Worst car I have ever driven....
Discussion
So due to http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
I had to rush out this morning and organise a hire car for work. Over the years I have driven many many cars e30 325, e46 325, vauxhall astra vectra mondeo, opel kadett 1.3 Fiat uno Fiat cinquecento ford fiesta etc etc.
Popped round my local car hire company and had the option of a 2012 corsa or nissan note. I opted for the corsa 1.2l.
What a mistake.
Where to start. Ok exterior design is pleasant and the stereo isn't too bad and it comes with alloy wheels so that's the good bits out the way.
Now onto the bad. The seats. I may as well have been sitting on cloth covered concrete they were so solid.The aircon buttons are very small and badly placed on the lower passenger side of the central console so not a natural or easy place to simply reach over and press them without looking.
From what I could tell the windows had no auto close/open function you actually had to hold the button down or up. Why I ask since its not exactly a big thing to make them auto.
Then we get to the speedometer. Goes up in 20mph increments. 0-20-40-60-80 with nothing in between. No little lines or dashes to indicate 30-50-70 or individual mph. Sure therre is a little inner red painted ring which either had a tiny little break or a little red dash in it but in daylight its nigh on impossible to see or tell at a glance.
Finally we get to the main Achilles heel.The 1.2l engine. Never has there been a more weak and pathetic engine. I got passed by an iceberg and I simply could not keep up. I had an S reg cinquecento from this same company a few years back and it had far more oomph.
This thing struggled to get to 70mph and anything over was a major mission. To make any sort of progress you literally had to thrash it to death and even then it really was painfully slow. The only slower car I have driven I think was the Fiat uno 850cc and even that got to 70mph faster it simply didnt have enough power to get beyond that which was fine.
Maybe the seats really were made of concrete it's the only reason I can think of that it was soooo slow and asthmatic.
So anyone thinking of hiring or buying a corsa make sure you get one with a 1.8l engine minimum.
I had to rush out this morning and organise a hire car for work. Over the years I have driven many many cars e30 325, e46 325, vauxhall astra vectra mondeo, opel kadett 1.3 Fiat uno Fiat cinquecento ford fiesta etc etc.
Popped round my local car hire company and had the option of a 2012 corsa or nissan note. I opted for the corsa 1.2l.
What a mistake.
Where to start. Ok exterior design is pleasant and the stereo isn't too bad and it comes with alloy wheels so that's the good bits out the way.
Now onto the bad. The seats. I may as well have been sitting on cloth covered concrete they were so solid.The aircon buttons are very small and badly placed on the lower passenger side of the central console so not a natural or easy place to simply reach over and press them without looking.
From what I could tell the windows had no auto close/open function you actually had to hold the button down or up. Why I ask since its not exactly a big thing to make them auto.
Then we get to the speedometer. Goes up in 20mph increments. 0-20-40-60-80 with nothing in between. No little lines or dashes to indicate 30-50-70 or individual mph. Sure therre is a little inner red painted ring which either had a tiny little break or a little red dash in it but in daylight its nigh on impossible to see or tell at a glance.
Finally we get to the main Achilles heel.The 1.2l engine. Never has there been a more weak and pathetic engine. I got passed by an iceberg and I simply could not keep up. I had an S reg cinquecento from this same company a few years back and it had far more oomph.
This thing struggled to get to 70mph and anything over was a major mission. To make any sort of progress you literally had to thrash it to death and even then it really was painfully slow. The only slower car I have driven I think was the Fiat uno 850cc and even that got to 70mph faster it simply didnt have enough power to get beyond that which was fine.
Maybe the seats really were made of concrete it's the only reason I can think of that it was soooo slow and asthmatic.
So anyone thinking of hiring or buying a corsa make sure you get one with a 1.8l engine minimum.
I drove one of these (hire car also) on a trip to Antwerp/Bruge earlier this year. I swear my Mk1 1.2 Fiesta accelerated and held speed better.
When I got to the ferry port, we got pulled into customs. The inspector opened the bonnet and said "it feels a bit hot here....." - yes, because unless its on the redline it doesn't go anywhere.
s
te little car.
