[leonaDevon]

Hi

We picked up our Corsa SE 1.3 Diesel last week, we have our cars on a 3 year lease, so have just replaced our Beloved Ford Fiesta Titanium, as the only dealership in our area is Vauxhall my partner insisted that, for convenience,t we use them for our next lease and get a Corsa.

I don't drive the car, as I have a visual disability, so my partner does all the driving, but I wanted to give my impressions from the view of the passenger and the one who has to sort out off the niggles and hassles! She drives, I have to sort out the rest, even navigate (which others find most amusing).

We have only had a car a week or so, so my opinions might get 'modified' over time, but this is my initial impressions.

Ok, so the SE is the Top of the Range model, you would expect certain things to come as standard, as they did on our Fiesta so here is a list that aren't.

Most Notable omission is climate control, why is this an option extra on the top model! Really missing this, if this was my choice it would have been a deal breaker, its a £400 option extra! (its standard on the Fiesta Titanium!)

No folding door mirrors, ok so they are heated and they move, but they don't fold when you lock the car, again this standard on the Fiesta Titanium!

No passenger vanity mirror, I have just about enough sight to use one, but non fitted to this model, might have to stick on my own.

No rear tailgate unlock on key fob, really useful to be able to only unlock the tailgate with out unlocking the car, used this a lot, (on the Fiesta), missing on the Corsa.

The Fiesta came with mats as standard, the Corsa doesn't

No rear privacy glass, on the rear doors or tailgate, so no leaving things on the back seats anymore, these would be hidden from view on the Fiesta.

Other design niggles.

Glovebox, oh dear, that is literal, you can only store gloves in it, its TINY!

The demisting button, actives the front and rear screen as the same time, you might not want that, again the fiesta had separate buttons for front and rear, as you might only need to use the front one, just seems odd.

Really niggling minor point, as I'm in charge of filling up the screen wash, the lid is black, every other car we've had this had been a prominent colour either yellow or blue, so this does make it hard to find (with poor vision!), thankfully I know my way around an engine bay, so I know where NOT to put it

My partner does seem to be struggling with the gearbox the shifter is tight and easy to miss gears as they are hard to engage, sometimes will not engage at all, so she has to find another gear, and the position and trigger switch for reverse is going to take some getting used to, it should be behind 5th like normal cars!

Build Quality, it feels very flimsy, tinny, my partner said, its like driving a tin of beans, her words! On a 150 mile trip to Hampshire and back the car has developed an engine fault, that's poor for a new car in my opinion.

Performance: Well she's new, has a fault, as mentioned before, so we need to get that fixed, but on a run from Devon to Hampshire down the A35 she seemed to go ok, but has no power in 5th, so if you want to over take anything, especially on a hill you have to change to 4th and floor it. On one section of dual carriage way, we were in 5th with the pedal on the floor and just touched 70! As I've said, I think we have a fault, so it'll be going in this week to be checked out, so I hope to be able to report back better things when she's fixed.

Once plus side the seats do seem to be higher than the fiesta, I did find it difficult to get into or out of that car, as the seats were low down, these seem the correct height.

Rain sensitive wipers seem to work well, probably better than the fiestas, which only came on in a monsoon! these seem to detect even when its light rain. But on a downside they are not quiet, you here loud 'donk donk' when they hit their stop marks and seem to smear the screen a bit.

My partner likes the main/dip beam switch, that makes more sense to her, the fiesta's (being a pull toggle) confused her!

The radio system (inteliLink?) seems good, fonts nice a large, large enough for me to read (being tech savy, that's my department), plugged in USB stick and that works fine, paired with my Note 3 and that works well too, radio seems good, DAB is good, like the tone of the sound it produces too, might have to fiddle with it slightly to see if I can get a little more base out of it, but easy to navigate the use, if a little bright, would like to tone that down a little, my partner finds the white display distracting, I would have thought it would be best to leave it in 'night mode' all the time, would save screen burn. Might try to work out where the sensor is and cover it It also has an odd habit of turning itself on , if I switched off before, then we go for another drive it switches itself back on.

Noticed another plus, if I am not mistaken the our Corsa has discs brakes all round, which is a really nice addition, the Fiesta had drums on the rear.

We picked up my partners' son and his friend, they did say there was more room in the back than the Fiesta, so its got their approval, and it tells us when they haven't put their seatbelts on, as the little b*ggers don't like wearing them!

