2015 Vauxhall Corsa E

Background Information
It's been 8 years since the Corsa D was launched so the Corsa E is long overdue even after a facelift in 2011.

In the UK the Corsa D sold rather well remaining inside the top 10 most sold cars throughout it's lifetime accumulating 680,852 sales as of 10:00 GMT on the 14th October 2014.

The Corsa E was unveiled at the 2014 Paris Motor Show with UK deliveries taking place in December.

If you think the Corsa may look like a thorough facelift then you are partially correct as Vauxhall has listened to the customer's feedback regarding the Corsa D and one of the positives was the overall shape of the Corsa D so they've decided to retain it but updated the rest of the car.

Vauxhall has decided to be bold about the pricing of the Corsa E as it undercuts the current model by
an average of £3000 despite what they claim "a huge leap in quality and equipment across a simplified range" (still a rather complicated range in my opinion).

Pricing for the cheapest "Sting" model start from £8,995 but oddly it's not the most spartan equipped trim, that gets awarded to the "Life" model which starts from £10,900 which is at the same price as the "Design" trim which has similar levels of equipment to the Sting model excluding alloy wheels and the (rather tacky) body stripes. Quite confusing isn't it? To help calm your brain from the confusion I've created a tree diagram of all the available trims.

The standard equipment for each of the trims are as follows:

Life:
£10,900 - £13,750

• Heated windscreen
• Tyre pressure monitoring system
• Electronic stability programme
• Hill start assist
• Anti-lock braking system
• Six airbags
• Electronic engine deadlock immobiliser
• Stereo radio with aux input socket
• Reach and rake adjustable steering wheel
• Speed sensitive electronic power steering
• Electrically operated exterior mirrors (non heated)
• 14-inch steel wheels (petrol models)
• 15-inch steel wheels (diesel models)
• Emergency tyre inflation kit
• Remote central locking
• Electrically operated front windows

Sting:

£8,995 - £11,425

Standard equipment above Life trim:

• Body colour exterior door handles
• Twin white stripes on bonnet, roof and tailgate
• White exterior door mirrors and front grille bar
• Blacked out exterior B pillar (excludes Dark Sea Blue and Carbon Flash coloured vehicles)
• White 16-inch alloy wheels
• Leather wrapped steering wheel
• LED daytime running lights
• CD/MP3 CD player/stereo radio with aux input socket
• USB socket with iPod control
• Six speakers
• Steering wheel mounted audio controls
• Cruise control
• Height adjustable driver's seat

Sting R:

£10,995 (1 engine choice only)

Standard equipment above Sting trim:

• Twin black stripes on bonnet, roof and tailgate (in lieu of white stripes)
• Black exterior door mirrors and front grille bar (in lieu of white)
• Black 16-inch alloy wheels (in lieu of white)
• VX-Line leather wrapped flat bottomed steering wheel
• VX-Line leather wrapped handbrake lever and gear knob
• Sports petals
• Chrome effect exhaust tailpipe extension

Excite:

£11,965 - £15,115

Standard equipment above Life trim:

• Air conditioning (non A/C 1.2i and 1.4i manual petrol models also available)
• 16-inch alloy wheels
• Front fog lights
• IntelliLink audio system with DAB digital radio
• Bluetooth connectivity
• USB socket with iPod control
• Steering wheel mounted audio controls
• Auto wipers
• Auto lights
• LED daytime running lights
• Heated leather wrapped steering wheel
• Heated front seats
• Height adjustable driver's seat
• Blacked out exterior B pillar
• Body coloured exterior door handles

Limited Edition:

£13,805 - £16,235

Standard equipment above Life trim:

• Black 17-inch alloy wheels in a gloss black finish
• Body coloured front spoiler, side sills, rear roof spoiler (3 door only) and rear skirt
• Chrome effect exhaust tailpipe extension
• Black roof and exterior door mirror housing
• Black front grille bar
• Blacked out exterior B pillar (except Carbon Flash coloured cars)
• Electrically adjustable/heated exterior mirrors
• Sports suspension with lowered ride height
• LED daytime running lights
• Front fog lights with chrome effect surround
• Smoked tail lights
• Sports style front seats
• Dark tinted rear windows
• Air conditioning
• IntelliLink audio system with DAB digital radio
• Bluetooth connectivity
• USB socket with iPod control
• Steering wheel mounted audio controls 
• Cruise control and multi function trip computer
• Sports petals
• Leather wrapped steering wheel

Design:

£10,900 - £14,250

Standard equipment above Life trim:

• Bluetooth connectivity
• USB socket with iPod control
• Steering wheel mounted audio controls
• IntelliLink audio system with DAB digital radio
• Six speakers
• Leather wrapped steering wheel
• Cruise control
• Height adjustable driver's seat
• Air conditioning
• Blacked out exterior B pillar (except on Royal Blue, Dark Sea Blue, Emerald Green and Carbon Flash coloured cars)
• Body coloured exterior door handles
• LED daytime running lights
• Front fog lights
• 15-inch structure wheels

SRi:

£11,595 - £14,945

Standard equipment above Life trim:

• Air conditioning 
• Black 16-inch alloy wheels in a gloss black finish
• Front fog lights with chrome effect surround
• Sports style front seats
• Sports petals
• Leather wrapped steering wheel
• IntelliLink audio system with digital radio
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Steering wheel mounted audio controls
• Cruise control
• USB socket with iPod control
• Multi function trip computer
• Electrically operated/heated exterior door mirrors
• Auto lights
• Auto wipers
• LED daytime running lights 
• Blacked out exterior B pillar (except on Dark Sea Blue, Emerald Green and Carbon Flash coloured cars)
• Body coloured exterior door handles
• 60/40 split folding rear seat backs
• Height adjustable drivers seat

SRi VX-Line:
£12,630 - £15,980

Standard equipment above SRi trim:

• 17 inch alloy wheels in a silver finish
• Body coloured front spoiler, side sills, rear roof spoiler (3 door only) and rear skirt
• Body coloured door mirrors
• Chrome effect exhaust tailpipe extension
• Sports suspension with lower ride height

SE:

£12,240 - £15,590

Standard equipment above Design trim:

• 16 inch alloy wheels
• Heated leather wrapped steering wheel
• Heated front seats
• Morrocana side bolsters on front and rear seats
• 60/40 split folding rear seat backs
• Multi function trip computer
• Electrically operated/heated exterior door mirrors
• Auto lights
• Auto wipers
• Front fog lights with chrome effect surround
• Chrome exterior lower side window lining (5 door only)
• Chrome inserts in exterior door handles
• Body colour door mirrors
• Front and rear parking sensors

Engines
Diesel
1.3 CDTi 75PS (74BHP) ecoFlex S/S      single turbo                4 cylinder
1.3 CDTi 95PS (94BHP) ecoFlex S/S      single turbo                4 cylinder

Petrol
1.0T 90PS (89BHP) ecoFlex S/S              single turbo                3 cylinder
1.0T 115PS (113BHP) S/S                        single turbo                3 cylinder
1.2i 70PS (69BHP)                                   naturally aspirated      4 cylinder
1.4i 90PS (89BHP)                                   naturally aspirated      4 cylinder
1.4T 100PS (99BHP) ecoFlex S/S            single turbo                4 cylinder
 
Additional information that has been released on some of the engines:
1.3 CDTi 75PS (74BHP) ecoFlex S/S
Torque: 190 Nm
Economy: 88.3mpg (combined cycle)
CO2 emissions: 85g/km

1.0T 90PS (89BHP) ecoFlex S/S
Torque: 166 Nm
Economy: 65.7mpg (combined cycle)
CO2 emissions: 100g/km

1.2i 70PS (69BHP)
Torque: 115 Nm
Economy: 53.5mpg (combined cycle)
CO2 emissions: 124g/km

1.4i 90PS (89BHP)
Torque: 130 Nm
Economy: 55.4mpg (combined cycle)
CO2 emissions: 119g/km

1.4T 100PS (99BHP) ecoFlex S/S
Torque: 200 Nm
Economy: 55.4mpg (combined cycle)
CO2 emissions: 119g/km

All engines are Euro 6 compliant.





