Opel Karl



Small but spacious, a dazzling appearance and above all entirely sensible - this is what buyers can expect from Opel's all-new entry-level model. Its name: simply Karl. The mini car, available from euro 9,500 (RRP including VAT in Germany), was designed from a white sheet of paper and celebrated its debut on the big stage at the Geneva Motor Show. For this attractive price, customers can expect a 3.68-meter long, 1.48-meter high appealing five-door car with space for up to five people and numerous safety and comfort technologies that are unrivalled in its segment. Karl will also be available with the latest in automotive connectivity soon.



From fall 2015, it will be possible to order it with both the new generation IntelliLink infotainment system and Opel OnStar - the personal connectivity and service assistant - which together make Karl the best connected and the most caring car in the segment. Under its hood, Opel's new entry-level model has a tailor-made, completely new, one-liter, naturally-aspirated three-cylinder gasoline engine with fuel consumption and CO2 emission levels that can be as low as 4.3 liters per 100 kilometer and 99 grams per kilometer in the combined cycle respectively. From the summer of 2015, Opel Karl, the sensible entry-level model, Adam, the individualization champion and Corsa, the well-known all-rounder, will give Opel its strongest mini and small car portfolio ever - and the youngest on the market. They leave nothing to be desired.


Opel Karl was also developed with functionality and versatility in mind. Sitting on a 2.385 mm-long wheelbase and tipping the scales at 939 kg, its five-door body offers plenty of room for up to five people. The driver seat and the steering column are height-adjustable (both as from Enjoy) and two ISOFIX child seats fitted in the rear. The asymmetrical (40:60) split foldable rear seat back (optional with Enjoy, standard with Cosmo) enables amply flexible loading space: With the rear seat backs folded down, Karl offers 1,013 liters of stowage up to its roof. The lightweight Karl also features Opel-engineered, best in class ride and handling. The front suspension has side-load compensation springs, double bonded ride bushings and a high structural stiffness to improve handling performance and minimize NVH (noise, vibration and harshness). Additional ride-improving measures have been implemented for the rear suspension. The V-section tubular type torsion beam is mounted in front of the rear wheels allowing the roll-rate and roll-steer characteristics to be perfectly aligned with engine power and vehicle weight. Furthermore, rear shocks are vertically mounted behind the rear wheels to provide a good shock leverage ratio and efficient damping performance and the vertical dual-path mount provides better ride and NVH performance. The tailored steering also adds to the impressive ride and handling - no matter whether in standard or City mode.


This comfortable and nifty package is propelled by the latest generation in Opel powertrain technology. The new 1.0 ECOTEC with 55 kW/75 hp, an ultra-modern one-liter, all-aluminum, three-cylinder gasoline engine from the same family as the highly praised 1.0 liter turbocharged engine available for Corsa and Adam impresses with outstanding running smoothness and efficiency. The engineers paid close attention to reducing vibrations during the development phase with a low-resonance construction for the block, a split oil pan, the noise protected integration of the exhaust manifold in the cylinder head and a sound absorbing cam cover all contributing to the engines excellent manners. Karl is therefore exceptionally quiet and refined for a car of this segment and price category.

When equipped with the optional ecoFlex package, consisting of an aerodynamically optimized front spoiler lip and roof spoiler as well as low-rolling resistance tires, Karl only consumes 4.3 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers and emits just 99 g/km CO2. Drivers can regulate the power perfectly via the modern, soft five-speed transmission, ensuring that Opel's new entry-level model ticks all of the relevant boxes in the extremely competitive mini-car segment.


With its typical Opel design, lively and well-tempered engine, almost countless safety features and technologies along with the standard-setting connectivity and infotainment technology Karl shows that it is a fully-fledged member of the Opel family and that it offers a sensible and convincing package for a price of euro 9,500.