So to sum up, sadly so far, I'm disappointed, maybe she'll grown on us over the next 3 years, but it does feel like a come down from the Fiesta, which had faultless reliability from day one from the Ford, felt more solidly built and just came with more equipment as standard, it makes me wonder if Vauxhall were paying any attention to the competition.

If I had the choice, and I had to buy one, I'd get the Fiesta, greater value for money, the extras you get are worth the extra £900 in my opinion.
Ford Fiesta Titanium ECOnetic £16,695
http://www.ford.co.uk/Cars/Fiesta/Models
Vauxhall Corsa SE 1.3 95Bhp EcoFlex £15,770
http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vehicles/vauxhall-range/cars/corsa-5-door/configurator.html#engine
Prices taken from both manufactures website on 22nd June 2015

 

[mud4fun]

Leona, sorry but I would disagree with alot of that! It sounds like you should have bought the Fiesta as you seem to be finding issues with the Corsa that aren't there!?

First of all the SE is not strictly the top of the range, the VXR is to, closely followed by the LE. (if you look at price, the order they are shown on the configurator is irrelevent). The only reason yours is more expensive is you opted for the diesel which carries a premium over the petrol cars and the 5 door also carries a premium.

I'm glad they didn't provide climate control as standard as I don't want or need it and would not be prepared to pay for it. Pointless in a car this small and prone to unreliability.

I'm also damned glad they didn't fit folding door mirrors as I don't need them, nor door the vast majority of the population on such a small car. They are also very expensive to replace if they get damaged. I'm quite happy with the cheap stock mirrors.

My LE has privacy glass as standard. Even so it would be silly to leave anything valuable on the back seat anyway even with it. If the item is that valuable that you need privacy glass to protect it then put it in the boot!

Agree entirely about glove box. We downsized from a large 4x4 pickup truck which had a cubby box that could hold 50 CD's, a glove box that could hold 2 x 3 lite coke bottles and huge door pockets too. In comparison the Corsa has dire storage BUT it is half the size and half the price so you have to apply common sense. If storage is important then look elsewhere however it was lower priority to me than mpg, performance and looks.

Generally speaking if you need to demist the front or back screens you'll need to demist both, certainly from my experience. Although I concede that sometimes my mirrors mist up in fog while the screens are clear so a seperate button for mirrors would be nice. However the Fiesta is truly sh*t interior design and has so many buttons scattered everywhere the result is a mess. It was one of the major reasons I opted for the Corsa instead of the Fiesta so I'd suggest it is Ford that needs to learn from VX in that case ;-)

Don't understand your tailgate issue, my wife and I manage with loads of shopping and several kids in tow and not once in all our years of driving have we needed to unlock the tailgate with the keyfob, if you have the hand free to press a button on the fob why can't you press the button on the handle?

Reverse gear is in exactly the same place as many of the 200 cars I've owned so you have a very limited experience. Think yourself lucky, on a Land Rover there is no ring to lift up so you can easily engage reverse instead of first if you have never driven one before, which results in the occupants hitting the windscreen and the gearbox breaking

The 6 speed gearbox in mine is one of the finest and slickest gearchanges of any gearbox I've experienced. However mine is the top of the range LE with the 6 speed gearbox. It sounds like you have the old 5 speed box so I can't comment on that.

Build quality on mine is superb. No faults after 6K miles and interior trim and design is easily on a par with the best in class with the exception of the VW Polo but that is actually £K's more for the same spec.

Performance? You have chosen just about the most underpowered engine in the range after the 1.2 petrol, in a 1400Kg car it will be slow! If you needed overtaking performance then the 1.0T or 1.4T petrols are by far the better option and mine will merrily overtake even in 6th gear with a family of four on board. And overtake quickly too! 70mph max with the pedal on the floor????? Mine does 70mph at just over 2K rpm with my foot just resting on the accelerator, foot on the floor would result in speeds of 120+. I can't believe the diesel is that slow though. I suspect you have engine troubles and need a dealer to get it fixed ASAP.

My thoughts on the intellilink also differ from yours slightly, I hate it! The brightness is dangerous but the system as a whole is dire, slow response, poor quality screen resolution and diabolical sound quality compared to the decent systems I've fitted myself in previous cars.

I thought the disks were only fitted to the turbo cars (1.0T and 1.4T petrol?), curious that they chose to fit them to the slowest diesel?

