Discussion
Hello guys I’m 19 and looking at my first performance motor, I have around 7-8k to play with and the corsa vxr is at the top of my list. However I’ve read online about reliability issues mainly piston 4. Could anyone comment on their reliability if you have owned one and just a general owners review. If anyone else other suggestions also comment below id love to hear what you have to say. Also insurance on the corsa vxr is currently coming out at £1400 but by the time I get the car I’d expect it to be roughly £1200
Owners clubs are the best way of gettinginfo on real world problems with vehicles. "piston/cylinder 4" comes up a lot in my experience. Ringland failure in subaru, oil starvation in fords, TVR !!, BMW vanos etc etc. Buy a good one thats had an enthusiastic but proud owner with mechanical sympathy and regular servicing and you wont go far wrong.
Being a young lad in a corsa vxr you will probably have problems with piston 4 as from my brief research in to the subject it’s usually caused by them being hammered lots from cold and generally abused.
As you will being 19 and in a vxr.
I own one and it’s a giggle to drive but not my favourite car. Goes reasonably well, handles ok but can get out of shape quickly driving fast on the twisty roads.
Very sensitive to tyres fit cheap tyres and they spin up and slide easily which can happen when you least want it to
My main point is be prepared for folk being very aggressive towards you when driving one as they have a certain reputation which leads to lots of idiots cutting you up, trying to hang on the back bumper and such.
Trying to goad you into racing/driving like a tool.
I’ve had mine 3 years I think and only do about 4000 a year in it.
In this time it’s had front drop links, both rear shock absorbers which are expensive from dealer but not too bad for spax and both front coil springs as one had snapped right at the bottom. They seem to be hard on suspension components
Plus the usual servicing and such like.
Like any other car keep it well serviced and fix things that break as they need doing and it should be fine.
They can be heavy on clutches if driven hard which along with a dual mass flywheel aren’t cheap.
They are a 1.6 engine with a turbo bolted on so the engine is quite stressed as standard are around 200bhp
When mine goes I’ll be going back to Honda I’m afraid the corsa is ok but no type r.
Oh but the front seats in them are brilliant the main reason why I bought one
As you will being 19 and in a vxr.
I own one and it’s a giggle to drive but not my favourite car. Goes reasonably well, handles ok but can get out of shape quickly driving fast on the twisty roads.
Very sensitive to tyres fit cheap tyres and they spin up and slide easily which can happen when you least want it to
My main point is be prepared for folk being very aggressive towards you when driving one as they have a certain reputation which leads to lots of idiots cutting you up, trying to hang on the back bumper and such.
Trying to goad you into racing/driving like a tool.
I’ve had mine 3 years I think and only do about 4000 a year in it.
In this time it’s had front drop links, both rear shock absorbers which are expensive from dealer but not too bad for spax and both front coil springs as one had snapped right at the bottom. They seem to be hard on suspension components
Plus the usual servicing and such like.
Like any other car keep it well serviced and fix things that break as they need doing and it should be fine.
They can be heavy on clutches if driven hard which along with a dual mass flywheel aren’t cheap.
They are a 1.6 engine with a turbo bolted on so the engine is quite stressed as standard are around 200bhp
When mine goes I’ll be going back to Honda I’m afraid the corsa is ok but no type r.
Oh but the front seats in them are brilliant the main reason why I bought one
Cooper Green said:
Owners clubs are the best way of gettinginfo on real world problems with vehicles. "piston/cylinder 4" comes up a lot in my experience. Ringland failure in subaru, oil starvation in fords, TVR !!, BMW vanos etc etc. Buy a good one thats had an enthusiastic but proud owner with mechanical sympathy and regular servicing and you wont go far wrong.
I bet a fair proportion are due to owners trying to penny-pinch with cheap fuel and cheap servicing. High compression, low-octane and being thrashed are not a good combination.The latest Corsa VXR manual states 100-octane fuel is recommended and 98-octane listed as 'possible'.
Regular 95-octane is not a recommended fuel type.
shakindog said:
Being a young lad in a corsa vxr you will probably have problems with piston 4 as from my brief research in to the subject it’s usually caused by them being hammered lots from cold and generally abused.
As you will being 19 and in a vxr.
I own one and it’s a giggle to drive but not my favourite car. Goes reasonably well, handles ok but can get out of shape quickly driving fast on the twisty roads.
