► Month five with the Vauxhall Corsa VXr
► This month it goes against its arch rival
► Fiesta ST’s performance unrivalled in class
This month I borrowed a Fiesta ST-3, priced at £20,120 as you see it here. With its 1.6-litre blown lump generating 180bhp at 5750rpm and 214lb ft at 1500-5000rpm, front wheels driven by a six-speed manual ’box, and uprated steering, brakes and suspension, the hot Fiesta couldn’t be more mechanically – if not spiritually – aligned with my long-termer.
Drop down into the ST – you do sit lower in the Ford’s more supportive Recaros – and much goodwill goes out the window. The Ford’s driving positon is spot-on, but the cabin is a dated mess. That postage stamp-sized nav screen is complemented by a centre console blunderbussed with dozens of buttons. Nasty, compared to the Vauxhall’s clean, modern architecture and intuitive touchscreen.
The first 50 metres shows just how hardcore the VXR’s ride quality is. Someone was obviously feeling uncharacteristically understated at Vauxhall Towers when they decided on naming the Performance Pack. This £2400 option should have been called the Hardcore Trackday Nürburgring Nutter Don’t Tick It Because You’re Nowhere Near Hard Enough No Mate You’re Not Even Close Pack. Because compared to the Fiesta, which feels almost luxuriously smooth and compliant, it’s pretty damned serious.
Thing is, for all its stiffness and rigidity the Ford concedes no ground to the Vauxhall when it comes to body control and dynamic talent. It may be softer but it feels so much more composed and biddable than the Vauxhall. At pace it flows and breathes along the roads, hanging on through tight corners with serious tenacity as its clever torque vectoring electronics keep you from interfacing with the scenery. It also possesses that sparky wrist-flick agility to quickly and cleanly change direction whenever you tweak the quick-witted and feelsome steering wheel. Wonderful. The Corsa’s direct but feel-free steering could learn a lot here.
But easily the Ford’s biggest grin factor is its outstanding EcoBoost engine. Satiny smooth, addicted to its modest redline and blessed with delightfully linear and lag-free shove, its exuberance and enthusiasm define the ST. It sounds superb, too. Its soundtrack fills the cabin under acceleration and on the over-run. I loved it, and getting back into the Corsa and hearing its coarse, characterless engine range from droning idle to raucous redline was a real downer.
The ST’s LSD-mimicking torque vectoring system does an excellent job of gluing the car’s nose into the corner, with understeer only arriving very late in the game. It cannot match the real thing though – the way the VXR’s Drexler LSD yanks the car into even the tightest of bends and then holds that line is little short of miraculous. And the Lutonite’s excellent brakes shade the Ford’s for pedal feel and ultimate retardation.
So, not quite a Luton rout. The Corsa beats the Fiesta for outright punch, cornering antics with its trick front diff, pause-button brakes and fine cabin ergonomics. But on the intangibles – the feel-good factor, the tail-up character and the fizzy effervescence – the ST leaves the VXR feeling dull, drab and, I hate to say it, ordinary. Over the same roads, the Corsa raises a now-and-then smile. The Fiesta has you cackling and snorting. Make no mistake, if it were my £20k looking to be spent on a pokey musclehatch, I’d be heading for my nearest Ford dealership, and saving myself £2k to boot.
From the driving seat
– Excellent Fiesta ST is VXR’s greatest rival – and leaves it with a bloody nose
– ST’s punchy engine is smooth, warbly and charismatically vocal. VXR’s isn’t
+ VXR counters with better brakes and tidier cabin. Nowhere near enough to win
Read the previous long-term update here
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: 517
Total miles: 6340
Our mpg: 32.4
Official mpg: 37.7
Fuel cost: £80.03
Extra costs: £0
Read more from the March 2016 issue of CAR magazine