Advantages: Easy to drive, economical
Disadvantages: Boring as you can imagine

...LONG TERM TEST: Vauxhall Corsa 1.2i Merit PLODDING ALONG Long term tests can be a Godsend. As motoring journalists we usually have a car for just one or two days which only normally equates to around 4 hours driving time. In this time we have to make judgements which could, we hope, have an effect on whether or not readers buy the car. Having a car for 6 months allows us to make some real judgements of the merits and pitfalls of a car in day to day use. However, in this case, when I was landed with the task of driving Vauxhall’s Corsa 1.2i Merit for 6 months, the 4-hour test seemed much more appealing. It’s not that the Corsa has a bad reputation, it just doesn’t have a good reputation. My assignment was to determine once and for all, is the Corsa any good? The Corsa is an awful piece of automotive engineering. First... Read review

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Advantages: Economy, Cheap Spares / Servicing, Compact
Disadvantages: Lack of Space, Strange Power Steering, Heavy Accelerator, Sloggy Engine

...The first Corsa I ever drove was an Opel (I don't think there was a British version then) in Gran Canaria in 1991. Nine years later, I was looking for a small, economical runabout and remembered the Corsa. I test drove a Vauxhall Club and discovered a few built-in problems but decided I could live with these and bought a new 1.2 in metallic silver. I still have that car and so this is a long-term, five year test of the small Corsa (as opposed to the bigger version marketed a little later). I'll start with a brief overview of this 'compact'. At first glance it appears to be a small, light, nippy car, which is what it should be. However, this view is somewhat dispelled when you start driving the Club. Unexpectedly, the power-steering is heavy at low speeds and the accelerator is heavy all the time. The engine characteristics... Read review

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Advantages: Good reliable car
Disadvantages: None really

...Well when my family purchased a new Vauxhall Corsa Club 1.2l 16v car, I was very happy indeed. We have always had Vauxhall's apart from a few disasterous flirts with other brands :) Further to this, I learned to drive 4 years ago with BSM who use 1.0l Corsa's so I was pretty much used to them. However, even I as a loyal Vauxhall fan as surprised at just how good a car the 1.2l Corsa is. The look of the car is pretty OK. Nothing out of the ordinary, just what you expect from a Vauxhall. Infact there is very little difference between any makes of car in this day and age, and alot of the cars this size look similar. We bought a silver coloured car and this looked very nice when it was brand new and all shiny. The car I first drove at home was a 1.4l Corsa, and so I was worried when we changed it for the 1.2l that it would not pull... Read review

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Advantages: Small and economic
Disadvantages: Ride a little to firm

...well placed to catch your eye if something should go wrong. Press the power button on the Philips sterio and the music is played through 6 speakers. 2 in each front door and 2 in the rear parcel shelve. The door speakers consist of one mid and one tweater per door, combined by 2 mids in the rear. For a standard sterio the corsa has done very well. Turn the key and the ecotech 16v engine comes to life. The engine is not overly powerfull but the car does feel nippy. The clutch feels light although there is a lot more travel in the gear change than I would have liked. A smother switch with less travel would have been a lot better. The power unit is fairly quite even at motorway speed, The car cruises very will in 5th gear. The corsa 1.2 is never exactly going to rip up the road surface but for a small car in it's class it does do well... Read review

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Advantages: Reliabilty, Handling, Economy, Insurance Prices, Safety, Acceleration, Depreciation
Disadvantages: They don't make this model anymore! The new corsa's interior is just hideous!

...This small, sporty, cheap hatchback is, frankly, the work of automotive genius! I am only 18, and this was/is my first car. I always wanted a Corsa, ever since my uncle bought one. As i was browsing through the pages of a well known auto trade magazine i stumbled across a black Corsa 1.2 SXi. I thought 'wow, now that's a sexy hot-hatch' and thought no more of it, dismissing it with thoughts of tear-inducing insurance prices. But, it turns out that this was one of the easiest and cheapest cars to insure! Now, unlike the Peugeot 206 Gti or the Citroen C2 VTR, the Corsa has got all the looks, without the enormous, fuel guzzling engine (and also minus that scratchy black plastic wrinkly french interior!). After going and looking at a couple, my mind was set - i was going to have one of these cars. And what a choice it turned out to be... Read review

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Advantages: Looks, Performace, Running Costs, Equipment
Disadvantages: Handling in wet, Vauxhall Dealer.

