I'm not sure what it represents in Europe, but being the UK, calling a car the 'Karl' sounds rather daft. I know that it starts with the letter 'K' and not 'C', but Karl is a man's name. How embarrassing would it be to drive a car called 'Karl'.
Of course, we have been on similar territory with Opel before, thanks to the equally daft Adam, but that seems to be selling quite well.
Name aside, the all-new Opel Karl débuts at the 2015 International Geneva Motor Show and on first impressions at least, seems a massive step forward for the company. You see, it sits below the Corsa and Adam in both size and price to rival cars such as the Ford Ka, Hyundai i10, Fiat Panda, Toyota Aygo/Peugeot 107/Citroen C1 etc. These are small, cheap, new cars for those who want something to be economical, easy to drive and great in city centres.
The problem is, the previous attempt from Opel was the Agila, the last two generations of which were based on Suzuki's. Frankly, there were outclassed and over-priced versus their direct rivals. This time, the company has gone it alone, taken cues from big selling models and come up with something that manages to feel a lot more premium than cars of this segment usually do.
I'm not saying there are Lexus-like levels of refinement, but the interior (looking heavily like the current Corsa) can be packed with all sorts of new-fangled technology to wow 'da kidz' whilst the 5 doors layout will appeal to all, especially with the really rather decent rear leg room. All in all, it doesn't feel like it belongs alongside, say, an Aygo. A definite cut above.
We also tried out General Motor's renowned OnStar system, which can be had on the Karl in a first for Europe. You can watch that video here, and that feature alone turned out to be one of the surprises of the show. Just the one engine will be available at launch, a unique 1.0 3-cylinder, good for 74bhp and 70mpg. Prices start in the UK at £5 under £7k.
Before heading to Geneva this year, I was not fussed about looking at the Karl and sort of stumbled across it by accident. Yet the more time I spent on the stand, the more time I realised that at last, the company may be heading towards a small car sales success. Oh, and in the UK, thank goodness it won't be called the Karl. Instead, we will get an old name plate revived from the past, the Vauxhall Viva.
Why not read: Opel / Vauxhall's New Hot Hatch Could Be A Serious Contender | Corsa OPC / VXR | Geneva International Motor Show 2015
