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These are the first official shots of
Vauxhall’s Corsa, sporting its fresh new face, trims and colours ready
for delivery to first UK customers in February next year.
The Corsa, Vauxhall’s second
best-selling model after the Astra, and a near-permanent fixture in the
UK’s top-three best sellers’ list, has now adopted many of the premium
styling cues from other recently launched Vauxhalls, such as the
Insignia, Astra and Meriva.
Styled by Niels Loeb, Vauxhall/Opel’s
Chief Exterior Designer working in Brit, Mark Adams’ design team, the
new Corsa features a signature chrome bar, carrying the new Griffin
badge, stretching across the front grille, while a re-styled front
bumper with a more prominent, wider lower grille gives the Corsa a
smiling appearance.
Framing the Corsa’s new face are
‘Eagle-Eye’ headlamps, which have also made an appearance on the
recently launched Meriva. The units have a chrome finish and include
daytime running lights as standard across the range. New chrome-finished
fog lamps and housings complete the picture at the front of the car.
Complementing the Corsa’s fresh look
are five new exterior colours in the range. Lime Green pearlescent and
Chilli Orange metallic enhance the car’s new look, with Guacamole – a solid hue – completing the pallet of
all-new Vauxhall colours. Sunny Melon (a bright yellow) makes a welcome
return to the Corsa range, while Pepperdust metallic is carried across
from the new Meriva range.
Vibrant new colours also dominate the
Corsa’s cabin, with seat trims such as Steel Blue and Tabasco Orange
brightening the interior, accompanied by a range of different coloured
door trims, centre consoles, air vent rings and door handles.
Also inside, is Vauxhall’s new optional
Touch & Connect multi-media system, which replaces the existing CD60
unit. Touch & Connect uses a five-inch touch screen display featuring
both 2D and 3D maps for the navigation system, as well as a CD/tuner,
aux-in, USB and Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity.
Outside, the new Corsa benefits from
new 16-inch alloy wheels on both SE and SXi models, while the 192PS VXR
receives the option of a new 18-inch alloy wheel, modelled on the design
of the optional 20-inch wheel worn by the Insignia VXR.
Corsa’s new appearance complements
recent upgrades to chassis and powertrain
With its fresh new look, the Corsa is
now a very different car to the one on sale a year ago. Before the
latest exterior and interior design changes were made, the Corsa had
already benefited from a long list of significant upgrades to its
chassis and powertrains. For example, certain ecoFLEX engines now
feature Vauxhall’s Start/Stop technology, which has reduced emissions on
the 1.3 CDTi (95PS) ecoFLEX model to just 94g/km, combined with fuel
consumption of 91.1mpg on the government’s extra urban cycle (78.5mpg
combined).
To maintain its success in the
small-car class, Vauxhall’s engineers also made important revisions to
the car’s steering and suspension set-ups. Softer springs were employed
in the front suspension, mated to an anti-roll bar with new bushes and
an increased diameter, improving ride and control characteristics.
Complementing this were revised damper
settings all round, an optional re-tuned ESP system and enhanced
steering geometry, ensuring that the Corsa remained as pleasurable to
drive as it was economical to own.
The new Corsa range starts at £9995,
based on 2011’s 20 per cent VAT rate. However, setting aside the 2.5 per
cent VAT increase, which will apply to all cars from January 4, new
Corsa prices have only risen by between £60 and £75, depending upon
model and, reflecting the exterior and cabin enhancements on all models
in the range.
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