Mini Rant: Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 (2009)

[Lankytim]

One of the best cars ive driven recently was a 55 reg mondeo diesel saloon. Ex lease car, full of dents, generally a badly abused example. 80k but drove spot on and lovely and tight, loads of power too.Anybody who disagrees with the above comment is a LIAR.

[Cavcraft]

Having driven Vectras far too regularly since they came out I'm not impressed with any of them, the 3.2 V6 jobbie doesn't half shift but otherwise they're crap. The last of them are a lot less crap than the early jobs, but that's not difficult as the early Vectra was a disaster.As I said earlier, GM seem incapable or unwilling to make cars that ride and handle well. Ford were in a similar situation in the early 90s with some properly bad cars. Mk3 Fiestas, Mk5 Escorts (RS and Cossie excluded, natch), the Sierra was ancient and outclassed but drove well, the Granny was unpopular and they survived on fleet sales and the odd private punter.Then they got their act together. The Mondeo was bloody good when it came out, the Ka handles brilliantly, they sorted the Fiesta and turned the Granada into the much better to drive Scorpio (Unfortunately they screwed up the looks). Replaced the lame duck Escort with the brilliant Focus and threw a few little gems in for bonus treats. Anyone who's driven a 1.7 Puma knows how much fun they can be.Meanwhile, Vauxhall kept on pumping out sludgy handling bilge with the exception of the Omega. Think about it, other than the Aussie rebadged stuff and a rehashed Elise there hasn't been a nice to drive Vauxhall (other than the Omega) for nearly 20 years.Corsa - crap. Astra - crap, Vectra - crap, Sintra - Ponticrap, Agila - Suzukrap, Combo - crap, Meriva - nasty crap, Zafira - 7 seater crap, Signum - stretched Vecrap, Tigra - droptop crap.The Movano and Vivaro are about the best Vauxhall products out there, and they're bloody Renaults with exploding gearboxes.Some of them have excellent engines, but most have terrible seats, horrifically bad ride quality and they've all got shite steering.

Sorry, but at this point I have to step in again. Kas? Absolute fucking shite. Rattly, wheezy, rusty, nastily built shite. Vauxhall have made some crap over the years but never in a million years anything as fucking awful as the Ka.Mondeo: Mk1 was a pretty good car*, no denying. Fresh style, pretty well made and good vfm second hand. Unlike the Mk2 Mondoe which absolute fucking rubbish. Awful trim, awful build quailty, self destruct bumpers the works. They're not worth a light second hand and are honestly depressing to drive in my experience.Mk3 any better? No. Same shite build quality and cheap/flimsy plastics, they can certainly rust and the TDDis are wank. *Except the 24V Mk1 Mondeo which used second hand camshafts from 1980s Ford Pinto engines I think.Astras are fantastic cars (and yes, I do mean that). Totally reliable, well built (especially from Mk4 on), drive and handle well, parts are next to sod all and will do big miles no bother plus I know if I get in one it will get me wherever I want to go without drama and they're a nicer place to be than any of they're so called rivals.Calibras: personally I love them, and whatever anyone elses's thought on them I'd sooner stick my bollocks in a blender than have one of their so called rivals the Probe. I mean Ford were never seriously pitting the Probe against any other car on the market where they? Corsas: new one can't comment, B and early C versions are brilliant cars though. Reliable, well built, won't rust and rattle like most Fiestas, absolute doddle to work on and will last forever with basic maintenance like most older Vauxhalls do.Vectra: pretty much unloved by all who've never owned one for a few months at least but again reliable, pretty well built, handle well enough and a million and twenty seven times better than a fucking Mondeo every single day of the week, forever times ten.Zafira: popular, reliable, class leading, innovative and reliable. Dull as hell indeed but spawned a fair few rivals which says something on it's own.Meriva: pretty much as Zafira and look nice.Signum: give you that one, awful reputation and expensive parts.Sintra: even I'd walk before getting one of them.And then there was stuff like the 2.0 diesels with the 'fuel pump' problems and the 2.2 which supposedly need synthetic oil changes every 3 yards and the fact the 1.7 Slowbow diesels weren't a patch on the Isuzu lumps.But I tell you what I'd have any of the above over a Ka, Mondeo, Fiesta, or Focus. Or Golf, Pisshat, Rover or Fiat for that matter.Now that doesn't mean all Vauxhalls are fugging magic and all Fords are shite because that's not true. But sorry dismissing all Vauxhalls (as you've effectively done) is EXACTLY the kind of shit you'd see on Piston heads or something some sort of badge snob/Clarkson lover would say. Not knocking you wholesale as you seem a top bloke but I cannot agree with your comments on this one and I'm speaking from long term experience of these cars and others.No-one is going to agree on every make and every model but wholesale Vauxhall (or any other make) bashing is tedious and annoying at times because believe it or not some* of us do like them, do find them good to drive and do believe VFM wise they're extremely hard to beat.*Possibly about two

[Mr H Sceptre]

Must admit, I had a Zafira hire car in Spain a few years ago & was quietly impressed.Never driven a Vectra myself, but friends who have despise them. Driven a couple of MK IV Astras & was not particularly impressed. I've always found the cabins of Vauxhalls gloomy & depressing places to be in.As I've said before, I'd have a Focus over most cars on the road. Love 'em.

