Vauxhall Corsa 1.6 VXR

Ok i bought this VXR brand new at £13,500 so a good price for it back in 2008.

In the 2nd year the air conditioning pipe split and so did the engine coolant pipe...these were replaced foc under warranty....HOWEVER.....2 months after my warranty expires my wheel bearing needs replacing.....I HAVE ONLY DONE 15,000 MILES... Due to the warranty expiring I had to pay 50% of the 200.00 invoice. Now 6 months another wheel bearing needs replacing...Vauxhall charged me £30.00 to tell me this aswell...so pretty miffed AND NO CONTRIBUTION WHATSOEVER !

So unless you want to constantly pay for wheel bearings after about 15,000 miles stay clear of vauxhall corsa VXR's and it dont make any difference if you have constantly had services and mot's at a vauxhall garage, so get it done cheaper at a normal garage !

I owned a Corsa VXR for the best part of 16 months and have a really mixed opinion of the car having recently sold it. Bought the car for £10,000 with 27,000 miles on an 07 plate in June 2010 so it was about 3 years old. I must add I am a 24 year old young professional and I bought this car because I liked the look, I like performance but I am by no means a boy racer, I was as much worried about practicality and running costs than top speed.

Positives:

Obviouly for small hatchback it is very fast, every gear pulls, torque throughout the rev range so performance is very easy to extract. Handling is good being a small car, always feels like there is enough grip for a talentless driver like me, however never really tested it to the limits. I like the recaro seats, on longer journeys they became less comfortable but again it is a hot hatch. Had some good extras, cruise control is pretty handy on longer journeys and as I do about 400 miles a week made the distance seem shorter.

Negatives:

For a car that was only 3 years old, I had far too many reliability problems. Within a few months the front wheel bearing went, at 28,000 miles, luckily it was under the 3 month trader warranty, also the break pad and disk needed replacing, again under warranty. Then a whining from the gearbox and a creaking sound when i pulled off in first gear, garage said they would strip the gearbox but i declined. Then came the winter months, engine management light on, looked like the temperature sensor was faulty which made the engine fan work at full blast constantly meaning only cold engine air was being blown into the car, not good when its -1 outsude on a january morning. Fixed itself off and on till the weather improved. Another wheel bearing went at about 32,000 miles, cost me £180 to replace, I have been told that gearbox and wheel bearings are very common problems with Corsa VXR's (get an astra). Fuel economy wasnt great, averaging about 32mpg driving like my gran, 60mph on the motorway, changing up gears early etc. realisitcally, ignore the trip computer, the max miles your goung to get from a full tank is about 200-300 depending on how heavy your right foot is.

All in all I had a very love hate relationship with the car, I did love it, i really did, putting your foot down on the odd occasion and watching all the middle aged ar*eholes in their TDi commuter saloons become smaller specks in your rear view mirror was almost worth the hastle. But the problems I had with it definately put me off buying another vauxhall again. Will also add that I sold the Corsa for £7000 and replaced it with a little Clio 182 sport for £3,850, must say iv enjoyed 4 days of driving that more than 16 months in the corsa. just saying.

Hope this helps anyone thinkig of buying a Corsa VXR. To sum I would say, buy one and you will love it, but just be careful, personally I wouldnt touch one again.

excellent performance car, i have had GTI SRI before, this is one hell of a car,

The Vauxhall Corsa 1.6 VXR has good power and acceleration. Comfortable ride over bumps compared to my old peugeot 206 gti180 and engine quiet unless you go higher up the revs. Looks great and good quality construction. Good grip too from suspension, a blend of comfort, stablilty and handling. 31 MPG on a 2 miles journey to work average over a week, not bad. Longer journeys can bring up to 38/39 mpg if you use a light right foot and a constant run on a good A/B road. Only bad point is a few creaks from inside the cabin, only when cold. Great car, especially for the money.

Highly recommended