Third Time Lucky for the Vauxhall Corsa

The Vauxhall Corsa has been around for what feels like a lifetime. Some might say almost as long as Bruce Forsythe who is a British institution, rather like the good old Corsa. The trouble is unlike old Brucie who is still very much at the top of his game the average British car buyer became tired of the old Corsa with its dated styling and were instead tempted by the more sophisticated look and feel that other European makers had to offer.

The original Corsa which was released back in 1993 was an improvement on the boxy Nova that it replaced but the 2000 model was not much of a revelation despite good sales and the competition was hot on the heals of the Corsa by then. As a result the all-new Corsa launched in 2006 attempted to win back the buyers it had lost to the likes of Peugeot, Toyota, Renault and of course Fiat with the Grande Punto.

The answer was if you can't beat them join them and so the third Generation Corsa was born. Based on the same platform as the Grande Punto the Corsa was an entirely different proposition to what had gone before and more akin to a baby Astra than anything else.

The car has a far higher quality feel about it.The Corsa name had gained a reputation for being dull - that was until the latest model was introduced. With sharp styling and a smart interior it's a huge improvement over its predecessor offering more space, comfort and refinement. Like its big brother, the Astra, it has two distinct profiles for three and five-door models - and both variants look good. It's enjoyable to drive too and thanks to a comfortable ride and decent noise insulation makes a surprisingly smooth motorway cruiser. There's a wide choice of engines but it's the diesels that really impress, especially the frugal 1.3-litre CDTi. There's also a performance model in the shape of the 1.6T SRi that is just as exciting to drive as the VXR hot hatch.

There's a good choice of engines in the Corsa range and they all offer decent economy. The entry-level model is the 1.0-litre petrol but with just 60bhp the three-cylinder unit struggles for pace and feels sluggish - the 80bhp 1.2-litre is a better bet if you intend to cover more than town miles. There's also a 1.4-litre unit but it only has 10bhp more than the 1.2-litre and isn't much quicker - it also needs to be revved hard to achieve decent momentum and will quickly lose interest when faced with hills. For more sporty performance there's a 1.6-litre turbo-charged SRi model which was introduced in mid-2007 - it uses a less powerful version of the engine found in the VXR with 150bhp instead of 192bhp. However it still has more than enough go and with a 0-60mph time of 7.6 seconds it doesn't hang about either

It's the diesels that come out the best though. The most powerful is the 1.7 CDTi with 125bhp and plenty of pulling power it makes it ideal for town and motorway driving and it's a surprisingly relaxed cruiser, sitting at low revs at 70mph. The pick of the engine range is the newer 1.3 CDTi available with 75bhp or 90bhp. It's much smoother and more refined than its larger counterpart and although it lacks some of the mid-range punch it's incredibly economical - the less powerful version averaging 63mpg. All petrol models have a five-speed gearbox with the exception of the 1.6T which, along with the diesel engines, comes with a six-speed transmission. The gearboxes do feel a little notchy and slow to shift but the change is positive enough. An Easytronic (automated manual) system is available on the 1.2-litre models, while a conventional four-speed automatic can be specified on the 1.4-litre

The Corsa may not have the French sophistication of a Renault Clio or the sporty appeal of a Mazda 2 but is a great all rounder and a superb choice if you're after a good value, small hatchback.