Very sensitive to tyres fit cheap tyres and they spin up and slide easily which can happen when you least want it to
My main point is be prepared for folk being very aggressive towards you when driving one as they have a certain reputation which leads to lots of idiots cutting you up, trying to hang on the back bumper and such.
Trying to goad you into racing/driving like a tool.
I’ve had mine 3 years I think and only do about 4000 a year in it.
In this time it’s had front drop links, both rear shock absorbers which are expensive from dealer but not too bad for spax and both front coil springs as one had snapped right at the bottom. They seem to be hard on suspension components
Plus the usual servicing and such like.
Like any other car keep it well serviced and fix things that break as they need doing and it should be fine.
They can be heavy on clutches if driven hard which along with a dual mass flywheel aren’t cheap.
They are a 1.6 engine with a turbo bolted on so the engine is quite stressed as standard are around 200bhp
When mine goes I’ll be going back to Honda I’m afraid the corsa is ok but no type r.
Oh but the front seats in them are brilliant the main reason why I bought one
Hello mate thanks for the detailed reply. This car is a serious consideration and I do really like the look of them as well as when I test drove one I was grinning from ear to ear. The stereotype doesn’t bother me but the potential bill does. Can piston 4 be prevented with proper warm up and cool down periods. I have just read a owners guide on the vxr forum and that’s what they recommend to prevent it. How much have you spent on the car as a rough figure and what year and mileage is your car ?As you will being 19 and in a vxr.
I own one and it’s a giggle to drive but not my favourite car. Goes reasonably well, handles ok but can get out of shape quickly driving fast on the twisty roads.
Very sensitive to tyres fit cheap tyres and they spin up and slide easily which can happen when you least want it to
My main point is be prepared for folk being very aggressive towards you when driving one as they have a certain reputation which leads to lots of idiots cutting you up, trying to hang on the back bumper and such.
Trying to goad you into racing/driving like a tool.
I’ve had mine 3 years I think and only do about 4000 a year in it.
In this time it’s had front drop links, both rear shock absorbers which are expensive from dealer but not too bad for spax and both front coil springs as one had snapped right at the bottom. They seem to be hard on suspension components
Plus the usual servicing and such like.
Like any other car keep it well serviced and fix things that break as they need doing and it should be fine.
They can be heavy on clutches if driven hard which along with a dual mass flywheel aren’t cheap.
They are a 1.6 engine with a turbo bolted on so the engine is quite stressed as standard are around 200bhp
When mine goes I’ll be going back to Honda I’m afraid the corsa is ok but no type r.
Oh but the front seats in them are brilliant the main reason why I bought one
We had one as a car for the Mrs a few years ago from new for 3yrs (6k miles) ... I liked it for short journeys but couldn’t live with it as our only car as it just wasn’t nice to drive any distance in.
It cost us nothing other than fuel, insurance, tax and servicing (but was new and lightly used). They aren’t built particularly well so can’t see them holding up well to the abuse and miles many get.
Fuel consumption was low 30s on average, mid 20s when pushed.
VXR was a relatively new concept when we bought ours (I had the Astra VXR at the same time) and the reputation wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it is now but tbh all the Corsa VXRs I see are being driven badly by total bellends and for that alone I wouldn’t want one.
Out of curiosity have you ran some insurance quotes on one as even for my Mrs a few yrs back with an 11yr licence and 8yrs NCB it wasn’t cheap on insurance at all.
It cost us nothing other than fuel, insurance, tax and servicing (but was new and lightly used). They aren’t built particularly well so can’t see them holding up well to the abuse and miles many get.
Fuel consumption was low 30s on average, mid 20s when pushed.
VXR was a relatively new concept when we bought ours (I had the Astra VXR at the same time) and the reputation wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it is now but tbh all the Corsa VXRs I see are being driven badly by total bellends and for that alone I wouldn’t want one.
Out of curiosity have you ran some insurance quotes on one as even for my Mrs a few yrs back with an 11yr licence and 8yrs NCB it wasn’t cheap on insurance at all.
alorotom said:
We had one as a car for the Mrs a few years ago from new for 3yrs (6k miles) ... I liked it for short journeys but couldn’t live with it as our only car as it just wasn’t nice to drive any distance in.
It cost us nothing other than fuel, insurance, tax and servicing (but was new and lightly used). They aren’t built particularly well so can’t see them holding up well to the abuse and miles many get.
