2016 Vauxhall Corsa VXR - McDonalds car park champion
Discussion
Hi all,
I know fast Vauxhalls do have something of a stereotype, but I'm hoping that I can do something to convince you to see beyond that, as I did when I bought it. I also hope the financed German hatches are taking its crown in that respect! I've owned all manner of modern hot hatch royalty (every generation of Renaultsport Clio, two Mini's, a Polo GTI and this cars main rival, the mk7 Fiesta ST). I test drove this car purely to scratch as an itch as it's one of a few hot hatches I've never driven or owned - the fact I bought it says it all.
This particular car has the optional Performance Pack which includes a Drexler mechanical LSD, uprated Brembo brakes with bigger discs and 4-pot calipers, Koni suspension and 18" alloys. This is on top of the standard spec which includes a punchy 205 bhp, half leather Recaros, a Remus-developed exhaust and nice extras like Xenon lights, CarPlay, a heated windscreen and so on.
I also think this car is likely to be one of the nicest examples around. 56k miles, low owners, great history and, importantly for a fast Corsa, completely standard (vape vents aside!). It drives fantastically, changes direction like a fly and the diff pulls you around corners in a manner that feels completely alien in a little hatch. The gearbox is slick enough (even if the throw is slightly long), the electrically assisted steering is about as well weighted and communicative as you could realistically expect, and the engine is punchy. The suspension also has an extra dimension to the ride quality that the very bouncy Fiesta didn't have.
I have no real reason for buying it other than I wanted a hot hatch tucked away for buzzing around local B-roads, Sunday drives out to cars and coffee events, the odd track day and maybe even tackling some hillclimb next year as I live not far from two hillclimb venues. As a Scramblers member, its first outing will be to the next Track Social at Bicester Motion in a couple of weeks. If anyone from here is also going, please do say hello, as I'm not sure what company the little Corsa may have, and if its trading estate car park reputation may still precede it!
I'm not sure if there will be any interest, but if there is I shall happily keep this updated, and thank you for taking the time to read it.
I know fast Vauxhalls do have something of a stereotype, but I'm hoping that I can do something to convince you to see beyond that, as I did when I bought it. I also hope the financed German hatches are taking its crown in that respect! I've owned all manner of modern hot hatch royalty (every generation of Renaultsport Clio, two Mini's, a Polo GTI and this cars main rival, the mk7 Fiesta ST). I test drove this car purely to scratch as an itch as it's one of a few hot hatches I've never driven or owned - the fact I bought it says it all.
This particular car has the optional Performance Pack which includes a Drexler mechanical LSD, uprated Brembo brakes with bigger discs and 4-pot calipers, Koni suspension and 18" alloys. This is on top of the standard spec which includes a punchy 205 bhp, half leather Recaros, a Remus-developed exhaust and nice extras like Xenon lights, CarPlay, a heated windscreen and so on.
I also think this car is likely to be one of the nicest examples around. 56k miles, low owners, great history and, importantly for a fast Corsa, completely standard (vape vents aside!). It drives fantastically, changes direction like a fly and the diff pulls you around corners in a manner that feels completely alien in a little hatch. The gearbox is slick enough (even if the throw is slightly long), the electrically assisted steering is about as well weighted and communicative as you could realistically expect, and the engine is punchy. The suspension also has an extra dimension to the ride quality that the very bouncy Fiesta didn't have.
I have no real reason for buying it other than I wanted a hot hatch tucked away for buzzing around local B-roads, Sunday drives out to cars and coffee events, the odd track day and maybe even tackling some hillclimb next year as I live not far from two hillclimb venues. As a Scramblers member, its first outing will be to the next Track Social at Bicester Motion in a couple of weeks. If anyone from here is also going, please do say hello, as I'm not sure what company the little Corsa may have, and if its trading estate car park reputation may still precede it!
I'm not sure if there will be any interest, but if there is I shall happily keep this updated, and thank you for taking the time to read it.
Looks nice. I'm sure a journalist panned these for understeer, but I have a Corsa D on VXR suspension & with Brembos and it's bloody good on a twisty road. I can only imagine said journalist was foot to the floor mid bend i.e. opinion is an absolute load of nonsense. I love the front end response - really enjoyable and capable.
mwstewart said:
Looks nice. I'm sure a journalist panned these for understeer, but I have a Corsa D on VXR suspension & with Brembos and it's bloody good on a twisty road. I can only imagine said journalist was foot to the floor mid bend i.e. opinion is an absolute load of nonsense. I love the front end response - really enjoyable and capable.
The same treatment Clarkson gave the Vectra. The rest of the range gets looked down on for being a Vauxhall. Interesting to see if the current crop of Stellantis get reviewed differently when they’ll all be ostensibly the same car with a different jumper on. I always thought the Corsa was much better than it was given credit for, GM Europe could do nothing right in the eyes of many though, and useless automotive "journalists" are proper herd thinkers much of the time and love to wheel out lazy tropes.
I've said on here before that not liking a car because Clarkson (or really most auto journalists now, so many are just Temu Clarksons) said it was crap is like not liking hats because you saw a clown with a hat once and rabbits kept coming out of it, and you don't want rabbits everywhere.