...I currently own a 53 plate Silver Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 SXi, im going to try provide a short and sweet review on the car for any potential buyers. Engine and Performance: Whilst a 1.2 engine may put potential buyers off due to a lack of power, it should be noted that this potential 16v engine is one of the best in its class, boasting one of the best 0-60mph times of 11.6 seconds. The engine is superb through the gears, although it is revved a little hard at motorway speeds but not enough to be a problem. 9\10 - Excellent pokey engine for the size. Equipment: The SXI comes standard with a CD player with steering wheel controls, electric windows and mirrors, 15" alloy wheels and sports seats. It also has little touches like being lowered with white dials inside and a general more aggressive, sporty look to the car. The CD player... Read review

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Advantages: Good range of feature. Cheap running costs.
Disadvantages: Very common cars.

...This is the Second of the Corsa C Models we have owned. Our first car was a 2000 model 1.0 Club which served us well during the 2 years we owned it. The car was cheap to run, nice to drive, but was let down by the basic equipment Vauxhall gave us as Standard. Why Another Corsa. ****************** In January and Feburary I had 2 different new shape Fiesta as hire cars and I did rate the drive and comfort of the cars very highly. They were similar to drive as the excellant all round Focus model. You did feel a lot of bumps in the road but in general it was a very good car. The first Fiesta was a 1300 Finesse which was as slow as they come. You didnot change into second gear until 50 mph....well it felt that way!. The car was way to slow. The next Fiesta was a 1400 LX and was quicker if you revved it hard. The reason that a 1400... Read review

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Advantages: Style, Quality, Ride, Comfort and Cost
Disadvantages: None!

...INTRODUCTION Vauxhall Man strikes again! After 6 years and one month, we finally decided to part company with our rather good little Vauxhall Corsa ‘Sport’ (See my previous Op); and after the usual tramp around the showrooms we have replaced it with... another Vauxhall Corsa – an Sxi 1.2 16-valve! This time, however, we opted for the Corsa Sxi, and, now baby is less of a baby and more of a little girl, we decided that 5 doors (i.e. 4 doors and a boot) are better than 3 doors (that is – 2 doors and a boot)! Having now owned 3 Corsas, 1 Nova (‘No go’ in Spanish?!?) from new and one nearly new Cavalier it has been interesting to note the changes in design and quality from Vauxhall (Opel/General Motors) in the last few years – mostly these changes have been positive. So where to begin... Read review

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Advantages: Small, reliable, easy to drive and safe
Disadvantages: Fuel consumption slightly high

...will out-accelerate some older model 1.4 engines. Good acceleration in 3rd gear for coming onto short motorway slip roads. Brakes are good. Uprated sports discs and brake pads make emergency stops quick and easy. PRACTICALITY Practicality is good too, with a fairly large boot size for a small car, probably enough space to fit in a set of golf clubs, or a few suit cases. May be difficult for tall passengers to get in the back of the car with the 3 door Corsa, but once in theres plenty of space to go round. VERDICT With owning this car since the beginning of the year, my honest opinion is that overall, the Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 sxi is a fantastic car. It is very asy to drive, standard features are good and it feels like a bigger car than what it actually is. I would recommend this car to any driver who is looking for value for money... Read review

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Advantages: Small but perfectly formed
Disadvantages: None

...If you’d asked me six months ago, what car I have, I would have replied: “A blue one.” Now if you ask the same question, you’d get something along the lines of: “A 3 door Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 Sxi with twin airbags….” Admittedly, I am not an expert on speed, revs per minute (or whatever they are) or abs (I thought that was some sort of muscle in your stomach), but since taking ownership of my beloved Corsa, I have become a lot more interested in cars in general. I started looking for a replacement for my annoying Ford Fiesta, after the gearbox seized up on the way to an important meeting. I did some research and asked around at work for any ideas for a small, nippy car. Two of my friends recommended the Corsa, while others recommended the Toyota Yaris and the Ford Ka. So off I went, spending all my weekends trawling... Read review

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