On top of all that I carefully (over months) weighed up all the prices, economy and specs of lots of models in the Corsa size class and the Corsa came out best value. The same spec Corsa was at least a £K cheaper than the corresponding Fiesta so not sure where you are coming from? It was close to £3K cheaper than a Polo of the same spec. Not that you could actually get an engine as good as the 1.4T in either a Fiesta or Polo as they both have naff petrol engines.

I also spent a long time test driving cars to find out what they were actually like to drive and what they got in real economy rather than listen to the media who give biased and generally useless reviews. From this I worked out that a 1.4 turbo petrol LE gave me the economy I needed for 15-20K a year of commuting, the performance I needed overtaking on rural and winding A roads and the LE also provided me with the really important things on a car such as the better brakes, better weighted steering, 6 speed gearbox and more sporty suspension.

It sounds like you didn't do this as many of your complaints are about things that you had full control over when choosing what model to buy??? I'm confused?? Why not buy the Fiesta if in your opinion it was the better car?

Sorry, I honestly don't mean to sound horrible but many of your 'faults' are actually of your own decision making rather than a fault with the design itself. For example how many miles a year do you do? Anything less than 15-20K miles is in my opinion not worth putting up with the noise, lack of performance and increased purchase, fuel and maintenance costs of the diesel engines. A turbo petrol engine is going to end up costing barely any more for that mileage.

Comparing to a car that is nearly a grand more is pointless at this level of the market. That is a huge difference and is a bit like me complaining that my LE is rubbish because it doesn't have decent seats or a 200hp engine whereas the VXR does and is only £2K more :roll:

 

[hendry]

Mud, although the LE is more expensive than the SE, technically the SE is the top trim, by that it has more standard interior "gadgets" than the other specs, now I know that kind of stuff doesn't interest you and doesn't really bother me either as the LE/Excite/SRi versions have all the spec most folk would want anyway like digital radio, cruise control, Bluetooth and USB socket, but the SE is the top trim,

It's a bit like how the Fiesta Ecoboost ST will be more expensive than a Titanium X but Titanium X is the higher spec car as it has more interior "additions" likewise an Astra Elite and and Astra VXR.

I'm not saying I agree or that the SE is a better car than the LE or anything but SE is the top trim in terms of interior spec which is what manufacturers say decides what's the highest spec these days. Comparing them on price alone and saying the LE is comparable to a Fiesta Titanium is a bit like comparing the SE with a Fiesta Zetec S, they are totally different cars for totally different tastes, ones the sporty model, ones the luxury model and that's why the OP is comparing the SE and Titanium.

TBH I wouldve liked climate control and auto folding mirrors on my car too but I wasn't paying extra for something that's just a "smart wee touch" or a gimmick.

 

[mud4fun]

Hendry, I hear you and understand. Indeed I thought the same initially!

However even my dealer regards the LE as the top of the range as do most of the motoring press. While some people place value on gadgets, the reality is that the bulk of the population view 'top of the range' as being based on the most expensive model.

Gadgets and toys are not that relevant as they can mostly be specified on the LE anyway and given the significant contribution or discounts that VX give on the petrol turbo LE and not the diesel SE it means the fully toy'd up LE on PCP (or lease) is not much more expensive than the stock diesel SE

It will then have all the gadgets but will also have far superior performance, far superior gearbox and even privacy glass which would have addressed some of Leona's concerns?

To many people a 6 speed gearbox is higher spec than a 5 speed, certainly is to me so there is no way I'd ever regard a car with a 5 speed box as higher spec than a 6 speed.

Same for the engine, the 1.3 diesel is stupidly small for decent performance in a 1400Kg car and is not sufficiently more economical than the turbo petrols to warrant consideration for most peoples annual mileage. Sure it will loosen up after 10K miles but that is nearly a year of poor performance while you wait for it to break in.

The SE also has the comfort chassis which is inferior to the sports chassis in several areas. I test drove several vehicles with different engines on each chassis and the sports chassis just feels so much better to drive and the steering is better weighted (not mentioned by VX but I and many others spotted this). Thus the sports chassis is in my view higher spec than comfort to the point it transforms the overall feeling of the car. While the comfort chassis is perfectly good the car lacks some feeling and poise which you get with the sports. Again I'm not the only one to notice this, several motoring journalists that I spoke to also found the same. Maybe this is down to the sort of roads and speeds I drive at though.

