Sunday morning and having finished my morning coffee, I decided to push the Opel Antara to its limits… So far it had excelled in the city and on motorways but how would it fare off road was the next question. My wife decided to come along for the drive and was amazed how luxurious the interior was: after all, it’s not the only 4X4 we’ve had parked outside the door… but it is the only one she’s really liked!
After a while we found a place… It was hilly and very muddy but I was worried. The truth is, advertisers will say anything to sell cars and not all 4X4s can do what it says on the tin. If the Antara was not as good as Opel had said, I had visions of getting bogged down and stranded out in the middle of nowhere on a Sunday morning. I mean, could you imagine losing a car on a test drive? So I had only one option: I decided to ring David Ford, the fleet manager of Opel Ireland on his mobile and ask him what happens if I get stranded. When I told David what I was planning he just laughed and reassuringly said: “Go for it… Have some fun!”
With that done, I set off and needless to say, I didn’t strand the Antara. Believe me, it was very good off-road. The trouble with off-roading is that at any one time, all four wheels can be expected to do four different things all at once, especially on a downward slope. One downhill I took was quite rocky and muddy but all the clever gadgets and descent controls worked very well together to keep the Antara safe. The Antara’s intelligent four wheel drive is quite subtle too, allowing the four wheel drive to kick in just when needed. Having had a lot of fun and covered in mud and muck, it was back to the open road for the journey home.
This was the last day of the diary and I can honestly say that Opel has succeeded in building a great 4×4. It does everything well and in style. I had been a bit cynical when I heard that Opel were designing a 4×4… the general rule is, that when a company is very good at building cars, they struggle to design 4x4s… but Opel have proved me wrong. This isn’t just a car for the school run or a big car dressed up as a 4×4 – the Opel Antara is the real deal! The Antara is a great 4×4 and I can honestly say that it is that good, that if Opel ever decide to build an OPC Antara it is ‘game over’ for all other 4x4s. I had been looking forward to getting my hands on the Opel Antara, but wasn’t sure what to expect. I even had a little bet on with David Ford, who knew I wasn’t mad about 4x4s. I didn’t think I’d be wowed, especially compared to the other great cars in the Opel range… So, I’m now down 5 euros but I have had an amazing car for a few days and had a lot of fun… and quess what, I’m very impressed by the Opel Antara… I even think this is the best Opel I have ever driven.
