5.30 Friday morning and it was my usual early start. Up, showered and dressed, ready for what was promising to be a long day. I already had a backlog of work to deal with before the weekend begun. It was a cold morning too… but I had a nice new car outside, so I didn’t feel too bad about setting off… the only worry was how quickly would the Opel Antara warm up?
Starting the engine, the heated electrical seats, fitted as standard, responded immediately and it was mere moments before I had that nice toasty feeling. I had to go into the city centre and the Antara is what I call “Big Stuff”, so I knew it was going to be interesting testing it out in rush-hour traffic… and of course, parking it? No small test for “Big Stuff”!
First part of my journey took me onto the motorway and I’ve got to say that the Antara is surprisingly brisk. It really is quite settled with motorway driving. I’ve always found previous 4X4s a bit agricultural to drive and a bit laboured at motorway level, but that is just not the case… lane changes and overtaking are a breeze to the Antara and there is still plenty in reserve under the bonnet, which is quite reassuring. I won’t lie to you… It is not the quietest engine I have ever heard, but keeping in mind it’s a diesel,i t is by no means brutish or noisy. As diesels go, it is very hushed and I actual find that it has a character-filled diesel rumble which is very befitting of a 4X4. Let’s be honest, if you wanted absolute silence, you’d join a monastery! The cabin is also very well insulated so when you are driving, you barely notice the engine. I have had a little bit of reserve regarding the braking ability of 4X4s… I just feel they’re not quite up to scratch, considering the power and weight they have to tame, but the Opel Antara has not neglected its stopping power. When a car cut in front of me unexpectedly, the brakes comfortably did their work, quickly and safely. When it comes to motorways, it is an extremely relaxing drive.
In the city, I have a narrow lane to in which to reverse and a tight corner to negotiate, to get into the lockup to park. Picture this if you will… The lane is only the width of two cars, with a line of cars parked on one side and a wall on the other. Getting an average size car into the lockup is hard work so you can imagine my anxiety at attempting a 4X4! I could have taken the easy option but I had said I would test this car to the limit. The turning rate was very good and the big mirrors really helped… so, YES I did get into the lockup without any hassle. Once parked, the Antara got a lot of attention which was nice TOO! The various people arriving and leaving wanted to know about it and several thought it was quite a good looking 4X4. I thought I was going to have to lock myself into the Antara to get my work done in peace and quiet… and ironically with all that boot space, you could quite literally fit a small office desk into the back!
The Opel Antara was proving to be a very successful test drive and proving to be a lot of fun… tomorrow was the weekend and that could mean only one thing: Time to take the Antara off road… after all, when I picked the 4X4 up from Opel Ireland, their one request was to make sure that I test it out off road… so that is what is coming next, for the very cool Opel Antara.
