“Vauxhall’s new Corsa
  VXR definitely looks
  like it can kick dust in
  the grilles of its rivals.
  On the road it proves it
  has the ability to match
  the hardcore looks.
  And at £15,595, it’s also
  pretty good value for
  money. What are you
  waiting for?”

THE NEW GENERATION Vauxhall Corsa 'supermini' — launched last July — has already estab-lished itself as the fourth best-selling model in the UK so far this year. In the March new registration plate, peak-selling month, 17,225 of them were registered.

In total, 47,000 three- and five-door Corsa models have been sold since they first went on sale last Summer. Around 65,000 UK sales are expected in a full year. Now hot to trot out of the showrooms is the three-door-only, high-performance Corsa VXR. Although only available in one single body style, there are four body colour options — blue, red, sliver and black — and a host of extra-cost options to choose from.

Although GM dealers will not be getting their cars until the third week of April, 844 of these hot 140mph £15,595, three-door hatchbacks have already been sold in the UK. Vauxhall expects to sell 2,200 of them this year and around 2,500 in a full year.

Who will buy? Vauxhall says the average age of customers should be
in their mid-twenties, with marginally more male buyers. But with the growth of independent female users, the Corsa is likely to be on their shopping list as well.

The main competitors for the Corsa VXR are the Renaultsport Clio 197 (which is £400 dearer but has a 2.0-litre engine); the new MINI Cooper S (also £400 dearer), and the larger VW Golf GTi, which is nearly £5,000 more expensive. Perhaps a fairer comparison would be VW's £14,810 Polo GTi.

The Corsa is the latest model in the Vauxhall line-up to receive the sporty VXR treatment. Other models in the VXR 'family' are the Meriva, Astra, Zafira, Vectra and the new VXR8 flagship built in Australia and due in the UK in July this year.

The unique triangular VXR styling cues are applied to the door mirrors, front foglight surrounds and centre positioned exhaust tailpipe. The suspension is lowered and tuned by Lotus, and there is a choice of different size alloy road wheels: 17-inch standard; 18-inch optional. Vauxhall says 75 per cent of customers tend to specify the £400 larger wheels for their Corsa.

Leaving nobody in any doubt that this is the 'hot one', this Corsa has
a distinctively-styled mesh grille with huge rounded front and rear bumpers linked by sweeping side skirts, a large angular rear roof spoiler plus blue-painted brake callipers. Out of sight, the Corsa VXR sports a rear air-diffuser and fluted rear exhaust box to speed up airflow beneath the vehicle.

The interior is dominated by a pair of sculpted shellback Recaro sports front seats and flat-bottomed race-car style steering wheel. Drilled alloy pedals, piano black trim on the facia and VXR detailed sports instruments, steering wheel and gear lever make this a 'special' Corsa.

Standard specification for the three-door Corsa VXR includes Electronic Stability Programme, 17-inch wheels, remote central locking, air-con, electric front windows and door mirrors and a stereo radio/CD player with MP3 compatibility. Extra-cost options include a £1,000 leather pack, automatic wipers/lights, Halogen adaptive lighting and a mobile 'phone system with Bluetooth.

The Corsa VXR uses a 189bhp 4-cylinder 1.6-litre petrol engine, boost-ed by a single-scroll turbocharger. Vauxhall says the engine is already Euro V compliant. Basically, it is the same unit as used in the Vauxhall Meriva VXR but the Corsa's torque is increased from 170lb ft to 196lb ft using an 'overboost' function (in 15-second bursts) for rapid over-taking. Top speed is 140mph and 0-60mph takes just 6.8 seconds. CO2 emissions are 190g/km — putting it in Band F, with a Vehicle Excise Duty rate of £205 per year. The insurance group rating is 16E. Average fuel economy is 35.8mpg — not bad for a 140mph motor. Touring con-sumption is said to be 44.1 with 26.9mpg around town.

Drive to the front wheels is through a close-ratio, 6-speed gearbox — also used for the higher torque Corsa diesel models. Keeping the power in check is a revised Electronic Stability Programme that can be switched off, if required, for track-day use. The suspension has been tuned for the UK market by Lotus, the brakes uprated and the power-assisted steering has been remapped to alter the feel and weight feed-back to the driver. The steering is a 'variable' type and adjusts to the way the car is being driven — a feature Vauxhall says is unique in this market sector.

If you prefer a low profile when driving, the Corsa VXR might not be for you; but in all other respects it fits the bill perfectly. Thanks to its well-balanced, nicely-proportioned and purposeful design, you will most certainly get noticed driving this hot hatch.

Unlike other Vauxhall VXR models — which can be very unpredictable and sometimes evil-handling when pushed hard — the Corsa version provides much better control and refinement. Really hard acceleration, or getting the 'overboost' to come into play mid-range, will produce torque steer and needs some respect — especially, I would imagine,
on wet roads.

The low to medium throttle response is excellent because the maximum torque is delivered from 1,980rpm right through to 5,800rpm. This makes the car ideal for the vast majority of winding and twisting British roads and ideal for overtaking slower traffic. The close-ratio 'box is slick to use and the ratios well chosen to suit this engine.

It will quite happily pull high gears in slow traffic if need be, and will respond without fuss for moving from slow to much quicker travel speeds. Because of its sharp and predictable handling — aided by loads of front-end grip — and its flexible broad power delivery, it makes an ideal car for fast country road use.

The revised suspension is firm but definitely not too hard (as with most small 'hot-hatches') and the Corsa VXR rides most types of road sur-faces really well. The steering performs well at lower speeds, although at high speed it gives less feedback than I like — over some surfaces
it just felt dead. And whilst it remains accurate, I felt detached from what the front wheels should have been telling me. Most people in the mass market will not be too troubled by this, though.

Overall it is a well behaved car, perhaps too refined in some areas if you favour an edgy drive from your hot-hatch. The huge front Recaro sports seats do limit rear legroom, although I can't see many owners worrying about that! Torque steer and neutral steering feedback are the only criticisms but the Corsa VXR looks great, it is well priced and, for most people, they will be more than enough reasons to get behind the flat-bottomed leather-rimmed steering wheel. Of course, they will also be getting excellent value for money, a great engine with lots of torque, well-sorted gear ratios and a safe handling chassis. Did I mention that it was fun to drive? Well, the new Corsa VXR is great fun to drive. — David Miles

Vauxhall Corsa VXR | £15,595 Maximum speed: 140mph | 0-60mph: 6.8 seconds Overall test MPG: 35.8mpg | Power: 189bhp | Torque: 170-196lb ft Visit Vauxhall's website