For so many years the Medium/Large Business Car of the Year award was the plum award for NZ Company Vehicle, as Medium/Large cars were the bulwark of the fleet sector.
Today, in 2023, the hero of the fleet market could come from just about any sector, such is the diversity of fleets in this country.
In saying this however there is still a category for the Medium/Large Car of the Year and this year, that category winner comes from a non-traditional – indeed, a disruptor – brand.
That should have been a big enough clue as the brand has used the term to describe itself – and its products – since its re-birth in this country back in 2022.
Unshackled from Holden, Opel relaunched itself with the city chic Mokka, and the promise of more to come. Then came the Corsa and a few months later the conventionally powered, if low-emission version, of the Astra hatch.
Opel of course, has pledged itself to providing electric or electrified versions of its vehicles as quickly as possible, so when the Astra GSe was announced a few short weeks after the regular version, it came as no great surprise.
What did come as a surprise was the overall package that is the GSe (for Grand Sport electric) – the car offers so much more than an ICE alternative.
Being a plug-in hybrid, the GSe delivers the best of both an electrified powertrain backed up by a high-performance and highly efficient petrol engine delivering 165kW for one litre per 100km fuel consumption and a completely electric range of 61km.
But there is so much more to both this category and indeed, this category’s 2023 winner. The medium/large car – although no longer the darling of the fleet market – still has to have certain attributes and characteristics: safety, functionality, practicality, drivability and desirability.
The Opel Astra GSe has all of these but it is the last two which the judges determined to be the deciding factor in the GSe’s award.
“The electrified version proved to be a tauter and more engaging driving experience than the conventional petrol powered model, no doubt the result of the additional weight and the tuned suspension.”
Like many award winners in this category which have gone before it, to really appreciate the Opel Astra GSe requires much more than an on-paper assessment.
In today’s market where the medium/large car is very much a user-chooser consideration, the Opel Astra GSe warrants more than a passing glance.
