of the gearing and good torque from the large 1600cc engine make it an effortless urban performer that can stay ahead of most of the traffic, with ease. Though the Corsa's gear lever is amongst the classiest around, the same unfortunately cannot be said of the shift action which, though unobtrusive, is quite average by our reckoning. Also, the gear lever position is too far back which suits tall drivers but with the seat pulled up front, your elbow tends to foul with the passenger's seat. We faced a similar experience in the Accent.