It is curious how VX have listed and specified their trim levels though. Years ago car price lists were sorted by price ascending so if you went to the bottom of the price list you'd find the top of the range model. eg. The 2.8i V6 Granada Ghia (early 80's) was the most expensive model AND was the top of the range. Things were different then, model differences were mostly mechanical or very fundamental such as was a stereo even fitted! You're right, these days differences are mainly down to toys most of which make very little difference to the driving experience and are just more things to go wrong. ;-)

 

[mud4fun]

Leona, worth noting for the future to weigh up a PCP instead of the lease. On the PCP you may have more leverage on dealer to get extras thrown in and discounts. Things like carpet mats or ash trays will be provided free if you push for them as I found. Also look closely at the trim levels as some engine or trim options attract big manufacturer contributions on PCP meaning that the monthly figure can be less or you can afford to add the more expensive tech packs and keep the same monthly payments

 

[hendry]

Mud, whilst I agree with most of what you are saying, too often in your posts I find you are specifically referring to the 1.4 T 6 speed gearbox version, or including the engine, drivetrains and gearboxes into the cars trim, when we are specifically talking about the "trim" spec.

I agree years ago the most expensive and the top spec car was the one model, but in recent years you start off with a base set of models E.g. Life then Club, then it splits off into 2 different lines, comfort and sport, where you maybe have Design, SE then Elite, on the sporty side to have SXi, SRi, LE then VXR (not specifically on the Corsa range, just a general example) however it is as though you are comparing 1.4 T LE spec with SE, not just LE irrespective of engine because of course it comes with some inferior engines like the 1.2 n/a, so forget about this side of it in this instance, this has no bearing on the trim spec.

I believe the SE is available with the 1.4T so compare a 1.4T LE and SE and the SE is there higher equipped car, OK so no sports chassis, but that's not really a trim spec, but it does have higher interior spec and gadgets, like I say its not that I disagree with you but these days a car which doesn't have heated seats, heated steering wheel, front and rear parking sensors, sight and light pack, ambient lighting, half leather effect seats would not be considered higher spec than one which does have those, also if you look at the Vauxhall configurator, the list of E trims lists them lowest to highest spec, SE is listed as 2nd top spec below the VXR.

 

[mud4fun]

Hendry,

'top of the range' in almost every dictionary is primarily defined as the most expensive (not the one with the most useless gadgets!!!!) so it is not just my opinion.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/top-of-the-range

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/top-of-the-range

BTW, I was mostly referring to the 1.4T (and the 1.0T) with 6 speed in response to Leona's complaint about the lack of performance and the clunky awkward gearbox but yes in my view they are better spec, more desirable and more 'top of the range' than the 1.3 diesel and 5 speed ;-)

You say that 'top of the range' is the car with the better spec but then have only included gadgets in your comparison that you consider better spec so have done exactly what you said I shouldn't do! ;-) ;-)

The sports chassis is KEY to the trim level (both LE and VX-line) to suggest otherwise is silly. Not only does it feature lower firmer suspension but by default it includes 17" wheels, wider 215/45R17 tyres and heavier weighted steering at speed. All highly desirable to me and many others.

The LE also has the bodykit, may be just a bit of plastic to you but quite frankly I'd rather have the bodykit which transforms the look of the car than many of the naff gadgets in the SE. I can turn my lights and wipers on myself, I don't need auto lights and wipers and from the sound of it I'm more reliable than they are anyway. ;-)

The LE also has tinted windows as standard. Sure you can have that done cheaply enough but as you are insisting we compare like for like, the SE does not have them AND it was something Leona said herself that she missed from her Fiesta!

The LE also has the two tone colour scheme, the black roof, mirrors and wheels combining to make a genuinely attractive package. In my opinion far more attractive than an SE and so to me (and others) higher spec!!

Basically gadgets and minor trim differences are of personal taste and nobody will have the same views hence the reason the most accurate definition of 'top of the range' is to use price!!!!! :mrgreen:

 

[jamescmartin13]

and I'm the referee

 

[Mathia34]

I'm fairly happy overall with my corsa, the only issues I really have is

Glovebox space which is a bit ridiculous even if it is a small car

A crack in my paintwork where it has fully flecked off now. This seems to be a defect I never noticed picking it up and jumping through hoops trying to get Arnold Clark to fix it. Although it's a bit disappointing my brand new car has damage like that already

And finally my last 1.2 corsa C was 1 second faster that the 1.4 corsa sting I have now!!! :lol: not a lot but you feel it

 

[mud4fun]

Mathia, I'll wager the E weighs a 1/4 ton more than the C which may explain alot of the performance drop?

