Road Test

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Vauxhall Corsa VXR

Test date 04 April 2007 Price as tested £17,195

For Quicker than anything else in the class, well equipped, civilised, good value

AgainstSpongy steering and throttle response, awful gear lever, not as crisp as Clio 197

As yet, Vauxhall’s VXR brand hasn’t quite hit the bullseye. Since it was invented in 2003, Luton’s answer to the Ford ST and RS ranges has produced a series of fast but flawed cars, such as the limited-appeal Monaro VXR and the magnificently manic Astra and Zafira VXRs. So it’s about time, you might think, that Vauxhall nailed a VXR model and knocked its opponents from Ford and Renault to the canvas.

It’s not just a question of upping performance; for all its faults, no one could ever complain about the way the Astra VXR goes. What Vauxhall needs is a more rounded, more real-world VXR model, one that handles and steers as well as it goes and which doesn’t require a deft hand to keep it out of the undergrowth. What Vauxhall needs is a car like the new £15,595 Corsa VXR.

Luton’s key claim about the new hot Corsa is that, unlike every other VXR model so far, it was planned right from the start. So when the template was being cast for the standard Corsa models (currently our outright favourite superminis), the design for the VXR was also conceived. As a result, the Corsa VXR should feel much more all-of-a-piece than the bolt-on-and-watch-it-go-wild Astra.

On paper, the Corsa VXR would appear to deliver on Vauxhall’s promise. Visually it delivers, too. At the front there’s a deep new splitter that incorporates the obligatory driving lamps. Along the flanks, the styling is enhanced by a pair of side skirts, and there are somewhat OTT aerodynamic door mirrors.

At the back, there is a Clio 197-style diffuser, a big triangular centre exhaust pipe, a roof spoiler and a pair of faux air vents that supposedly bleed heat away from the rear brakes.

The overall effect is without a doubt impressive to look at, especially riding on the £400 optional 18-inch wheels of the test car (as standard you get perfectly adequate 17-inch wheels). But the Corsa VXR is not a hot hatch for the terminally shy. You will get noticed in this car, whether you like it or not.