Unique Auto

Posts Tagged ‘Corsa’

The Vauxhall Corsa has seamlessly eased itself into the Great British consciousness by providing reasonably priced, stylish and ecologically sound motoring. In the small hatchback market, the target demographic is not often considered to be looking for a high performance vehicle; they are more interested in the MPG ratios and how much CO2 is leaking out of the exhaust. The standard Corsa fills this niche admirably and has become a consistent and popular fantastic seller throughout the country. Vauxhall, however, have had a change of heart with the Corsa’s regulation blueprints and have released a titan.

The Vauxhall Corsa 1.6 16V VXR takes the tried and tested styling of the more common Corsa and puts fire and brimstone under the bonnet. This car seems to be squarely aimed at those amongst us who not only want to get away from the traffic lights first, but want to rip an ever-lasting hole in the space/time continuum whilst we do so.

I, like many people, learned to drive in a Vauxhall Corsa, so I was genuinely looking forward to revisiting the humble beginnings of my driving career. What I was presented with was an unbelievably different beast to the 1.3 CDTi I used to chug down the dual carriageway in. The Corsa VXR has been modelled to look sportier; the bodywork looks like a rally car, the seats hug your contours and the whole affair seems to have much more of a snarl about it.

I was used to the Diesel Corsa 0-60 capabilities of around 13 seconds, so was awesomely surprised when I realised that the VXR model could manage it in half the time. When I say “pleasantly surprised”, I was actually whooping like an delirious Gorilla.

The Vauxhall Corsa VXR may very well appeal to the rather unsavoury boy racers amongst us, but its appeal really deserves to be enjoyed by a wider audience. The price range puts it in direct combination with the higher spec Ford Fiestas and the zippy Vauxhall makes a stupendous case for itself.

If you are looking for a car that can slap a smile on your face, I doubt you will have to look much further than the Vauxhall Corsa 1.6 16V VXR.

The Vauxhall Corsa has seamlessly eased itself into the Great British consciousness by providing cost-effective, stylish and ecologically sound motoring. In the small hatchback market, the target demographic is not often considered to be looking for a high performance vehicle; they are more interested in the MPG ratios and how much CO2 is leaking out of the exhaust. The standard Corsa fills this niche admirably and has become a consistent and popular seller throughout the country. Vauxhall, however, have had a change of heart with the Corsa’s regulation blueprints and have released something of a caged beast.

The Vauxhall Corsa 1.6 16V VXR takes the tried and tested styling of the more common Corsa and puts fire and brimstone under the bonnet. This car seems to be squarely aimed at those amongst us who not only want to get away from the traffic lights first, but want to blow a hole in the space/time continuum whilst we do so.

I, like many people, learned to drive in a Vauxhall Corsa, so I was genuinely looking forward to revisiting the humble beginnings of my driving career and reminding myself of the Corsa's fun. The Corsa model I was presented with was an entirely different beast to the 1.3 CDTi I used to chug down the dual carriageway in. The Corsa VXR has been modelled to look sportier; the bodywork looks like a rally car, the seats hug your contours and the whole affair seems to have much more of a snarl about it.

I was used to the Diesel Corsa 0-60 capabilities of around 13 seconds, so was pleasantly surprised when I realised that the VXR model could manage it in less than half the time. When I say “pleasantly surprised”, I was actually burbling incomprehensibly.

The Vauxhall Corsa VXR may very well appeal to the rather unsavoury boy racers amongst us, but its appeal really deserves to be enjoyed by a wider audience. The price range puts it in direct competition with the higher spec Ford Fiestas like the Zetec and the zippy Vauxhall makes a very good case for itself.

If you are looking for a car that can slap a smile on your face, I doubt you will have to look much further than the Vauxhall Corsa 1.6 16V VXR.

