Vauxhall Corsa hatchback 2006-2012 review
Vauxhall Corsa is the most popular car with driving instructors. That’s because it’s cheap to buy, cheap to run and it’s cheap to insure.
Insurance isn’t the only thing it’s also one of the safest superminis on the market. But even if you’re not teaching someone how to drive, there are plenty of things to like about the Corsa such as having one of the biggest boots in this segment. You can get a false floor for it as well which keeps any valuables out of sight. It has the added benefit of being able to load heavy items on top without crushing what’s beneath.
The Vauxhall Corsa has lots of space in the back. There’s ample knee room and head room which means it’s big enough for a family and you can recline the seats slightly which is quite a nice feature.
The five door model is very easy to get into and out of the back. In the front the Corsa feels pretty upmarket and everything feels really tough and robust. Out of all the superminis, the Corsa feels the most like a big car to drive which means it’s ideal if you are downsizing from something larger such as an Astra. It’s very quiet and refined inside, however that’s not all. The Corsa is really comfortable thanks to supple suspension which does a great job of ironing out all the horrible imperfections in our rather rubbish UK roads, but don’t go thinking that means it doesn’t handle well because the Corsa is actually a lot of fun when the road opens up in front of you.
The 1.4 litre petrol engine offers the best blend of performance, economy and price. However avoid the smaller petrol engines if you can as they make the Corsa feel a little bit sluggish. As for the Corsa’s other bad points, well it has a rather annoying fat A-pillar which interferes a bit with your visibility. It’s probably the fattest on any car I’ve seen never mind a supermini. Also the other problem is you only get height adjustment on the driver’s seat on mid to high spec cars which can be a bit of a problem if you are not the tallest person in the world.
Another negative will depend on your point of view it’s fair to say that the Corsa isn’t as exciting to look at as a Peugeot 207 or a Ford Fiesta. If you’re the kind of person who likes lugging loads about you might not like that fact that the Corsa’s rear seats don’t fold completely flat which is a little bit annoying.
Finally there is the small matter of depreciation because the Corsa won’t hold its value as well as many of its key competitors. Having said that though it’s actually not that expensive in the first place and you can get some cracking discounts from dealers. So if you want that big car feel without the big car costs then the Corsa passes with flying colours.