Size
The Corsa E has grown in size from the Corsa D with the measurements being:

3 door:
Height: 1479mm
Length: 4020mm
Width: 1944mm

5 door:
Height: 1481mm
Length: 4020mm
Width: 1944mm


The boot capacity remains the same as the Corsa D at 285 litres with the rear seats up for both the 3 and 5 door and 1090 litres with the rear seats folded down for the 3 door and 1120 litres for the 5 door with the rear seats folded down.












Interior
The basic dimensions of the interior are the same as the Corsa D but the quality has been hugely improved incorporating soft touch plastics in the cabin along with flashes of chrome on the dashboard and gloss black plastics on some models.

It is also an industry first in having seat fabric printing technology.

The driver's instrument panel is themed along horizontal lines with a steering wheel more ergonomic than ever with switches and chrono-style instruments finished in chrome.


The interior has been made more practical with larger door bins with the front door bins able to accommodate a large 1.5 litre bottle as well as 3 cup holders and a flexible cup holder in front of the gear lever in the centre console mean you'll never run out of spaces to put a spare bottle of water.

The new Corsa is also the first high-volume Vauxhall available with the IntelliLink infotainment system which is a 7-inch touchscreen with downloadable apps including sat-nav and internet radio apps and is compatible with Apple and Android products and includes additional features such as bluetooth, Siri eyes free and voice commands and can have up to 5 devices connected to it. The IntelliLink system is fitted as standard on all models bar Life and Sting trims.





Exterior
When looked at head-on, the Corsa E is instantly recognizable as a Vauxhall from it's griffin badge and it's eagle eye headlights incorporating Vauxhall's "wing" LED daytime running light design which is also present on the Adam, Astra, Insignia, Zafira Tourer, Cascada, Meriva and Mokka models.

Round the side Vauxhall has incorporated the signature "blade" at the side in the doors which is also present in other Vauxhall's in slightly different guises.

At the back the Corsa has been made to look wider by the split horizontal tail lights which flow to the rear shoulder of the car. The rear lights also have the "wing" style when switched on.

Up to 15 exterior colours are present with 9 colours carried over from the Corsa D with the new colours being:

Summit White
Limelight Green
Shiny Rock
Emerald Green
Dark Sea Blue
Peppermint Green







My Opinion
I'm a fan of the Corsa D and was initially skeptical about the Corsa E being closely related to the Corsa D as I thought there was no way the looks would've been improved and to be honest it hasn't been as I find parts of it rather unpleasing to my eyes.






For example I'm not a fan of the rear lights as I find them too big and don't suit a car of this size. Secondly I don't like the black bit at the end of the rear side window in the 3 door version as it seems to ruin the full semi circle like shape of the side windows.







A part that I really like is the new interior, I've been in a few Corsa D's and find it rather disappointing in terms of the plastics used compared to other vehicles in the class such as the Polo and Fiesta as it is littered with cheap scratchy plastics so I welcome Vauxhall placing soft touch plastics in the cabin.

I also welcome the new 1.0 turbo 3 cylinder engines to rival the Fiesta's highly praised 1.0 EcoBoost and Volkswagen's new 1.0 TSI engines which are still in development. What I'm disappointed in is that the 1.2i 85PS engine has been dropped, I think it would've been great to keep the 85PS in the Corsa D, instead of detuning the engine to 70PS as it is now and detuning the 1.4i to 90PS from 100PS in the Corsa D and using the 1,4i 90PS to fill the gap left by the 1.2i 85PS engine.

 

The Corsa E is sure to be a seller and remain in a head to head battle with the Fiesta in the UK for the top spot in the most sold B segment car chart. But I can't help but think that with it's more unusual looks, some people may look to the Polo for a more conservative looking vehicle.