Despite the pleading protestations to convince the general public to leave their cars at home and step aboard public transport, the Government and local authorities don’t exactly make it the convenient and cost-friendly solution that one would hope. The prices on buses and trains consistently sky rocket and the quality and frequency of service invariably falls dramatically. So what most of us are looking for is cost-effective transport, which is easily maintained, reliable and isn’t full of litter or smells like a particularly abused dustbin. What the general public are crying out for is a series of cars that are suitable for city driving; great handling, good performance at low revs, economical and ecologically sound. With some research I found, with relative ease, a great choice of car to fit the bill.

Vauxhall have been manufacturing popular cars for years now, but in the emergence of more ecologically aware society, many manufacturers have come under scrutiny for their ‘green’ (or not) policies and products. Fortunately Vauxhall have next to nothing to worry themselves about in this matter. The Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 CDTi produces class-leading low CO2 emissions and is capable of reaching around 70 miles to the gallon, which is not only kinder on your wallet, but considerably kinder on the environment.

 With more and more of us learning to drive every year and with the social stigma placed on gas-guzzling cars, there is a huge scope to be mobile yet environmentally friendly. The Diesel Corsa has all the style and panache you would find desirable in a city car, yet maintains all the practicalities that we are being forced to pay more attention too.

The Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 CDTi is a popular seller in the hatchback market and a suitable vehicle for learners who may not drive the most economically, city dwellers and those who need affordable transport from day to day.

Let’s be honest about this; Vauxhall is hardly a ‘glamour’ brand. For as long as I can remember they have been churning out cars that have been…well…a bit underwhelming. The engineers at Vauxhall may be adept at producing comfortable, well performing and reasonably priced vehicles, but they’re hardly setting anyone’s world on fire are they? Until now that is…Enter the new Vauxhall Corsa.

Ok, you can stop cringing and come from behind the sofa; I’m not going to build the Corsa up to be a Zonda F or Lamborghini Gallardo, as it is clearly not. What Vauxhall have done though, is force some much needed ‘OOMPH' into their entry level product. The old Corsa resembled a shoebox on wheels and had all the cool points and street credit of a old woolen jumper. A few carefully designed changes to the bodywork and all of a sudden Vauxhall have created one of the more stylish looking superminis available.

The Corsa comes with a selection of engine options ranging from the bland and rather pathetic 1.0 3 cylinder to the growling 1.6 Turbo VXR, the latter being something of a boy racer’s fantasy. The popularity of the Corsa has some minor drawbacks however. Due to the size, responsive handling, chic looks and cheap running costs, the Corsa has been adopted as the driving teacher’s car of choice. With leading driving school BSM operating a fleet of thousands of Corsas, you’ll be hard pushed to go for a drive in your Corsa without getting stuck behind another Corsa with a big trapezoid with a ‘L’ on top of it. Thus the illusion of cool is mortally ruptured and you end up feeling like a bit of a fool.

The snowball effect aside, you cannot deny that the Corsa probably deserves its popularity. It has taken on the Ford Fiesta, VW Polo and Fiat Panda as the new driver’s first car and is fighting hard. The current market for superminis has found itself in a state of saturation recently, with almost every car manufacturer vying for the precious profit to be made from entry-level vehicles. The Corsa was the 4^th bestselling car in the United Kingdom in 2007 (shifting 94,120 units in the UK) and has consistently been in the top 10 selling cars list since its introduction in 1993; quite an achievement in anyone’s book.

My own experience of the Corsa comes in the form of the 1.3 CDTi. During my drive I often felt as though I was sat in a lounge chair, enjoying the comfort of the seats and the relatively elevated driving position. The plastics all felt rigid and of good quality, the only drawback being the stubby indicators which are as responsive as a dead camel. The central console’s screen was a useful addition, despite having a differing opinion to the speedometer regarding the car’s velocity; barely noticeable and nothing to detract from the driving experience too any serious extent.

