Opel’s Tigra Twin Top is the latest convertible to reach South African shores. Where soft-top cars never really took off in this country due to the security problems they posed and the schlep that was involved in what amounted to pitching camp in your transport, the current offerings do all the work at the push of a button, and because the roofs are solid, security isn’t compromised. After driving the Opel at the KwaZulu-Natal launch I see the little car gaining an enthusiastic following, particularly amongst young ladies who want to be seen to be cool. They may not quite be Paris Hilton, but they can try to look the part.
The Tigra comes with a choice of 66 kW 1,4 litre or 92 kW four cylinder engines, and neither is a stick of dynamite in a straight line. Both can cruise comfortably at well in excess of the speed limit, but they’re not going to compete with serious performance cars in a straight line. The press blurb tells us that the 1,4 takes 12,4 seconds to reach 100 km/hr on its way to a top speed of 180, while the more powerful version dispenses with the 0-100 dash in three seconds less, peaking at 204 km/hr. Around the corners however things are different. Handling is superb, and there’s very little of the scuttle shake that plagued open cars of yore. I got the feeling that an extra 30 kW or so wouldn’t stress the car too much, so perhaps there’s a hot version waiting in the wings.
For a two-seater convertible the Tigra is endowed with a respectable amount of luggage space – the best in its class. With the roof up the boot can swallow 440 litres of whatever you want to dump in it, and when the top is tucked away there’s still 250 litres of stowage available. There’s also a very handy storage area behind the seats that can swallow up a further 70 litres of luggage.
The Tigra looks extremely French in design, and could easily get away with Renault, Peugeot or Citroen badging. The roof operation is tidy, with the driver needing only to release two clasps and push a button to switch between coupe and cabriolet modes.
The Opel Tigra Twin Top range is made up of two models – the 1,4 litre Enjoy, that will set you back a rather hefty R199 950, and the 1,8 litre Sport which will prise R233 880 from your impeccably manicured little paws.
Apart from the bigger and more powerful engine, the Sport model benefits from full leather seat trim, heated seats, aluminium pedals and 16″ alloy wheels instead of the 15″ rims fitted to the Enjoy. Both are well equipped as they roll out of the dealership, with height adjustable sports seats and steering wheels, power windows, heated rear mirrors, fog lights, ESP traction control and driver and passenger front and side airbags. Standard aircon, an information display and a four speaker sound system with radio, CD player and MP3 player are also part of the deal.