Vauxhall Corsa review

The design of the cabin is a major disappointment following the promise of those sharper outside looks. What’s even more galling is that Vauxhall made virtually no effort to address this with the introduction of the facelift. Disappointing.

It’s dark, dour and plasticky in here, with none of the imagination you see in the Peugeot 208. No 3D dials, no metal piano key shortcuts, no hidden wireless smartphone charging bay. Just plain plastic and poorly integrated screens.

Even the digital instrument panel (3.5in as standard, 7in on GS trim and up) is a let-down given what the tech is capable of. The graphics are unimpressive and there’s little variety or opportunity to customise what you can see. It already looks dated. And you’ll spend ages hunting for trip computer info before realising it’s accessed via the (unmarked) buttons at the end of the indicator stalks.

The central touchscreen is at least 10in across the board now, though it mimics the Peugeot unit through and through. And yep, if there’s one thing we wouldn’t have wanted to inherit from the 208, it’s that. Too much wasted space, too many small menu keys, too slow to react. At least Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.

Is the Corsa practical?

The boot is a reasonable size at 309 litres, with 1,118 litres of space available when you knock the back seats down. And as the battery is installed under the front passenger seat, there’s no loss of space in mild hybrids. That’s about the same as the 208, but a good chunk less than the likes of the Skoda Fabia or Renault Clio. The tall lip to load things into the Corsa’s boot might put some people off too.

Also common with the Peugeot is the lack of decent rear space. Legroom is cramped and tall rear passengers won’t be happy for very long either. But then the Corsa has always been a bit of a squeeze in the back. Up front it’s reasonably spacious, but with few cubbies for storage; the manual doesn’t fit in the glovebox. Oops. The only place to stretch your left leg on a long motorway slog is underneath the clutch pedal.

Are there any fun little touches?

It’s the nice little things that tend to set cars apart in this end of the market: just look at the Skoda Fabia and its neat ‘simply clever’ touches that are sploshed about the car. The Corsa has… none of these. It’s all very straight down the middle with nothing that will particularly surprise and delight.

The manual GS has a little slot for coins, which could be useful. And there's a fun little Vauxhall Easter egg in the central part of the dash; a shark motif that started as a bet between two Vauxhall designers and has become a company in-joke on all of its latest models. Hardly Fart Mode though, is it?