The engine was punchy without being overly-erratic, though it has to be said that it did often make a lot of noise without actually achieving anything worth shouting about…but I guess that’s smaller diesel engines for you. The engine was also ecologically sound, producing around 57 mpg, which is not only a relief to the consumer, but also the planet. The gearbox was relatively smooth, though often refused to go into third without me resorting to aggression.

The Vauxhall Corsa is more suited to those amongst us who want to feel more involved in the driving experience, rather than just another passenger in the car. This car must have been engineered to be a relaxing drive, but jolts you every now and then to keep you alert. The race for the ultimate supermini hatch is still a race worth running, though it is refreshing that not everyone is automatically heading to their local Ford dealer. Now let’s all rejoice in free market capitalism and the consumers right to choose whatever they want.

The Vauxhall Corsa has been around for what feels like a lifetime. Some might say almost as long as Bruce Forsythe who is a British institution, rather like the good old Corsa. The problem is that unlike good old Bruce who is still at the peak of his powers the average British car buyer became bored of the old Corsa with its dated style and were instead tempted away by the sleek, sophisticated look and feel that other European.

The original Corsa which was released back in 1993 was an improvement on the boxy Nova that it replaced but the 2000 model was not much of a revelation despite good sales and the competition was hot on the heals of the Corsa by then. As a result the all-new Corsa launched in 2006 attempted to win back the buyers it had lost to the likes of Peugeot, Toyota, Renault and of course Fiat with the Grande Punto.

The answer was if you can’t beat them join them and so the third Generation Corsa was born. Based on the same platform as the Grande Punto the Corsa was an entirely different proposition to what had gone before and more akin to a baby Astra than anything else.

The car has a far higher quality feel about it .The Corsa name has acquired a reputation for being bland – that was until the newest model was introduced. With a sharper style and a tidy interior it’s a massive leap forward compared to its predecessor offering more comfort, more space and more refinement. Like its big brother, the Astra, it has two distinct profiles for three and five-door models – and both variants look good. It’s enjoyable to drive too and thanks to a comfortable ride and decent noise insulation makes a surprisingly smooth motorway cruiser. There's a wide choice of engines but it's the diesels that really impress, especially the frugal 1.3-litre CDTi. There’s also a performance model in the shape of the 1.6T SRi that is just as exciting to drive as the VXR hot hatch.

There’s a good choice of engines in the Corsa range and they all offer decent economy. The entry-level model is the 1.0-litre petrol but with just 60bhp the three-cylinder unit struggles for pace and feels sluggish – the 80bhp 1.2-litre is a better bet if you intend to cover more than town miles. There's also a 1.4-litre unit but it only has 10bhp more than the 1.2-litre and isn’t much quicker – it also needs to be revved hard to achieve decent momentum and will quickly lose interest when faced with hills. For a sporty performance there is a.6-litre turbo-charged SRi model which was introduced in mid-2007 – it uses a less powerful version of the engine found in the VXR with 150bhp instead of 192bhp. However there is still plenty of go with a 0-60 mph time of 7.6 seconds it doesn’t hang about either

It’s the diesels that come out the best though. The most powerful is the 1.7 CDTi with 125bhp and plenty of pulling power it makes it ideal for town and motorway driving and it’s a surprisingly relaxed cruiser, sitting at low revs at 70mph. The pick of the engine range is the newer 1.3 CDTi available with 75bhp or 90bhp. It's much smoother and more refined than its larger counterpart and although it lacks some of the mid-range punch it's incredibly economical - the less powerful version averaging 63mpg. All petrol models have a five-speed gearbox with the exception of the 1.6T which, along with the diesel engines, comes with a six-speed transmission. The gearboxes do feel a little notchy and slow to shift but the change is positive enough. An Easytronic (automated manual) system is available on the 1.2-litre models, while a conventional four-speed automatic can be specified on the 1.4-litre

The Corsa may not have the French sophistication of a Renault Clio or the sporty appeal of a Mazda 2 but is a great all rounder and a superb choice if you’re after a good value, small hatchback.