Hendry, do you know if VX have released any sales figures of individual trim levels on the E? I'm curious because in relation to our discussion above if the gadgets on the SE are perceived to be more desirable than the main features of the LE and considering the LE is more expensive even without the gadgets, you would imagine the SE would sell in higher volume? I honestly suspect it is the other way around though?

 

[leonaDevon]

Thank you for the replies.

We picked a diesel as we've had diesels for the last 5 years, we do a lot of long journeys as family are spread around the country and just find it works out best, remember we don't buy the car so there is no premium for buying a diesel for us, we only worry about the fuel costs.

Our lease doesn't have the LE model listed so that wasn't an option, (plus I don't think they have the diesel in that line) but my partner doesn't like 'sports' type setups, she has back problems so have to put comfort and support before performance.

Which is why we opted for SE rather than SRi (she didn't like the metal pedals) so we did try other options, I thought the SE would offer the best comfort.

Yep I did worry that the 1.3 diesel would be a little weedy (the fiesta had a 1.6), but I was assured it would do the job. Our Fiesta was the same in one respect though, you are right Mud, they take a year or 10k to 'run in' then you get the fuel economy and performance, so am expecting the Corsa to be the same, again I'm sure our one has a fault, so I'm sure its in 'limp home mode' its going in today to have it looked at, I am hoping, once fixed, we will get better performance from her.

You are right though I should have got a Fiesta. If there was a Ford dealer in the neighbourhood I would have done, (we moved a year ago, before Ford were our closest dealer, hence why we got the Fiesta) but our nearest dealer is Vauxhall so that choice had been made, other dealers are 20-30 miles away which is a pain when it comes to taking your car in for service, repair, mot's etc as you have to arrange curtsey cars etc, having a dealer within walking distance just removes some of that agro.

We are not too bothered what a car looks like, aesthetics are low on our priority list, have no need for body kits or spoilers, we are not 18 year old boy racers, the car has to do its job, and do it well, be reliable, economical and comfortable.

We all look for different things in a car, so we are bound to disagree on what we consider to be 'top of the range', the comparisons I gave where between two diesel models, so I think you will find these are direct comparisons. (Ford Fiesta Titanium ECOnetic is a 1.5 95bhp diesel).

Not saying the Fiesta was perfect, we came from a Citroen C3 to the Fiesta, and there were things from the C3 that we missed, the C3 was the most comfortable car I've ever been in, nice high seats (with height adjuster on passenger side as well), bags of storage (could fit 6+ CD's, manual, satnav etc in the glovebox!), she had a 1.4 Diesel and she 'could' overtake in 5th! so the Fiesta felt small, and slow, in comparison, so I am sure there is a period of 'adjustment' for us.

All in all, what I was trying to point out was the differences between the top of the range Fiesta to the Corsa, and it would cost more than £900 (the difference between the two) to add the optional extras to bring the SE, up to spec, in my opinion.

 

[mud4fun]

Hi Leona,

Funnily enough I actually bought my Corsa from a dealer 30 miles away rather than the local one because we prefer the service and the location. It is a pain for servicing however once a year is not too bad. There is a cafe opposite so we normally book the service for a Saturday and have a full cooked breakfast while waiting

By the way, even without paying the premium for the diesel engine option I would still choose the petrol. The economy of my 1.4T is excellent and not sufficiently poorer than the diesel to merit the loss of performance and refinement.

On top of that petrol is cheaper at the pumps by 10%'ish which means the diesel has to do 10% better mpg just to match the petrol engines lower fuel cost anyway.

The number one reason I chose the Corsa over the Fiesta was because of the 1.4T petrol engine. Ford does not offer an engine with the same levels of mid range torque and economy.

 

[hendry]

Mathia, I'll wager the E weighs a 1/4 ton more than the C which may explain alot of the performance drop?

Hendry, do you know if VX have released any sales figures of individual trim levels on the E? I'm curious because in relation to our discussion above if the gadgets on the SE are perceived to be more desirable than the main features of the LE and considering the LE is more expensive even without the gadgets, you would imagine the SE would sell in higher volume? I honestly suspect it is the other way around though?

