All of those were hybrid cars, however, which shows just how slowly the turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine sips fuel. Having a manual gearbox certainly helps – 1.9mpg more efficient than the automatic, says Vauxhall – while thanks to a healthy 99bhp and 205Nm of torque (compared with 74bhp in the less efficient, less powerful, non-turbo model) means you’re not leaning heavily on the throttle to get anywhere.
In the month that I’ve had the Corsa, I’ve racked up over 1,600 miles – a lot of these coming in two-and-a-half hour schleps to Heathrow – something I was previously concerned about. Like most of the UK’s population, I have prior experience of Corsas – mine coming from the car I learned to drive in. I certainly wouldn’t have looked forward to regular long journeys in that fourth-generation car, but the current model can eat up motorway miles with ease.
That’s thanks, in part, to its more refined cabin, with less road and wind noise. But what I appreciate is the wider (by 22mm) track and longer (by 27mm) wheelbase. They give this Corsa much more stable road-holding, resulting in fewer corrections with the steering wheel. Despite weighing almost the same as the old model, it has the feel of a far larger car – not surprising, given that its body is larger than the old version’s.
A strange quirk of the Corsa that possibly only afflicts people such as myself with disproportionately long legs, is that it took several hours to get settled behind the wheel. The pedals are close to the seat, so I’ve had to adopt a rather laid-back driving position. There’s also no central armrest or raised centre console to lean on – which would go a long way to improving the car’s overall comfort for me. At motorway speeds I’ve also noticed there’s a whistle coming from the top of the windscreen. It all looks perfectly neat on the outside, but I’ll try to locate the source of this noise.
