The last thing the world needs is another bloody SUV but thanks to General Motors Europe, it is getting one anyway. In fact, it’s getting two! We’ve already seen The Chevrolet Captiva and now here’s the new Opel Antara. Forgive the cynicism, but I remember being told that these cars’ days were numbered two years ago but Opel is the latest maker to pile in optimistically. It’s not alone; both Ford and Volkswagen will dip their respective oars in during 2008 with small crossovers, and by then the market should be nicely saturated. Nobody sent any flowers when Opel’s first stab at this end of the market, the spectacularly hopeless Frontera, died in 2004. So the new Antara tries a different approach by being smaller, more refined and less off-road orientated. Instead of worrying how it will cope up to its axles in muck, Opel goes for the chunky urban SUV look, complete with tough looking plastic cladding and all the usual paraphernalia that manufacturers stick onto these cars to make them look like they mean business.
The styling is generally neat and modern and I like some of the detailing, like the dummy air vents in the wings and the slightly bulging wheel arches. However, the overall shape is compromised somewhat by the curiously narrow track and high roofline. Flick through any coffee table book about car design and you’ll see that tall and narrow doesn’t feature heavily but then again small, urban-based SUVs don’t win too many design awards anyway, so Opel could be forgiven if the Antara doesn’t take your breath away GM admits that the Antara shares a lot of parts with the Chevrolet Captiva but externally they only share a windscreen, and the interiors are completely different. The Antara uses high quality interior plastics and nice detailing, such as the shiny circular air vents, to lend it a high-quality feel. It’s a classy cabin and spacious too. I’d say interior space is generous rather than vast, and comparable to the current crop of small SUVs. Still, credit where it’s due, I fit comfortably in the front and back and you can get a decent amount of clobber into the boot as well. Oddly, the seven seat option on the Captiva isn’t offered on the Antara. The driver’s seat is mounted quite high up to give the lofty driving position 4x4 drivers’ love.
I personally hate sitting perched up like that, but different strokes for different folks... There will be two engines for Antara customers to choose from. The utterly pointless, Holden-sourced 2.4-litre petrol puts out a rough 138hp and is the cheapest of the Antara models – it is only available in entry level Elegance trim and costs €37,350. Petrol off-roaders are about as popular as Dutch folk music on i-tunes, so I didn’t bother much with this version, graduating towards the far more promising 148hp 2-litre diesel version. Off the motorway and onto the twisty roads in rural Wales, the Antara finally starts to show a bit of promise. Of late, Opels have been decent things to drive and the Antara manages to make more of an effort in the dynamics department than most of its more fearsome rivals. It is more resistant to body roll than a Rav4 and feels more precise to drive than an X-Trail. It has decent body control through the corners so it doesn’t roll and pitch like most of its rivals do. The ride quality is good as well – most of the time it does a handy job of smoothing out road imperfections, although it is occasionally caught out at speed. Hit a big one at 100km/h and it can generate a few jitters through the cabin. Opel made a big fuss about the fact that it is four-wheel drive and although the Welsh weather did its worst, the Antara proved to be fairly planted; resisting understeer and being fool proof in the corners.
Sadly, while Opel has nailed the chassis down, it seems to have wimped out with the steering which, while quite quick and precise, is very vague. The 2-litre diesel engine is typical of modern oil burners spec-wise: it has turbo, common-rail injection and so on. It also has an annoying flat spot at low revs. When the lights turn green, you come off the clutch and it sits there for two or three seconds, just farting along before it actually does anything. This, combined with the light clutch, makes it a pain in stop/start traffic, as it bunny hops along and stalls violently at every given opportunity. I haven’t driven like this since I had L plates on my Fiat. Once up and running, it delivers decent enough performance and reasonable economy. It is fairly smooth and once warmed up it is quite quiet. Indeed, the refinement of the engine and the overall comfort on country roads is impressive; again, it’s probably ahead of most of its rivals, which makes Opel’s decision to only fit five gears to the manual ‘box all the more baffling.
At motorway speeds it does a reasonable job of suppressing wind noise and tyre roar but the engine is working harder than it ought to and overall it is noisier than it should be. All right, I wasn’t screaming above the noise at my passenger but if I was on the motorway a lot I’d be fairly ticked off with this after a while. I asked GM why this was and was told all about packaging and whatnot, followed by coughing and glancing at watches. Opel will also offer an automatic for a two grand mark-up. This makes a better job of high speed cruising but was a bit out of its depth on back-roads, holding higher gears slightly too long. Besides, come resale time it is two grand you probably won’t see again. The brakes are good, though, solid and fade free with plenty of feel. The Antara on offer in Ireland will have a long list of standard equipment. The Elegance model gets things like 17-inch alloys, air conditioning, ESP, hill descent control, six airbags and front fog lights. Diesels get self-levelling rear suspension, too, although at €41,350 for the 2-litre Elegance, Opel isn’t exactly giving the things away.
Overall, there is nothing wrong with the Antara. It looks well, goes well, has a classy cabin and is well kitted out. That said the competition is fierce. The eye watering €50,645 Opel is asking for the heavily loaded Elite model puts it right up against the 2.2 diesel SE Land Rover Freelander at €50,900,while the €41,350 Elegance goes up against the €41,990 boggo Freelander – it’s not as well equipped as the Antara, perhaps, but nicer to drive, with a stronger image and with genuine off-road capability. Opel is being very ambitious with its pricing and not ambitious enough with its design for the Antara to stand out. If I want a cheap SUV I could have a Captiva, if I want something classy that the neighbours will admire I could get a Freelander, if I want reliability I could choose the Rav4. And if I just wanted a car, I would buy an Astra diesel estate and trouser €13,000 which, to my cynical brain, is the most attractive option of all.
INFO
Opel Antara 2.0 Elegance D
Engine 2-litre 4-cylinder, 148hp, 320Nm torque
Transmission 5-speed manual
Acceleration 0-100km/h 11.1 seconds
Top speed 178 km/h
Economy 6.3 litres/100km
CO2 Emissions 198 g/km
Weight 1,800 kg
Boot Capacity 465 litres
Base Price €41,350 (est)
Price as Tested €41,350 (est)
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