I would suspect the LE is most popular too, I didn't say they were more desirable gadgets on the SE, personally couldn't give a toss about parking sensors, heated seats etc. My point was, traditionally, take for instance a Cavalier SRi 2.0 16v redtop and a Cavalier CD 1.8 8v, the SRi may have a car superior engine, handle better, look better, but it was considered that the CD was the top of the range model, why? It had leather seats, rear electric windows, heated seats, headlamp washers, electric sunroof, rear head rests, all interior additions. Even in recent times, compare a 1.6 n/a Astra J Elite with a 1.6 Turbo SRi VX-Line, the 1.6 Turbo is a far superior engine, with the bodykit etc it looks better but the Elite is considered the top of the range because it has climate control, heated leather seats, electric folding door mirrors, rain sensing wipers, etc. Again all interior additions.

How's about this, I go and buy a 1.4 T SRi VX-Line, so I've now got the same engine as you, the same gearbox, the same wheel diameter, the same tyre size and width, the same performance, the same economy, I've got the sports chassis (which tbh who cares about that anyway, its a Corsa, I.e. a cheap small hatch, not a bloody Porsche, how often is the sports chassis going to really be that important, my SRi on standard suspension is more than adequate for chucking about country roads) and I've got the same bodykit and wheels for aesthetic purposes, so now the only differences are youve got black wheels, mirrors and roof and tinted rear windows, whereas I've got indirect night lighting, ambient lighting, 60/40 split rear seats, rain sensor wipers, auto dim rear view mirror, auto headlights. Now who's got the most top of the range car? Me! It doesn't matter whether you care about the gadgets or don't want them, the fact remains that car is still the more top of the range of the 2 because it has those features.

Is an iPhone more top of the range than a Sony, Nokia or Samsung phone because it costs more, because that's basically what you've just said.

 

[mud4fun]

bad example Hendry. :lol:

I specifically chose the LE over the vx-line because it had the black roof, wheels and tints ask my dealer! I spent ages mulling over that choice.

I actually even got quotes to have the vx-Line roof and wheels sprayed black and windows tinted. It worked out more expensive than simply buying the LE.

As stated previously, the gadgets you list on the vx-line are totally irrelevant and pointless to me, they do not impress me at all so caused me no concern in losing them. Has the population become so skill-less and lazy that they can't judge how hard it is raining and turn the wipers on to the correct setting themselves? They can't tell how dark it is or if a car is approaching so need the car to turn their main beams off and on?

As for the iPhone - there is always an exception to every rule! :mrgreen:

EDIT: actually another exception - the 1.0T! £700'ish more for an engine that in the real world doesn't get much more mpg than the 1.4T, has less real world performance as it has to be screamed to get its power. however it is regarded as the 'top of the range' engine on two points 1) it is the most expensive engine option and 2) it has the highest peak power. In reality the cheaper 1.4T has more power and torque in the rpm range that you normally drive within and ultimately has the greater tuning potential so I concede, highest price is not always the best! (Don't get me wrong, great technology and engineering to get that power and economy from the little engine but I can't see anybody recouping the extra cash over 3 years in fuel savings or VED savings over the 1.4T?)

 

[LimeyUK]

bad example Hendry. :lol:

I specifically chose the LE over the vx-line because it had the black roof, wheels and tints ask my dealer! I spent ages mulling over that choice.

I actually even got quotes to have the vx-Line roof and wheels sprayed black and windows tinted. It worked out more expensive than simply buying the LE.

As stated previously, the gadgets you list on the vx-line are totally irrelevant and pointless to me, they do not impress me at all so caused me no concern in losing them. Has the population become so skill-less and lazy that they can't judge how hard it is raining and turn the wipers on to the correct setting themselves? They can't tell how dark it is or if a car is approaching so need the car to turn their main beams off and on?

As for the iPhone - there is always an exception to every rule! :mrgreen:

EDIT: actually another exception - the 1.0T! £700'ish more for an engine that in the real world doesn't get much more mpg than the 1.4T, has less real world performance as it has to be screamed to get its power. however it is regarded as the 'top of the range' engine on two points 1) it is the most expensive engine option and 2) it has the highest peak power. In reality the cheaper 1.4T has more power and torque in the rpm range that you normally drive within and ultimately has the greater tuning potential so I concede, highest price is not always the best! (Don't get me wrong, great technology and engineering to get that power and economy from the little engine but I can't see anybody recouping the extra cash over 3 years in fuel savings or VED savings over the 1.4T?)

