Vauxhall Corsa SXI Review

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Vauxhall Corsa SXI
★★★★☆
4.2
From 9 reviews
78.0% of users recommend this
  • Performance

  • Practicality

  • Reliability

  • Value For Money

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nicholasdownes's review of Vauxhall Corsa SXI

“I bought my Vauxhall Corsa SXI 52 plate with 10000...”

★★★★☆

written by nicholasdownes on 01/12/2004

Good Points
Good value to buy, cheap to insure, good MPG, reasonable handling and solid little engine.

Bad Points
Chronic understear, all TDI drivers try and overtake you.

General Comments
I bought my Vauxhall Corsa SXI 52 plate with 10000 miles in October 2004. It had below the average mileage and is immaculate for £5500. I bought the corsa because my Astra Bertone Coupe was costing me a fortune in petrol, insurance and tyres. Let me tell you I was glad to see the back of that car, if I'd of kept it I'm pretty much sure I would have lost my license at some stage.



It was a bit of a hard decision to choose a small cheap car, I had originally looked at the Corsa SRI but got a good deal on an Astra CDX, so I decided to go back to my first choice. To be fair I think I made the right decision, the Corsa is reasonably nippy and can see off those TDI in an amazing, even unbelievable, show. To see a big car coming up in the wing mirror, drop a gear, and watch it stay there until you can out turn it, is surprising in such a small car. Coupled with this good fuel economy, smart looks inside and out, and cheap insurance costs (2 years no claims, 22, £400) all make owning and driving a pleasure. I used to feel guilty about popping out in my Coupe, but not in the Corsa, much fuel can be conserved with the close ratio gear box especially in 4th & 5th.



My friend was impressed with my Astra, and wanted one until he went out in the Corsa, he has just ordered a brand new one. However I will be taking him out to teach him some of the handling quirks. This car is jumpy, and understeers all the time. You have to get used to the fact that front wheels are understeering, watching the weight of the car and road position are all vital to keeping it on the road. The Corsa is capable of some fun cornering, but you'd have to know how to rescue it if something went wrong. The gear box is also very neat and shift tightly, not to good for a learner driver but good for anyone else.



This is a review of the car after 1000 miles. It needs a service so I wil in time update these records. So far, its a fun little car, reasonably robust with the spirit of gran turismo in its veins, more so than the Astra. Cheap to run, good to look at, and rises to meet the demands of experienced drivers. Just dont let more powerful cars write you off, thats a mistake.

  • 2002

    Year Manufactured

  • 1 month

    Length of ownership

  • Performance

  • Practicality

  • Reliability

  • Value For Money

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Nicholasdownes's Response to nicholasdownes's Review

Written on: 03/12/2004

Update from the author:
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<br>1) Brilliant discovery - while cornering fast for example at islands a tap of the brake will bring the back end round, get back on the throttle to snap it back into line. Brilliant fun, requires some experience to get right otherwise your gonna spin, but car handles it well. No chasis role, flex, or negative suspension feedback.
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<br>2) had four large men in the corsa, still whipped a 1.6 escort. not at all bad when car is loaded, also had two full size rifles, in padded cases, with all associated gear neatly packed in the boot.
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<br>3) Managing 300, 330, 350miles per tank. This is by all accounts average, the normal is 330 miles on 44 litres which means 34mpg. Taking into account sub zero temperatures, the long time it takes the small ecotek to warm up, the short journies and start stop of town driving this is all reasonable.
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<br>4) Enquired about some lowering springs. £200 gets me P.I. 35 or 45mm lowering springs 25-35% stiffer than factory units. I'd probably choose the 35mm kit for lonlivity. The price includes fitting and all geometry checks. If anyone can beat this let me know, I live in the East Midlands.
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<br>Nick.

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Nicholasdownes's Response to nicholasdownes's Review

Written on: 14/02/2005

The Corsa is now on over 14,000 miles and has been through its first service. I took it to a local motor engineers, Forsters engineering in Hucknall Nottinghamshire, and he as always made a really good job. It cost £200 all said and done which is equal or less than what some dealerships will charge and to be honest I dont think I'd trust any of the Nottingham Vauxhall dealerships as far as I could throw the showrooms.
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<br>The car continues to run well and continues to entertain me. One problem has been the ecotek clean burn valve which despite the locking nut adjusts itself continuously. As this is a slow process after a week or so it becomes obvious that power is down, so the valve has to be readjusted. Its a pain, but I wouldn't let it put anyone off. Opt for the additional pipercross filter otherwise if you go off road the valve has a tedancy to get splashed with dirt very easily.
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<br>As for the car I've kept it clean inside and out and plan to do so for another year or so, then I plan to sell it and settle my finance. As far as depreciation goes I paid £5500 for this car and can expect £5200 now at best, in a year I expect something over £4000 depending on condition and how good the new Corsa, launched in 2006, is.

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Nicholasdownes's Response to nicholasdownes's Review

Written on: 06/01/2005

Because the Corsa is due a service on the 15th January I decided to change the airfilter as my first modification. I looked at induction kits and decided that £80 was too much to pay. Afterall the Corsa's standard airbox can be removed by hand and an induction filter simply bolted on in its place. So I picked up a Max Power branded foam filter which comes with all adapters and fittings necessary and simply bolted it on to the air flow meter. After fixing all loose hoses etc in place with ties I bedded it down over some 150 miles.
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<br>Replacing the standard air box makes a massive difference to the engine. Throttle responce is far quicker, engine power / torque feel higher, and a lovely metallic roar replaces the girly whine the Corsa comes with as standard. All you need to do this work is 10min, a good screwdriver and some fastenings, the elements cost £20-£25 from most motorworld / halfords. Go for foam filters as they work better with smaller capacity engines in my experience.
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<br>As a final consideration I still use the warm air from the original intake, just manouever the pipe that went to the old air box to point upto the induction filter to help it warm up in the mornings. The increased torque the induction filter gives the 1.2 also seems to stick the tyres to the road better eliminating a lot of the steering problems the car comes with as standard.
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<br>A week or so later I added a clean burn valve from ecotoek. Out of the two modifications I expected this to make the most difference due to the hype. It cost double the price of the induction mod but doesn't seem to be doing as much good yet. I keep tuning it but it insists on making a whistling noise when revs are dropping. I'm now going to give it another quater turn down and let it settle for another 200 miles but I would not recommend this mod for a Corsa. At present it feels like its actually leaning off the mixture too much as the same valve is universal and designed to work with capacities upto 2.6 litres. If you do decide to run this mod make sure you ensure no audible noise can be heard from it under normal driving conditions. I do not expect any more power from it but it does save on fuel.
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<br>All in all I guess the 1.2 is now a touch over 80bhp and around 80lb ft torque. However i am not using any more fuel because of the ecotek valve, so perhaps the two mods balance each other out.

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Nicholasdownes's Response to nicholasdownes's Review

Written on: 07/12/2004

Just completed a trip on the Motorway. Did about 100miles at 80mph which equates to some four and a half thousand rpm. Did 365miles to the tank, which means the little Corsa can handle the motorway too.

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