Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 CAR review

Give me the lowdown

This is the all-new Corsa, a car Vauxhall vows will banish the Corsa's traditional reputation of being pretty but underwhelming. It's longer and wider than today's car and weighs a little more, but some models cost a little less and in 200bhp, turbocharged VXR trim it will be the fastest Corsa ever. The Corsa has a funky new cabin with more room and a bigger boot, and Vauxhall predicts the hatchback will score a maximum five stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests.

Go on, surprise me…

First off it looks brilliant. British design chief Mark Adams led the team behind the new Corsa. Gone is the so upright it-might-topple-over look, replaced by a far more squat, muscular car that has a great stance, particularly in three-door form. And for the first time in history (probably) someone has robbed a styling cue from Vauxhall's old Nova – the blade-shaped crease over the rear wheel-arches. That's where the similarities end, thankfully. The new Corsa has presence but then so it should - it's much bigger than the car it replaces.