If you added the panoramic sunroof to the VX-Line i think it gave you the black roof too. Though the sunroof was absurdly expensive :lol:

 

[mud4fun]

Hehe, yes I was tempted by that panoramic roof but the cost was prohibitive as well as the repair and Maintenance costs associated with it. We may keep our car for 8-10 years so long term reliability quite important to us.

It is one of the reasons I chose the larger engine as it will have a longer life (less need to thrash it). Also one of the reasons I avoid gadgets as if fitted they must work or car will fail MOT in future. The more gadgets fitted the more things likely to go wrong with age. On my 10 year old Mazda most of the electrical/electronic items had developed faults by the time we replaced it.

Also that glass roof must surely add alot of weight? I chose the 3 door petrol six speed as it is the lightest weight Corsa. The 3 door is 50Kg less than the 5 door and the all alloy petrol engines and new lightweight 6 speed gearbox save another 50Kg over the diesel 5 speed. That is nearly a 10% weight saving over a diesel 5 door which makes for faster acceleration and better mpg

 

[leonaDevon]

Just a quick update on the Engine Management / emulsions light issue, car went back to the dealer who has taken a good look and found that one of the intercooler supply pipes has a hole in it, so they have ordered a new one, 'when will it be here I ask', 'oh middle of next week', they reply, you what?! Really?, that's tardy even by Vauxhall standards. I can understand this sort of thing not being a stock item, but you can put it on a factory order which is usually 24 hours, unless its gone back order (ie a common fault!). I am hoping they can provide a curtsey car for that period.

 

[mud4fun]

Hendry, I just spoke to my VX salesman (Wilsons, Grimsby) and asked him what trims sell most. His answer was as follows:

Highest seller: Excite
Most people buy on finance and apparently the Excite works out the same over 5 years 0% finance and has better for spec than the Sting even with the offers on that.

2nd highest Seller: LE
Broad range of age groups too from 19 - 50 so not just limited to teenagers.

The SE is not a high seller and is generally bought by over 50's (in this dealers experience) as they are the ones more interested in the heated seats and wheel. He confirmed the younger generations prefer the sporty looks of the LE to the gadgets in the SE.

The dealer is in Grimsby so maybe the buying demographic is different to where you are? It surprised me as I thought the Sting & Sting R would be highest sellers. Very surprised that the Excite was top seller as it was a trim level I largely ignored

The reason that his highest seller is the Excite not the LE is that more people are constrained on budget than not so for him the highest seller will be at the budget end. However the LE was not far behind in sales according to him. He actually thought the oldest buyer for an LE had been early 40's until I told him as I was nearly 50 ;-)

It does pretty much confirm what I've been saying to you all along though that certainly in our area Corsa buyers place more value on the looks and sporty features of the LE trim level than they do on gadgets. So your dismissal of such things as sports chassis and bodykit as irrelevent features is not born out in the actual sales figures. Hence I'd suggest that your view is in the minority with regards what features are more important or more attractive.

However the dealer did agree with you that the SE would be considered top of the range (in VX terms).

Ian

 

[mud4fun]

Just a quick update on the Engine Management / emulsions light issue, car went back to the dealer who has taken a good look and found that one of the intercooler supply pipes has a hole in it...

Hey Leona, depending on the size of the hole and its location that could have been causing you a serious loss in performance. A turbo engine will over-fuel if the intercooler pipe is split - boost from compressor causes increased fuelling at pump to go along with extra volume of compressed air but a hole would prevent alot of the compressed air getting to the cylinders. Or if the computers detect insufficient air mass they'll cut fuelling. This means you'll end up with less performance than a normally aspirated 1.3 diesel....

I hope you see a good improvement in performance once that is fixed!

 

[hendry]

However the dealer did agree with you that the SE would be considered top of the range (in VX terms).

Ian

And that my friend has been my sole argument the whole time, it does not matter who prefers the sporty cars the luxury cars, the most economical, the fastest, the one with moat toys, its all personal opinion but the SE irrespective of what your view is, is the top of the range. Like I've said all along, the SE isnt to my taste, I wouldn't buy one and its not the best model in my eyes but it is the top of the range.

Out of interest, how is the SRi faring in terms of sales, did your sales guy mention? (Reason I ask is SRi on the E is equivalent to SXi on the D, which because it combines some luxuries with some sportiness was the most common/popular/biggest selling D)