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Vauxhall Corsa D, the official car of driving instructors who refuse to pay extra money for a VW Polo. Vauxhall Corsa D, the official car of city people who don’t care. Vauxhall Corsa D, the vegetable soup of the automotive world.

The Vauxhall Corsa D was and is one of Opel’s most successful cars in recent history. Learner cars, rental cars, learner cars, taxi cars, faketaxi, there was no job the Vauxhall Corsa D didn’t do. And frankly, when I did my homework on the Vauxhall Corsa D (I usually talk out of the side where the sun doesn’t shine, but now I thought I’d make a 15-minute effort) I was surprised to find out why. The Vauxhall Corsa D is sold and sells because it is cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, reliable, spacious and fully equipped. I would expect it to be a car with serious issues, considering it’s an Opel built with GM and Fiat parts. But, as with The Office, appearances can be deceiving.

Vauxhall Corsa – the vegetable soup of the automotive world

Why?

Everyone can afford it.

• It gets the job done and feeds you, without being spectacular. It’s strictly functional, it’s there.


• It’s not memorable and you won’t crave it, but it will always taste good.


• It’s very economical and will always keep you in shape.


• You’ll never cheer when you see noodle soup but you won’t miss it either, because you’ll always have it on hand.

It’s practical, it’s cheap, it’s good and it keeps the house. Vauxhall Corsa D – the veggie soup of the automotive world.

Vauxhall Corsa D Engines

Petrol

• 1.0 A10XEP of insufficient horsepower – There’s nothing wrong with this engine in terms of reliability, but the 60 or 65 horsepower is strictly city-pretty. Very economical, reliable, but you wouldn’t want to leave the town with one of those. Occasional airflow meter issues.


• 1.2 A12XER of 80 and 85 horsepower – Fiat’s famous 1.25 MultiJet is here to do the job, too. An absolutely decent engine and by far the most popular engine on the Corsa D. Probably because people who buy a Corsa D aren’t interested in sportiness, they just want a cheap car to haul their buttocks around. 


• 1.4 A14XEL of 90 or 100 horsepower  – This honourable “tarmac-tearing 1.4” is by far the most balanced engine for the Vauxhall Corsa D. Except it’s also more expensive than the 1.2 and it’s not just a cheap car to haul you around. Because when you buy a Vauxhall Corsa D, every hundred euros off the price counts.


• 1.4 Turbo A14NEL of 120 horsepower  – The 1.4 Turbo engine from the Astra J comes to the Vauxhall Corsa D with the 2012 facelift. An absolutely decent engine, but if the 1.4 naturally aspirated one has just been bought, what about the 1.4 Turbo? 


• 1.6 Turbo A16LER with 150, 192 and 210 horsepower – Reserved for the Vauxhall Corsa OPC, this engine represents the Vauxhall spirit – An extremely fast car in a straight line, very weak in corners. Vauxhall Corsa D OPC – the spiritual successor to the Vectra C.

Diesel

• 1.3 CDTi Multijet of 75, 90 and 95 horsepower – The same 1.3 CDTi used by Alfa Romeo, this engine is slightly more responsive than a turtle. Spiritually related to the 1.2 TDI in the Polo, in that it breaks down every 100 metres of city driving. Serious DPF and EGR issues if you just haul it around town. 


• 1.7 CDTi of 125 and 130 horsepower – An Isuzu-sourced engine that belongs in commercial vehicles, vans and Vauxhall Astra. Like the 1.3 CDTi, it is unsuitable for city driving, the natural environment of the Vauxhall Corsa D. An old and legendary engine in terms of reliability, but one that is gassed and choked by modern particulate filters. It also needs its timing belt timing replaced in time.

Vauxhall Corsa D Reliability Issues

• Some Corsa D models have issues with the central locking so it’s important to check if it works. Push the buttons on the key, pull the doors, the boot, throw a brick through the window to check if the alarm sounds. Slash the tyres, to make sure the criminal who tries to steal your car doesn’t go anywhere. Put metabolic cat residue in the glove compartment so they don’t steal your ID.


• For those 2 of you who own an Opel Corsa D with an automatic transmission, I have to tell you that your car’s life is limited and your days are numbered. The automatic gearbox has a habit of suffering from oil incontinence and the repair often costs half as much as the car. For buying a Vauxhall Corsa D, you clearly didn’t spend much money on it. Because you want something cheap and good. Except that a Corsa D with an automatic gearbox is neither cheap nor good. The 1.4’s “tear up the tarmac” engines in particular.


• The water drainage channel under the windscreen has a habit of getting blocked and water seeps underneath. The first to fail in this situation is the ECU unit, which will cost you at least 2$. Seriously now, an ECU for any Corsa D engine starts at 200$  second-hand, so make sure you don’t get the channels blocked by trivial stuff like dust or leaves.


• The suspension is worthy of the joints of a 60+ dorm resident. Issues especially with the articulation on the front, but the springs on the back are as fragile as the self-esteem of a recent college graduate just now handing out their first resumes and looking for a job.


• For petrol engines, the situation of camshaft bolts is deferred. These screws are not tightened properly, they break and the camshaft can break in two. Even if the issue is known with the Vauxhall Corsa C, there is a possibility it will also happen with the Corsa D.

Vauxhall Corsa D Verdict

As I said at the beginning, the Vauxhall Corsa D is a good and cheap car. It’s not a car for the picky, it’s a car for those who want something cheap and reliable to get them around. Yes, it’s also cheaper than a Sandero, but that’s because the Sandero is a bigger car in terms of size. If you don’t know anything about cars and mechanics and don’t want to know anything, then the Vauxhall Corsa D is for you. A car dedicated to those who want something that gets them from A to B and that’s it. People who don’t care if the rims are aluminium or sheet metal, people who don’t know what cruise control is and don’t want to know. People who won’t cry if one morning their car gets stolen. People who will just sigh, go to the market and come back with another Vauxhall Corsa D.