New addition

[MSS]

My son and I went out today to look at cars so we could decide what he and my daughter will use to practice their driving when they come back from uni next June. The plan was that I would buy the selected car type by the time they come home for the summer break next year.

We ended up putting a deposit on this 2011 Corsa 1.2 Sxi (85) with 70.2k miles, dealer service history, toys like computer, cruise etc. It's being serviced and will be collected on Wednesday. Vauxhalls now have a majority in our house with my Omega, memsahib's Twintop and now this relative to the two 75's.

Driving it makes you appreciate how much cars have advanced in the last 15 years. It drives like a much larger car.

[LeRich]

Decent cars. I've had one as a hire car and quite liked it. It'll be great for your young drivers.

[MSS]

I took the wife and two teenagers to see family near Heathrow on Saturday in the Corsa. With four adults, it averaged 52MPG according to the onboard computer over the 270 mile return trip (will check accuracy over a few tankfulls) .

It also has decent performance as a daily commuter car with the 1.2L engine in 85BHP form.

I have to say that like the Astra and Megane I've had on hire before, it is very well put together and feels like you are driving a larger car. There are no squeaks or rattles from the trim and everything feels very solid.

[Tracker]

My son had a previous generation Corsa to yours when he started driving and I was most impressed with it, particularly the performance from its 1.2 litre engine. It pulled strongly and revved freely making it an enjoyable drive. My wife runs an Astra SXi 1.8 that we bought at fifteen months old in 2007. It was an ex Vauxhall management car that had been spec'ed up with £6K (at list price) worth of extras. Still going strong at 147K miles and still pulls like a train.

[minty2]

Originally Posted by Tracker

My son had a previous generation Corsa to yours when he started driving and I was most impressed with it, particularly the performance from its 1.2 litre engine. It pulled strongly and revved freely making it an enjoyable drive. My wife runs an Astra SXi 1.8 that we bought at fifteen months old in 2007. It was an ex Vauxhall management car that had been spec'ed up with £6K (at list price) worth of extras. Still going strong at 147K miles and still pulls like a train.

The 2002 1.2 Corsa is a great little car. I helped my son pick one up a couple of years ago fas a starter car for £650 (4 door, SXi with sunroof, A/C and 112,000 miles). His insurance was more than twice that! It's still running well after covering 16,000 more miles!

[roverbarmy]

They are a bit like Marmite. We had one at work and I loved it but others used to avoid it like the plague!

[Les4048]

When you get it home park it next to your 75 and see how small the Corsa is as it’s not a small car these days. None of the small cars from say ten years ago are small now, I was shocked at how large a Nissan Micra was parked next to my 75 Tourer, it dwarfed my car

[Mike Trident]

When my daughter passed her test a couple of years ago she wanted us to buy her a Corsa, I said get an insurance quote first!

For some reason, the insurance for the Corsa was double what the quote was for a Renault Clio 1.2. We bought her the Clio lol

[macafee2]

compared to a 75, how do these cars make you feel when you get in them and drive them ?

Sandstone interior and walnut dash makes me feel posh.

macafee2

[MSS]

Originally Posted by Les4048

When you get it home park it next to your 75 and see how small the Corsa is as it’s not a small car these days. None of the small cars from say ten years ago are small now, I was shocked at how large a Nissan Micra was parked next to my 75 Tourer, it dwarfed my car

I agree. Vauxhall actually now have two car sizes below the Corsa - Viva and Adam - which are more suited to beginners. As people have downsized over the years, the supermini class has become hotly contested and this shows in the vastly improved quality of the cars. Our Corsa SXI has toys such as driver information computer and cruise control. When the doors shut, they do so with a real quality feel that is better than the 75 and my Omega.

Originally Posted by Mike Trident

When my daughter passed her test a couple of years ago she wanted us to buy her a Corsa, I said get an insurance quote first!

For some reason, the insurance for the Corsa was double what the quote was for a Renault Clio 1.2. We bought her the Clio lol

I think it depends a lot on the postcode. I spent a day compiling insurance costs at 0, 1 and 3 years NCD for petrol and diesel versions of the Corsa and Clio. They both came in within £50 of each other in all cases for the same performance level variants. But we are fortunate for living in the lowest insurance cost band.

I've now covered 500 miles in the car to test it out and it is really rather enjoyable to drive - very different to the diesel 75 and the Omega V6 but nevertheless very enjoyable. The fact that it is the 85BHP version of the 1.2 engine helps in that you never really feel it to be in any way sluggish.

Originally Posted by macafee2

compared to a 75, how do these cars make you feel when you get in them and drive them ?

Sandstone interior and walnut dash makes me feel posh.

macafee2

My wife's Astra Twintop makes you feel very special. It has brushed heel plates, black leather seats a bit like the Rover Oxford ones and all the toys. There are no squeaks or rattles from the trim.