► Month three living with the Vauxhall Corsa VXR
► We round-up the logbook comments and feedback
► Questionable design features thwart our ‘Shrek’
We’re half-way through Shrek’s tenure, and a quick delve in to its logbook shows up some diverse comments.
1) I love the leather-wrapped Recaro front seats. Although they initially feel hard and thinly padded, the low-slung chairs are actually superbly comfortable and supportive, and do a great job of holding me in place when the suspension is trying its best to pinball me around the cabin.
2) I hate moving the Recaro seats. You have to push with herculean strength to shift them forward on their runners, and they don’t have a memory function so they won’t return to their original position once you have finally finished wrestling with them. Guaranteed to turn the air blue, every time.
3) The massively fat A-pillars make junctions, parking and cornering in general pretty tricky. I find myself jerking my head left and right like some sort of ’80s break dancer as I try to peer either side of the five-inch wide pillar.
4) Now that it has a few more miles under its collar, the engine seems slightly less reluctant to flirt with the red line, and there’s now a discernible step in grunt from about 4500rpm onwards. Handy for overtaking. The Ecotec lump still drones instead of zings, and it still shrugs its shoulders when it comes to charisma and spark, but there’s nothing wrong with its pace.
5) The heated steering wheel. I know. WTF is a hot hatch doing with a heated steering wheel? I thought they were the preserve of bloated plutobarges. I’ve tried it once. Nah.
6) The IntelliLink sound system that hooks up with my iPhone is impressively coherent to use. Its touchscreen is responsive, its DAB is crisp and robust and JJ Cale sounds pretty good through the speakers. I just wish it had a bespoke control for its illumination because it’s blindingly bright at night, and the only way I can find to reduce its brilliance is to lower the overall cabin illumination.
7) I wish the cabin had a dash more flair. The superb Recaros and a few small VXR badges aside, there’s little to visually lift the cabin beyond bog-standard airport rental status.
From the driving seat
– Turbo 1.6 breathing easier as miles accrue, but it’s no sparkling gem
– Max Power styling at odds with dull but well thought-out cabin
– It’s fast but not as fun as it should be
Logbook: Vauxhall Corsa VXR
Engine: 1598cc 16v, 202bhp @ 5800rpm, 181lb ft @ 1950rpm
Gearbox: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Stats: 6.5sec 0-62mph, 143mph, 174g/km
Price: £17,995
As tested: £22,135
Miles this month: 1855
Total miles: 4622
Our mpg: 32.3
Official mpg: 37.7
Fuel this month: £356.91
Extra costs: (this month) £0