That mechanical spec sounds fantastic, I'd love it if it looked exactly like a 1.0 12v one though
I've said on here before that not liking a car because Clarkson (or really most auto journalists now, so many are just Temu Clarksons) said it was crap is like not liking hats because you saw a clown with a hat once and rabbits kept coming out of it, and you don't want rabbits everywhere.
That mechanical spec sounds fantastic, I'd love it if it looked exactly like a 1.0 12v one though
This looks brill and loads of fun, great to see one not messed about with.
As a younger man I absolutely loved these. I was a member of the forum, knew about the piston issue and making sure it was allowed to cool down gradually, and I can remember when they brought out the Nurburgring Edition.
As it happened with uni and various other things I never got one, I did end up later with a Cooper S Mini then a Focus ST, but never ticked this off.
I wanted one in Arden Blue with the big (probably 17”?) wheels.
As a younger man I absolutely loved these. I was a member of the forum, knew about the piston issue and making sure it was allowed to cool down gradually, and I can remember when they brought out the Nurburgring Edition.
As it happened with uni and various other things I never got one, I did end up later with a Cooper S Mini then a Focus ST, but never ticked this off.
I wanted one in Arden Blue with the big (probably 17”?) wheels.
mwstewart said:
Looks nice. I'm sure a journalist panned these for understeer, but I have a Corsa D on VXR suspension & with Brembos and it's bloody good on a twisty road. I can only imagine said journalist was foot to the floor mid bend i.e. opinion is an absolute load of nonsense. I love the front end response - really enjoyable and capable.
As i've driven more and more cars, either my driving style is different motoring journalists or they spout utter waffle based on the biases they know already exist about cars and manufacturers. I'd love a go in one of these, are they capable of a bit of track use?
They are very good, had a couple, friend has one now, and he ain't no spring chicken.
I own a Fiesta ST 150 and a Mountune Focus Mk2, have owned a 380bhp ex competition prize VXR Astra, that was epic compared to those two. Regret selling it.
My GSi Carlton makes up for it though. Does everything a 65 year old needs.
I own a Fiesta ST 150 and a Mountune Focus Mk2, have owned a 380bhp ex competition prize VXR Astra, that was epic compared to those two. Regret selling it.
My GSi Carlton makes up for it though. Does everything a 65 year old needs.
First off, thank you all for the positive comments - glad to see there's some appreciation for a Corsa! The mechanical spec is indeed much better than its rivals, but I imagine without the "Performance Pack" (a £2,500 option when new) it was harder to justify over a Fiesta ST. As it is, it's a brilliant (and underrated) car, genuinely not laughed out loud after a run through some twisty roads in a long time. The understeer comments from journalists are pretty lazy, as most FWD cars will by their nature, but I'm actually very impressed with the handling of this and the diff helps massively. I actually noticed on the test drive how sharp the turn in was.
As for the melting piston issue, I did a lot of research and there were some vague suggestions there were revisions made to the later models and that it was mostly a problem with tuned and abused cars. I don't know exactly, but ultimately it's currently in good shape and I intend to do my best to keep it that way! After owning several Renaultsports I know most cars will have their potentially expensive problems.
As for the melting piston issue, I did a lot of research and there were some vague suggestions there were revisions made to the later models and that it was mostly a problem with tuned and abused cars. I don't know exactly, but ultimately it's currently in good shape and I intend to do my best to keep it that way! After owning several Renaultsports I know most cars will have their potentially expensive problems.
Ian-8bdsj said:
That looks great, love the seats and the fact it has Brembos and a LSD, all the extras you could want.
I can't remember ever seeing/noticing one on the road in this newer style, are they pretty rare?
I believe the later models are fairly uncommon, there certainly weren't a lot around compared to other cars when I was looking. I think the success of the Fiesta ST and the fierce competition in the hot hatch world generally at the time (as well as changing trends and opinions of some journos) probably didn't help sales. I tend to like driving something a bit different though, and it's also a gift to 18 year old me who really wanted a Corsa SRI!I can't remember ever seeing/noticing one on the road in this newer style, are they pretty rare?
Edited by Ian-8bdsj on Monday 24th August 20:11
Cambs_Stuart said:
I've always liked these, the spec list is brilliant. Great seats + brakes and a LSD. What are your plans with it?
Indeed! I bought it for the fun of it and am currently reverse engineering a purpose, but mostly it'll be B-road blasts/countryside coffee morning trips, plus the odd track day here and there. I'd also like to explore getting back into some hillclimb in a road-going class - I think with the spec it should be very capable up a twisty course.Mij91 said:
As i've driven more and more cars, either my driving style is different motoring journalists or they spout utter waffle based on the biases they know already exist about cars and manufacturers.
I'd love a go in one of these, are they capable of a bit of track use?
Agreed. I did read and watch some reviews before the test drive, and was very pleasantly surprised when I drove it. I'd imagine they'd be very capable on track given the Performance Pack spec, and I aim to find out. Obviously track days these days are dominated by tuned, incredibly high performance German cars so it might not be able to keep up with them, but I imagine it'd certainly be more fun than most!I'd love a go in one of these, are they capable of a bit of track use?
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