It was a day only fit for ducks, as your mammy would say, but nothing could dampen the spirit of those set for the Opel Range Driving Experience at the Powerscourt Estate, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow.
Opel's Insignia, new Astra Saloon and Mokka were all available to be road-tested but the car of interest for the day was Opel's brand new ADAM (1.4 petrol S.S).
It's Opel's first step into the urban lifestyle car segment and they were determined to make something different, "different" being the key word.
The Opel ADAM was not only going to be different from the well-known retro urban cars like the Fiat 500 or Mini Cooper, it aims for the "modern urban car" side of the scale as opposed to the "retro", but it was going to be different for each individual owner too, designed and tailored in style to suit each driver's needs.
You see, the ADAM offers "virtually unlimited individualisation potential" and this fact itself cannot be disputed.
With colour, design and pattern choices for everything on the three-door hatchback, from the stylish headliners to the light effects, you're almost guaranteed not to come across someone in an identical car to yours. In fact, there are 16,000 different design varieties of the car available.
It's all about modern, urban-living and reflecting your personality in your wheels, so to speak.
The funky-looking hatchback channels the streamlined exterior of the Insignia.
Before you even start designing your motor, you can choose between the ADAM JAM, GLAM or SLAM: JAM being the more conservative of the three, GLAM being aimed towards females with vintage alloys and a glass sunroof and SLAM being aimed at the "boy-racer lads" with 17-inch alloys, Climate Control and Sports Suspension, although we're gently reminded that girls can drive the JAM too...
Alloy caps, wing mirror caps, dashboard design and interiors are only the start of using your imagination and designing your own Opel ADAM, and if you can't cope with the amount of variety or you're stuck for fear you could lose the run of yourself clicking on colours, the car offers Classic design packs with set colour schemes for an easy go-to personalisation choice.
To look at, the car is modern, bold and colourful. It is almost 3.70 metres long and 1.72 metres wide (excluding the mirrors). Although marketed for urban environments, the chassis and steering settings means it's agile outside the streets and small lanes of the town too.
A smaller car than what I'm used to driving, it drove and steered very light from the word go and, although my own set of wheels is a 1.4 petrol too, I didn't feel the same power from the accelerator as I feel with my own German-built hatchback.
The stand-out feature of the ADAM's interior is the IntelliLink infotainment system.
The stand-out feature of the ADAM is the IntelliLink infotainment system, basically your social media, music, driving and social life at the touchscreen press of a fingertip. For €350 extra, the IntelliLink system is installed in any ADAM. It's described as an all-in-one multimedia system with smartphone integration (Android or Apple iOS). It can also be controlled from the steering wheels. The price might sound saucy at first, but when you think of what it's worth and the amount you'll use it, it'd be a wiser spend than more design extras.
Other handy features for the ADAM include Park Assist that actually parks the car (you'll never have to parallel park again) and a Side Blind Spot Alert.
The ADAM is perfect if it's individuality you're looking for (which most people are these days). We personalise everything from our homes to our social media profiles, to our music players to our clothes, so why not be able to personalise a car too?
It's a new move for Opel and a bold one at that, but while the ADAM probably won't pass out fellow urban brands Fiat and Mini's presence on the streets, it's affordable price range means it's the perfect alternative.
Who knows? Opel might just have started a whole new trend in personalising motors...
Prices:
ADAM JAM 1.4 litre (100PS) petrol: €14,995 incl. 16-inch alloys, air con, Bluetooth and cruise as standard.
ADAM GLAM 1.4 litre (100PS) petrol: €16,995 incl. vintage alloys, glass sunroof and LED daytime running lights as standard.
ADAM SLAM 1.4 litre (100PS) petrol: 17-inch Hurricane alloys, two-tone rof pack, Climate Control and Sports Suspension as standard.
Notes:
IntelliLink infotainment system available for €350.
Starlight headliner illuminated by 64 LED lights giving impression of a starry night sky for €380.