When I got to the ferry port, we got pulled into customs. The inspector opened the bonnet and said "it feels a bit hot here....." - yes, because unless its on the redline it doesn't go anywhere.
s
te little car.simo2k2000 said:
Mk5 Astra estate 1.7 diesel. Absolutely awful car
Ahh, the old 1.7 Isuzu. The first two cars I learnt in had that god awful power plant. The first had 250k on the clock, but was a triggers broom affair, with the second being the backup for the first. 
The Corsa C was an absolute dog, engine aside, awful in every way bar one. I was involved in a serious collision whilst I was learning, with a green rover something-or-other. Diabetic on a NSL road, nothing to eat, black out, bang.
The car bounced a good 100 degrees around, which saved the two of us from too much damage, but it was still a spinal board job for all involved
Airbag burnt the sleeves on my favourite jumper as well.
I had a 1.2 and a 1.4 Corsa as hire cars in 2010 when my Focus was off the road, having been reversed into by some daft bugger across the street at my mam and dad's house. I actually settled into the Corsas after a while, despite them being rubbish. Getting back into my Focus though, it was something else. Back to heated leather seats, properly weighted steering, a nice gearbox.
Things I hated about the Corsas include, but are not limited to:
1) The smell, I hate the smell of new Vauxhalls.
2) The seats. Hideously uncomfortable. The 1.4 was decked out in the cheapest half leather trim I have ever seen, save for on a Vauxhall Astra 1.3CDTi. It was so poorly cured there were almost hairs sticking out of it. I wasn't sure if it needed leather feed or a shave with my Gillette!
3) The steering. No feel at all, excessively light, excessive play in the first 1/4 turn of the wheel that didn't actually 'do' anything.
4) Naff gearbox with a sloppy throw.
5) The fuel gauge in the 1.2 broke and stopped reading new fuel put in, hence the 1.4 being delivered as a replacement.
Still, I can look back and tell myself never to bother with a Corsa!
Things I hated about the Corsas include, but are not limited to:
1) The smell, I hate the smell of new Vauxhalls.
2) The seats. Hideously uncomfortable. The 1.4 was decked out in the cheapest half leather trim I have ever seen, save for on a Vauxhall Astra 1.3CDTi. It was so poorly cured there were almost hairs sticking out of it. I wasn't sure if it needed leather feed or a shave with my Gillette!
3) The steering. No feel at all, excessively light, excessive play in the first 1/4 turn of the wheel that didn't actually 'do' anything.
4) Naff gearbox with a sloppy throw.
5) The fuel gauge in the 1.2 broke and stopped reading new fuel put in, hence the 1.4 being delivered as a replacement.
Still, I can look back and tell myself never to bother with a Corsa!
Ozzie Osmond said:
Corsa 1.2 is definitely one of the worst cars I have ever driven - shockingly bad for a modern car - and I have no grudge against Vauxhall. One can only wonder as to what the "target market" may be.
From what I've seen, youngsters who I presume learned to drive in one. It's the Micra of the 10's! Plus other (read old) folks who want something cheap and cheerful that's available to buy and service just round the corner from where they live.Hang on, is that a whoosh moment....
jbi said:
as the former owner of a cinquecento I sincerely doubt it is as bad as that little turd on wheels was.
Trust me my good sir it was worse.MUCH worse. The corsa "should" be sooooo much better. It "should" have a modern potent enough 1.2l engine to get around. It doesn't. The cinq was a little tin box with a .9l engine iirc but was nippy and chuckable and capable of getting to 70mph and beyond the same day unlike the corsa. Yes the cinq sounded like a an angry hornet but that was part of the fun.
You clearly haven't been handed the keys to a 1.5 automatic Impreza hatchback then.
Had one as a hire car when my STI was getting it's 30k and it was without doubt the most hateful, underpowered pile of automatic cack my arse has ever had the displeasure to come into contact with. I would rather walk barefoot through a field of nettles and wasps than ever go near one again.
Had one as a hire car when my STI was getting it's 30k and it was without doubt the most hateful, underpowered pile of automatic cack my arse has ever had the displeasure to come into contact with. I would rather walk barefoot through a field of nettles and wasps than ever go near one again.
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