Fuel consumption was low 30s on average, mid 20s when pushed.
VXR was a relatively new concept when we bought ours (I had the Astra VXR at the same time) and the reputation wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it is now but tbh all the Corsa VXRs I see are being driven badly by total bellends and for that alone I wouldn’t want one.
Out of curiosity have you ran some insurance quotes on one as even for my Mrs a few yrs back with an 11yr licence and 8yrs NCB it wasn’t cheap on insurance at all.
Hello mate check the bottom line of my original post. Coming out at £1400 and get no claims bonus In August.It cost us nothing other than fuel, insurance, tax and servicing (but was new and lightly used). They aren’t built particularly well so can’t see them holding up well to the abuse and miles many get.
Fuel consumption was low 30s on average, mid 20s when pushed.
VXR was a relatively new concept when we bought ours (I had the Astra VXR at the same time) and the reputation wasn’t anywhere near as bad as it is now but tbh all the Corsa VXRs I see are being driven badly by total bellends and for that alone I wouldn’t want one.
Out of curiosity have you ran some insurance quotes on one as even for my Mrs a few yrs back with an 11yr licence and 8yrs NCB it wasn’t cheap on insurance at all.
Woodyyyy said:
Hello mate thanks for the detailed reply. This car is a serious consideration and I do really like the look of them as well as when I test drove one I was grinning from ear to ear. The stereotype doesn’t bother me but the potential bill does. Can piston 4 be prevented with proper warm up and cool down periods. I have just read a owners guide on the vxr forum and that’s what they recommend to prevent it. How much have you spent on the car as a rough figure and what year and mileage is your car ?
Mine is a 2008 in red with 17 inch wheels and 74k miles. imo the Arden blue on 18 inch diamond cut wheels looks a bit better but bought mine in a whim.
Cost wish it hasn’t been too bad in the grand scheme of things.
Spax rear shockers were £125 for the pair
Front springs £100 for the pair
Front drop links £30
Set of 4 maxxis hp4 tyres £250 only changed them as had mixed tyres on and winters on the front
Had discs and pads all round decent Mintex pads and discs front and rear were about £180
Usual service parts are reasonable too. Only ever put Castrol oil and bosch filters on it so over all all consumables but I am in the trade and do the work myself.
I only ever run mine on high octane fuel warmed up and cooled down as is recommended and with a mixed driving style mostly steady away but enjoying the twistys getting about 30-32 mpg.
Watch for corrosion on the rear wings the rear bumper rubs on the wing and rubs through the paint causing the to rust, also the front subframes are prone to rust too for some reason.
Also check the handbrake recall has been done and the cabin heater works on all settings as they are prone to melt the resistor pack not a difficult fix but a pain to get too with odd size bolts holding it under the dash.
If you can find a Nurburgring edition they come with lsd and brembo brakes as far as I know the lsd should sort some of the handling out.
The brembo’s are very expensive to replace as in discs and pads tho
Sorry for the ramble but if you do get one they do induce lots for smiles per mile
I'd have a Renault Sport Clio over a Corsa VXR, but that's just me. I'd go for a decent 172/182, as they're solid cars when looked after. I you want something similar, age-wise, you could go for 197/200. The gearbox issues on those are probably akin to the piston-4 issues on the VXR though.
I didn't have a VXR but I had its little brother - 1.6t SRI.
Pretty much a similar set up - but was 150 bhp instead of the VXR 189 Bhp (at the time).
A few people said the engines were different - whether this is the case I do not know. We had it for 5 years and 24k miles.
I had it remapped - so it pushed out 222 bhp, 233 tourque - I was advised by Regal when I asked them (having it serviced and new ebc brakes, that I was experiencing clutch slip, tbh that was the biggest mistake ever, ended up with there racing clutch kit and flywheel (later they released cheaper ones) - tbh I fell out of love with the car when the gearbox bearings went for the 2nd time (Regal refurbed it for me 4k miles before same issues came back).
Got rid and got a astra diesel (started a family).
Tbh I wouldn't bother remapping - but I treated mine correctly and I had more gearbox issues than anything else. Piston 4 isn't a issue if you treat it nicely - but sadly buying second hand you do not know how it was treated previously.
Was a good car, the SRI, we did many long journeys in it, to france etc, not sure if it was slightly softer set up than the vxr, but it had 17 inch alloys so this may have been why.
