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Vauxhall Corsa F, a car that makes a sensation in Europe and UK’s best selling car, but somehow doesn’t leave us with our pants down as it should. Why is that?

Much like the Grandland, UK’s best selling car for 2021’s (and 3rd place for 2023) project was caught with it’s pants down, because in the middle of the project Vauxhall was sold by the Americans from GM and came under the ownership of PSA. However, in the case of Grandland the French decided to keep the looks and only bring the mechanical parts from home, and in the case of Corsa they decided to restart from scratch.

At the time I decided to get black out drunk and write this…thing?, the Vauxhall Corsa F started at 19,600 pounds, almost 1500 pounds cheaper than the Polo but 6000 pounds more expensive than the Sandero. Costs about the same as the Ibiza, and about 1000 pounds cheaper than it’s sister Peugeot 208. And that’s if you’re talking new, because if you’re talking classifieds then the prices start at around 7000 pounds, for a 20 reg supermini. So, where is the Vauxhall Corsa F sitting in this supermini crowd?

Pretty much how the Citroen C4 AirCross did it, only with superminis. The Vauxhall Corsa F joined the group/class projects and passed, with honorable grades even. Because the Vauxhall Corsa F is the right car at the right time. Economic times which are not kind to us. Not as brutal as getting hit with a bottle at the back of your head, but we live in times when the world is poorer and does not have much money to throw like in the good old days of 2008, when people really threw money out of the window. Usually out of the window of a Cayenne or X5. And it is enough to look at the list of the best-selling cars in Europe in recent years and you will see that the list is full of superminis, with a few exceptions like Tesla Y or Duster. But the list is dominated by Sandero, T-Cross, Yaris, Corsa, Fabia, Clio, 208. Simple, cheap A-to-B cars with which you do your job and that’s it.

And this is where the Corsa F shines, because it is the cheapest and most practical member of the Stellantis family of superminis, cheap to buy, cheap to run. Of course, it is also the least equipped and has the shortlest options list and the engines will not make you wet yourself when you floor it and you definatelly won’t Colin McRae any B road.

Vauxhall Corsa F Engines

Petrol

• 1.2 EB2FA PureTech of 75 horsepower – The entry-level engine for the entry-level Corsa. And honestly, you don’t even need more, because the whole idea of ​​the Corsa F is to be a simple, cheap, reliable city car. And you don’t need more, because those 25 extra horsepower on the Turbo version are as irrelevant as my day job.


• 1.2 EB2ADTD Turbo PureTech of 100 and 130 horsepower – As I said, I am not convinced by the turbocharged version of the EB engine. And it can have issues with said turbo. And if we’re still talking about common issues, this engine has a dark to brown past of snapped timing chains and destroyed engines. And all this because the correct amount of oil is not used, so do your homework seriously and use the correct oil and replace the timing chain at the first sign of fatigue. I would have said every third engine start, but modern EB engines are more resistant than in the past.

Diesel

1.5 CDTI DV5 BlueHDi of 99 horsepower – This engine and the Vauxhall Corsa F had more of a summer love because it was not available for too long. In any case, it’s a reliable engine as long as you don’t just drive it around town and make sure the AdBlue system has enough AdBlue all the time.

Electric

Corsa-e with 136 and 156 horsepower – If you want to make the jump/plunge to an electric car but the prices intimidate you just as Vinnie Jones intimidates the victims, then the Corsa-e may be the best choice at this time. The official range is from 120 up to 240 miles depending on how much money you have, and in reality you can shave off 20% from the official figures. It is not an electric car coming from the future, like the Kona, but the price is also unexpectedly anchored in reality. The only real problem is that the space in the back and the boot are even smaller than the normal version.

Vauxhall Corsa F Reliability Issues

• It is not a sports car and it doesn’t have such aspirations. The suspension is not sporty, the engines are not sporty, the steering is not sporty. I know, you shouldn’t look at the Vauxhall Corsa and think “mmmm, yes, this is the car in which I want to make tiktok”. “Ah yes, the perfect car to chav”.


• It’s not even a car with luxury aspirations or equipment in general. It’s cheap to buy new and most of them were bought for cheap. So even the used market will not impress you to the point of tears. It’s not a minus, just know what you’re getting into.

Vauxhall Corsa F Verdict

If it were food, the Corsa F would be a potato soup. Simple, decent, does it’s job with it and that’s it. A Sandero with a Vauxhall badge. So if you want a cheap supermini that isn’t a Dacia, then the Corsa can be the best solution.

Which engines do I recommend? Honestly, the naturally aspirated 1.2 75 horsepower petrol lump is all the engine you’ll ever need.