Review: Vauxhall Corsa

The Vauxhall Corsa I had on test received more than its fair share of favourable comments when I drove it around for a few days recently.

Those who hadn’t looked at the badge first were surprised when I revealed what it was and commented on how much it has grown in size and matured in looks over the years.

The Corsa has been a mainstay of the Vauxhall stable since it debuted in 1993 and it’s a fair bet that most people have either owned or at least driven one since then.

It is still the best-selling supermini in the UK this year with 2,661 sold in May alone. The Corsa Electric was also the best-selling electric supermini with 1,717 registered so far in 2024.

Corsa has recently received a facelift and now sports the new Vizor front end which incorporates the new black Griffin logo. It really lifts the styling to new heights. As do the black roof and windscreen pillars.

Overall, Corsa looks good without being flashy, is made from decent-quality materials and has enough room for four adults - five at a pinch.

The steering wheel and driver’s seat have plenty of adjustment and storage space is adequate apart from the glove box which is impractically small.

Surprisingly there is just one USB port in the front. Presumably Vauxhall expects most owners to use the multimedia infotainment system rather than plugging in their own devices.

Even more annoying, it was a USB-C and I kept forgetting to take my adapter plug along. As there was no sat nav installed I suffered from ‘range anxiety’ wondering if my phone battery would stay the course.

Two new hybrid engines have been introduced for 2024. Both are powered by a three-cylinder 1.2-litre petrol engine mated to an electric motor with either 99bhp or 134bhp and a six-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox.

We drove the smaller of the two and found it did a pretty decent job of accelerating and keeping up with traffic. The automatic transmission makes smooth gear changes with very little jerking

A 300-mile round trip (over a long weekend) along a mixture of motorways, country roads and urban streets gave us plenty of chances to access its capabilities - and we didn’t have to top up the tank until we got back.

The steering is light and the turning circle is particularly tight so Corsa is particularly at home in towns. We were in Wales where many of the roads are 20mph and it was relatively easy to keep the Corsa’s speed down to the legal limit.

We drove the GS trim - the middle spec with Design and Ultimate book ending it and it was well specified

It comes with plenty of safety kit including lane departure warning, side blind spot alert and speed sign recognition - although this was often wrong.

Our GS had a rear view camera and front and rear parking sensors which proved useful as rearward viability is not the best.

In all, a nice little car that has certainly stood the test of time well.

Vauxhall Corsa hybrid

Price: £25,280 (£25,880 as tested)

Engine: 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol and electric motor

Power: 98bhp

Torque: 151lb/ft

Transmission: six-speed dual clutch automatic

Top speed: 116mph

0-62mph: 10.7 seconds

Economy: 61.4-62.8mpg

CO 2 emissions:104g/km