I test drove a astra vxr, and tbh it felt slow compared to my remapped sri, yes the astra vxr at higher speeds would have beat it, but pulling away etc, it was pretty nippy.
I think what killed my gearbox was the tourque as it came in very low in the rev range (had a thorney map), the regal maps the tourque was kept higher up, therefore less used day to day.
When working it was a giggle.
Pretty much a similar set up - but was 150 bhp instead of the VXR 189 Bhp (at the time).
A few people said the engines were different - whether this is the case I do not know. We had it for 5 years and 24k miles.
I had it remapped - so it pushed out 222 bhp, 233 tourque - I was advised by Regal when I asked them (having it serviced and new ebc brakes, that I was experiencing clutch slip, tbh that was the biggest mistake ever, ended up with there racing clutch kit and flywheel (later they released cheaper ones) - tbh I fell out of love with the car when the gearbox bearings went for the 2nd time (Regal refurbed it for me 4k miles before same issues came back).
Got rid and got a astra diesel (started a family).
Tbh I wouldn't bother remapping - but I treated mine correctly and I had more gearbox issues than anything else. Piston 4 isn't a issue if you treat it nicely - but sadly buying second hand you do not know how it was treated previously.
Was a good car, the SRI, we did many long journeys in it, to france etc, not sure if it was slightly softer set up than the vxr, but it had 17 inch alloys so this may have been why.
I test drove a astra vxr, and tbh it felt slow compared to my remapped sri, yes the astra vxr at higher speeds would have beat it, but pulling away etc, it was pretty nippy.
I think what killed my gearbox was the tourque as it came in very low in the rev range (had a thorney map), the regal maps the tourque was kept higher up, therefore less used day to day.
When working it was a giggle.
Woodyyyy said:
Hello mate check the bottom line of my original post. Coming out at £1400 and get no claims bonus In August.
Yeah I saw it ... and don’t believe it honestly. Even with a black box I do not believe it’ll be that cheap for a 19yr old with a full licence ... plus it’ll only be a max of 3yrs no claims (assuming 1 was from pass+) - hence why I’d seriously checknourninsurers and their terms if they are coming in so steep as there will be very limiting restrictions
alorotom said:
Woodyyyy said:
Hello mate check the bottom line of my original post. Coming out at £1400 and get no claims bonus In August.
Yeah I saw it ... and don’t believe it honestly. Even with a black box I do not believe it’ll be that cheap for a 19yr old with a full licence ... plus it’ll only be a max of 3yrs no claims (assuming 1 was from pass+) - hence why I’d seriously checknourninsurers and their terms if they are coming in so steep as there will be very limiting restrictions
Had one when they first came out, did 50k in 3 years. Only things that went wrong were wheel bearings and the air con pipes snapping. Not the best handling thing in the world, but was great fun. I changed the exhaust for a remus which was a good laugh with the pops and bangs. I found it relatively cheap to run, servicing wasn't to expensive i think tyres being the biggest cost. like above don't cheap out on tyres.
_Rich_ said:
Had one when they first came out, did 50k in 3 years. Only things that went wrong were wheel bearings and the air con pipes snapping. Not the best handling thing in the world, but was great fun. I changed the exhaust for a remus which was a good laugh with the pops and bangs. I found it relatively cheap to run, servicing wasn't to expensive i think tyres being the biggest cost. like above don't cheap out on tyres.
Rich what Remus did you get 2 piece or 3 piece and was the car still road legal. If I get one I want those pops and bangs_Rich_ said:
Woodyyyy said:
Rich what Remus did you get 2 piece or 3 piece and was the car still road legal. If I get one I want those pops and bangs
i believe two piece. it was still road legal as it was the same exhaust used on the arctic edition. Woodyyyy said:
_Rich_ said:
Woodyyyy said:
Rich what Remus did you get 2 piece or 3 piece and was the car still road legal. If I get one I want those pops and bangs
i believe two piece. it was still road legal as it was the same exhaust used on the arctic edition. _Rich_ said:
Woodyyyy said:
_Rich_ said:
Woodyyyy said:
Rich what Remus did you get 2 piece or 3 piece and was the car still road legal. If I get one I want those pops and bangs
i believe two piece. it was still road legal as it was the same exhaust used on the arctic edition. Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff