The Vauxhall Corsa: A Well-Executed Upgrade

As we arrived at Rockingham's high-tech track, our team was excited to put the new Vauxhall Corsa to the test. The car's designer described it as "uniquely sculptural and invitingly attractive," with a wide range of petrol and diesel models available in three and five-door body styles. Prices start at just under £9,000, making it an accessible option for many buyers. We were particularly interested in testing the 1-liter turbo Excite Corsa Cool, which boasts all-new panels and suspension.

Upon first glance, we thought the car had done a nice job, especially considering its consistent selling success in the UK. The Corsa is currently the third best-selling car in the country, ahead of several other popular models like Ford. One might wonder why the designers didn't move away from their winning formula, but it's clear that they know what works. The new Corsa retains the same dimensions as its predecessor, which may seem counterintuitive at first glance.

However, the team assures us that this isn't a case of stagnation, but rather a deliberate decision to stick with a proven model. "It's their precious gem," one team member quipped, emphasizing the car's enduring popularity. We took a closer look at the interior, noticing nice touches like a sat-nav system in the middle console and soft, rubbery padding on top. The quality of the materials is evident, but we couldn't help feeling that the design could benefit from a more symmetrical badge.

The Corsa has never been the most exciting or tempting car to drive, but this latest iteration is a different story altogether. We were reasonably excited to get behind the wheel and see if it lived up to its promise. As it turned out, the 1-liter turbo Excite Corsa Cool was a real treat, with a peppy engine and handling that's both fun and responsive. The car's slightly heavier weight is noticeable, but it doesn't detract from our overall enjoyment of driving it.

In terms of performance, we found the Corsa to be somewhat less economical than its rival, the Ford Fiesta. While the Vauxhall achieved an impressive 57.6 mpg combined, the Fiesta edged it out with 65.7 mpg. However, the Corsa has more boot space – a full 2,85 liters compared to the Fiesta's 2.90 liters. The car also comes equipped with a traction control system, which is always welcome in an enthusiastic driver.

One of our team members did a quiz with TIFF to compare the Corsa directly to its arch-rival, the Ford Fiesta Z-Techno. While the results are largely anecdotal and don't provide definitive proof one way or another, they do suggest that the Corsa's handling is perhaps slightly more impressive. We didn't have a chance to test this out in person, but our team member did manage to score an average of two correct answers out of five questions.

The team's conclusion was that while there's nothing outstandingly appealing about the Corsa, it's also not terribly horrible. With a score of 7 out of 10, the car is well-deserving of its higher rating of 8. In other words, it's a nice little car that won't let you down – and that's exactly what buyers should be looking for in their next vehicle purchase.

Finally, we couldn't help but mention the M 400 track version, which seems to have been developed as a personal favorite among team members. While there wasn't much information available on this model during our testing, it sounds like an exciting option for those who want to push their cars to the limit.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ennow we're off to our high-tech track at Rockingham for a fifth gear team test today the team tested the new bottle Corsa voxel described their latest Corsa as being uniquely sculptural and invitingly attractive a wide range of petrol and diesel models are available in three and five-door body styles with prices starting at just under 9,000 pounds the model we're testing is a 1 liter turbo excite Corsa cool sir when I first saw the courser I thought wow they have done a nice job it's got all new panels and all new suspension and this is new these lines they haven't moved the game on in leaps and bounds but I know why they have them because it is their precious gem it's a huge consistent selling hit car it's the third best-selling car in the UK yeah after a couple of Fords yeah it's got the same dimensions as the outgoing model and you might think what's the point in that but clearly they're on to a winning formula Johnny get in the back Isuzu inside I was feeling out the quality that cars got nice little sat-nav section the middle nice soft touch rubbery sort of padding on the top please they've stepped it up soft yeah it's not that hard look at those all thinking to talk about was the badge I don't like the badge I like a symmetrical badge and that's not symmetrical what's the badge got to do with the car maybe just the face of a Griffon the Corsa has never been the most scintillating or tempting of cars in my opinion but this one I was actually reasonably excited about driving it the Fiesta is the arch rival of the Corsa so I thought we'd do a little quiz with TIFF are you ready for your specialist subject yeah yeah which will be the Vauxhall Corsa excite one litre i eco flip if we pitched up against the arch rival the Ford Fiesta z-tech one litre T EcoBoost so the boys decided to play some extravagant Top Trumps malarkey I went and drove the car so by little 1-liter 3-cylinder turbocharged engine underneath i thought it was quite a peppy 114 variables per and i enjoyed its handling does the Corsa way more than the Fiesta or less it has to be less I'm afraid it's slightly heavier Oh cheeky little handling yes there's a bit of body roll but it turns in tucks in nicely and and grips quite well is the Corsa more frugal than the Uncle Fester of course is still less less economical than the very economical forward the Corsa is fifty seven point six miles per gallon combine the Ford Fiesta is sixty five point seven well done mr. Dell you have to wring the neck a bit of the one needs to engine get those revs really high and working which has the largest bug space of course that has more boot space than the Fiesta so close two hundred and eighty five liters for the course over the fiestas 290 the traction control system which I can't turn off just flickering on there but at least it gives an enthusiastic driver the chance to push the car a bit before attraction comes in and says whoa whoa there tiger who is faster 262 it's the core so you're absolutely right well done you've scored an average score I can't even remember how much you scored in fact I was average getting two right and two wrong but more importantly how did the course to do well on the downside it's heavier has less boot space and uses more fuel than a comparative fiesta but on the plus side it's quicker to 62 miles an hour and the kids it impressed with its handling well done box'll so what are our scores there's nothing outstandingly appealing about the car and equally there's nothing terribly horrible about it and for that reason I'm gonna give it a 7 out of 10 doesn't matter which way you look at it the Corsa is worthy of an 8 well no big surprises but no shocks either it's a nice little car and gets an 8 which gives the Vauxhall Corsa a team test score of 23 out of 30 the M 400 is the track version my favorite oh there is Oh innocentnow we're off to our high-tech track at Rockingham for a fifth gear team test today the team tested the new bottle Corsa voxel described their latest Corsa as being uniquely sculptural and invitingly attractive a wide range of petrol and diesel models are available in three and five-door body styles with prices starting at just under 9,000 pounds the model we're testing is a 1 liter turbo excite Corsa cool sir when I first saw the courser I thought wow they have done a nice job it's got all new panels and all new suspension and this is new these lines they haven't moved the game on in leaps and bounds but I know why they have them because it is their precious gem it's a huge consistent selling hit car it's the third best-selling car in the UK yeah after a couple of Fords yeah it's got the same dimensions as the outgoing model and you might think what's the point in that but clearly they're on to a winning formula Johnny get in the back Isuzu inside I was feeling out the quality that cars got nice little sat-nav section the middle nice soft touch rubbery sort of padding on the top please they've stepped it up soft yeah it's not that hard look at those all thinking to talk about was the badge I don't like the badge I like a symmetrical badge and that's not symmetrical what's the badge got to do with the car maybe just the face of a Griffon the Corsa has never been the most scintillating or tempting of cars in my opinion but this one I was actually reasonably excited about driving it the Fiesta is the arch rival of the Corsa so I thought we'd do a little quiz with TIFF are you ready for your specialist subject yeah yeah which will be the Vauxhall Corsa excite one litre i eco flip if we pitched up against the arch rival the Ford Fiesta z-tech one litre T EcoBoost so the boys decided to play some extravagant Top Trumps malarkey I went and drove the car so by little 1-liter 3-cylinder turbocharged engine underneath i thought it was quite a peppy 114 variables per and i enjoyed its handling does the Corsa way more than the Fiesta or less it has to be less I'm afraid it's slightly heavier Oh cheeky little handling yes there's a bit of body roll but it turns in tucks in nicely and and grips quite well is the Corsa more frugal than the Uncle Fester of course is still less less economical than the very economical forward the Corsa is fifty seven point six miles per gallon combine the Ford Fiesta is sixty five point seven well done mr. Dell you have to wring the neck a bit of the one needs to engine get those revs really high and working which has the largest bug space of course that has more boot space than the Fiesta so close two hundred and eighty five liters for the course over the fiestas 290 the traction control system which I can't turn off just flickering on there but at least it gives an enthusiastic driver the chance to push the car a bit before attraction comes in and says whoa whoa there tiger who is faster 262 it's the core so you're absolutely right well done you've scored an average score I can't even remember how much you scored in fact I was average getting two right and two wrong but more importantly how did the course to do well on the downside it's heavier has less boot space and uses more fuel than a comparative fiesta but on the plus side it's quicker to 62 miles an hour and the kids it impressed with its handling well done box'll so what are our scores there's nothing outstandingly appealing about the car and equally there's nothing terribly horrible about it and for that reason I'm gonna give it a 7 out of 10 doesn't matter which way you look at it the Corsa is worthy of an 8 well no big surprises but no shocks either it's a nice little car and gets an 8 which gives the Vauxhall Corsa a team test score of 23 out of 30 the M 400 is the track version my favorite oh there is Oh innocent\n"