I like my little Vauxhall Corsa Sport 1.6 16 valve. It handles like a go-kart; but that's because it's been fitted with Bilstein shock absorbers and Eibach gravel springs! I'm sure if it had been left standard the car would handle like a blancmange.
The brakes are more than enough to stop something that now weighs less than a portaloo. The car has Vectra V6 brakes at the front and SAAB brakes at the rear. The standard brakes were fitted to my sons go-kart as that's all they were suitable for.
Most electrical items have been removed from the car and the wiring loom has been replaced with a custom built one.
The engine now runs on throttle bodies, and the car has a Pipercross induction kit. The engine now produces approx. 135 BHP.
The Corsa is a quick car, and it accelerates very quickly - but I don't believe claims that a standard Corsa 1.6 Sport can outrun Citroen Saxo 1.6's etc. I don't think the standard cars are that quick!
Buy a Corsa if you like

paying a lot of money for your car insurance
having your collar felt by every traffic cop in the area

waking up every other morning to find your car has been broken in to!

I love Corsas so much, I have the 1.6i sport fully modified, its a dream, all purple and sparkly. Nothing has gone wrong yet....fingers crossed and I always look forward to driving it.

The Vauxhall Corsa Sport is so quick, it can beat Golfs, Saxos, Clios and is so good on petrol cheap tax and insurance

I have a 1.4 Vauxhall Corsa Sport 16v, and none of my friends can even try to keep up in their Peugeot 306s and Polo's I even slaughterd a 1.6 Golf, these are good cars if well looked after and modified right

Recently bought a 1998 Corsa 1.6 16v Sport and I absolutely love the thing. They are quick cars; my mate gave up trying to get past me in his
Saxo VTS and that's saying something. I've fitted a Pipercross induction kit and it now sounds awesome! Am thinking of lowering it either 30mm or 40mm but am unsure if arches will start rubbing on new 17"s?

Having owned the Vauxhall Corsa Sport for 2 years now i'd have to say it is a very reliable car, never needing anything apart from the usual (tyres, brake pads, etc). It is comfy for its size and the overall quality of build is very good.
Small things like the standard suspension niggle at you a bit, but if you were happy to spend a few quid sorting this out I reckon it'd be well worth it.
Plenty of performace parts available out there for reasonable money and I think it would be a very tuneable wee car but have my doubts about the longevity of the ecotec engine.

The Vauxhall Corsa Sport are awesome cars, relitivly easy to modify, even better when you add a Viper induction kit, manifold and a full Rage Exhaust system. Ive just added quad lamps, lexus style rear lights, 17" wolfrace matrix alloys with toyo tyres. wide arch kit, lowered it 50mm on spax suspension, M3 Mirors. Cobra Buckets worth harnesses, momo steering wheel and gear knob and pedals, getting the oce sorted then, like Kenwood 7" screen and PS2, Ive bought a 12" alpine sub and kenwood amp. Next thing to do is sort the engine out. might be looking for a 2.0 16v engine conversion in stead of the 1.4 sri. looking for the BIG BHP then try and get it in magazines.

I run a corsa 1.6 16v sport. It was ok when i got it but it was sloppy round the corners allthough it is really hard to unstick the back end. The car was pritty qick although it couldnt keep up with my mates Nova GSI. I lowered the car 60mm and fitted 17in wheals with improved the handeling no end although the back arches to rub. I also fitted a full stainless steel exust and re-mapped the ecu which i couldnt belive the difference. Overall no a bad motor but imporve the handeling to keep up with simial powered hot hatch's.

The 1.4 16valve sport ecotech is an alright first sports hatchback car for the young driver. The car has good torque power, but lacks in top end. They tend to understeer when pushed hard and performance does not really pick up until about 3000rpm. for good performance look to change gear between 3500-4500rpm otherwise i found the car will suffer to pick up speed. Through some bends at a moderate speed (30-50 mph), the car can be pushed and rear grip is very good. To improve handling do go out and buy a strut brace to improve chasis handling and get wider wheels and have the car lowered. For increased performance, also look to have your ECU remaped because i learned that the ecotech is restricted and this can be undone by carrying out the above modification. Apart from that the sport is a great little runabout that would have got 9/10 for overall rating if the weight was lost and handling improved.

The Vauxhall Corsa Sport is a cool funky sports car for young drivers!
Insurance and running costs are quite reasonable.