Vauxhall’s stylish Adam city car was launched back in 2013, joining a niche segment dominated by the Fiat 500 and the Mini. The difference of the Adam lays in the fact that there is no direct retro inspiration here, offering a slick, ‘upmarket’ design armed with plenty of customization options. Almost 125,000 units have been sold since its launch two years ago and the time has come for some welcome additions in its range.
What gives with the “Grand Slam”?
This is basically the sportiest Adam that you can get your hands on. Vauxhall points squarely at Abarth’s 500 with the Adam Grand Slam, a warm hatch by definition, ready to offer significantly more amusement to its driver, especially when compared to its humbler brothers. Wearing a more aggressive body kit and 18in wheels, the Adam Grand Slam has a distinctive and strong visual presence and it kinda needs to, having to go against one of the most successful designs created in recent years.
Under the Skin
The Adam Grand Slam -known in the rest of Europe as the Opel Adam S- gets a turbocharged 148hp 1.4-litre engine, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. Performance is quite brisk, with 0-62mph (100km/h) being dealt in 8.5sec while top speed reaches 124mph (200jm/h). Healthy numbers, but the competition is a bit faster, at least on paper, with the basic 135bhp Abarth 500 sprinting to 62 in 7.9 seconds.
The fastest of the Adams family (sic) is fitted with the brakes of the previous generation Corsa VXR, meaning 308mm ventilated discs at the front and 264mm discs at the rear complete with red “bespoke” calipers. There are no surprises in the suspension area, other than the usual uprated springs and dampers.
What’s it like on the road?
The optional Recaros are an instant mood-changer, fixing you in a really nice driving position with the wheel offering plenty of reach and rake adjustment. One of the biggest surprises, though, is the ride quality; despite the big 18inch wheels and the stiffer suspension, this fast Adam feels really civilized, absorbing bumps and imperfections with a maturity usually found in much bigger (and usually slower) cars.
Throw the Grand Slam into a series of corners and you quickly realize that the chassis handles easily the extra power, with plenty of grip and enough feel from the steering. This is a really fun car to drive fast in narrow country roads, helped by its wide tracks and nice balance. You can even bring the rear end to play with the ESP turned off, thanks to its short wheelbase but without scaring yourself like some notorious French hatches of the past did. Remember, this is not a fully-fledged hot hatch though, just a really good-handling small car, albeit one with a distinctive and rather flashy styling for the ones who prefer this sort of cars.
The short-throw gearbox doesn’t like fast downshifts, reminding you the above while the power delivery is not as exciting and explosive as it is in the Abarth 500.
The engine is really refined, offering good torque from low revs but in order to make good, fast progress, it needs a good workout. The small, turbocharged unit is happier when kept between 4.000rpm-5.500rpm and then you can really start enjoying the beefed-up chassis.
And the verdict is…
The Vauxhall Adam Grand Slam does everything it promises, offering plenty of fun and a wealthy pack of customisation options without sacrificing the daily-driving values of ride comfort and NVH. It is more civilized and stable than its main rival, the lighter and faster Abarth 500 that asks for more compromises, but in the end, the price tag of £16,995 seems a bit too steep, especially when you consider the Ford Fiesta ST -a proper hot-hatch- that has a base price of £17,395.
PHOTO GALLERY
