The market continually fails to produce a 3.7-metre car that’ll seat four six-footers in genuine comfort. So it’s no serious shortcoming to find that the Vauxhall Adam has a rear bench that’s best kept for the kids. By class standards that doesn’t actually make it impractical – and although it’s not ideal, neither does a 170-litre boot.
In fact, the Vauxhall’s cabin is quite large. A low scuttle and tall glasshouse make for good visibility and a strong impression of space inside. The wide cockpit and high roofline deliver generous footwells and fairly abundant headroom. Even larger drivers should seldom find the Adam’s interior plastics with their shoulders and knees, as they often would in narrower city cars.
The seat bases are slightly short, flat and lacking in thigh support, but otherwise the driving position is sound. It’s less recumbent than in a Mini, but not necessarily the worse for it. The large steering wheel has plenty of adjustment and the instruments are clear and quite attractive.
Cars featuring a black fascia and black cloth seats do little to demonstrate the more vivacious possibilities that Adam customers can choose between. There are four options on fascia colour, 15 different seat trims, several different roof linings and 18 fascia ‘decor’ panels (ours were red), which add a flash of colour and can be changed by your Vauxhall dealer to refresh the cabin.
Wisely specified models distinguish themselves better on material richness, though. The Adam’s dashboard has just enough variety and visual interest to lift the ambience above the small-car norm. It’s also quite tactile and appealing; all the better for being less slavishly devoted to unadorned functionality than Opel/Vauxhall’s default setting.
The Adam is available in six trim levels - Jam, Glam, Slam, S, Energised and Unlimited. The entry-level models come with 16in alloy wheels, air conditioning, cruise control, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, upgrading to Glam gets you luxuries such as climate control, DAB radio and LED day running lights.
The mid-range Slam trim comes with 17in alloys, a choice of roof colours, Vauxhall's OnStar system, and numerous chrome trimmings, while the sporty S gets 18in alloys, uprated brakes, sports suspension and a beefy bodykit. Topping the standard Adam range is the Energised trim which comes with Vauxhall's Intellink infotainment system.
The Unlimited trimmed Adams come with less equipment than most of its peers, but do include climate control, smartphone integration and cruise control, while those who opt for this trim on the Adam Rocks will get OnStar, a folding canvas roof, numerous plastic mouldings and a chrome-style exhaust.
The rest of the rugged Adam Rocks range is punctuated by three main trims - Rocks, Rocks Air and Rocks S. Those opting for the Rocks and Rocks Air will find Vauxhall OnStar, DAB radio, smartphone integration, cruise control, 17in alloys and air conditioning as standard, while the latter gains a retractable canvas roof.
The range-topping Rocks S comes with sports suspension, uprated brakes, 18in alloys and a rear spoiler.