[seth]

Probably the only modern car I've driven in the last year was my in-laws Vectra Estate so I'm hardly qualified to compare it to anything else. Except that as I think I previously ranted about in teh Grumpy thread, the indicators are frickin' anoying!

[Cavcraft]

Apologies for the rant just now by the way. This thread is in potential danger of becoming like a football forum where people discuss the merit/loathing/hatred of other teams.

[brammy777]

Apologies for the rant just now by the way. This thread is in potential danger of becoming like a football forum where people discuss the merit/loathing/hatred of other teams.

Agreed, we are on here for our love of old tat, not hatred for new cars.

[Guest]

To be honest, I can't think of many cars I've driven that I'd consider overall to be "bad".I've driven a Corsa 1.2 (previous generation "C") and whilst I have no desire to own one whatsoever, it did the job. The engine was smooth, gearbox was fine, seats were comfortable, controls were in reasonably logical places, all-round visibility was nice enough, steering was as vague as most power steering setups but not really any worse, ride was comfortable, it was decently soundproofed and it had a nice radio.On the other hand, the engine felt a bit underpowered on open roads (presumably for insurance/mpg purposes), 5th gear dug into my leg and you couldn't exactly throw it into corners. Felt a bit cheap in places but it's a small hatchback. I would agree that it's a car for people who don't particularly like driving, but I also don't see what the problem is with that. In the context of your gran using it to drive into town a couple of days a week, it has its place. 3cyl Corsas sound pretty rough and nasty, but on the other hand they get very good mpg - if you really don't enjoy driving, why not?I have to admit that the new Corsa seems pretty expensive for what it is, but maybe that's what people are prepared to pay nowadays. It's ugly, but that's just new cars for you, new cars nearly always look ugly to me. I generally get over it - I remember thinking the Corsa B was a dreadfully ugly motor when it came out, nowadays I don't mind them.In conclusion, cars are there, just enjoy them, they're better than the sodding bus.

[CIH]

Corsa Bs do rust. Where the chassis rails meet the front suspension. Just like Mantas, infact. That's heritage for you.

[retrogeezer]

I think my Mk2 Mondeo is great (apart from the shite bumpers of course!) I liked my Calibra despite it's requirement of a new sensor every other week and the way it ate front tyres even though I hardly used the thing.My 96 Vectra was o.k too but not as nice/quiet/refined to drive as my Mk2 Mondeo.Thats my opinion!

[Mr H Sceptre]

Actually, even though I'd do everything in my power to ever avoid having a new-ish car, on the rare occasions I do drive one it usually does make a refreshing change (ie smooth, quick, warm etc). But the novelty soon wears off.

[retrogeezer]

Oh, the Mondeo hardly gets used, I'm usually in the 88 Bluebird..

[AnthonyG]

Cavette is the exception that proves the rule on the Vectra B vs Mondeo Mk2 debate Would you rather have a Cavalier Mk3 or a Vectra B Cavette?

[Lankytim]

How can any car be so bad that youd rather walk? I bet you wouldnt!

 

I dont understand all this Vauxhall is better than Ford/vise versa blather anyway. Neither make absolutley terrible cars. We are missing the truely awful cars that have been hitting the streets recently. Chrysler, namely the Sebring. Terrible to drive, laughable build quality, agricultural engines and gearboxes.

 

Ugly as sin, too.

 

 

The "leather" seats seem to be made from the same "leather" as my hi-tec trainers I had when I was 9 years old. Utterly utterly miserable cars.

 

Better than walking though.

 

While im on the subject of Chryslers..

 

The voyager is also pretty shabby, but atleast its a large people carrier. Nasty to drive.

 

 

The 300c looks great but is still blighted by terrible build quality.

 

 

These American attempts at cracking the European market make Fords and Vauxhalls look like something from the future.

 

The Matiz is nice though, for what it is....

 

*edit* just realised the Matiz is made by Chevrolet.....

[Pete-M]

The 300C Hemi is a fun thing to drive, but it'd be hard to cock up with using old E class hardware mated with a nice big V8.Interior is tupperware, but they're comfy and amusing in a big'n'cheap kind of way. I had a drive in a 150" stretched Hemi 300C a couple of years ago, and even laden to the hilt with tacky shite in the back it was still amusingly rapid. Didn't go round corners but 30-odd ft long stuff doesn't tend to.Yank tupperware trim can be remarkably long lasting. I drove a stretched Ford Excursion V10 when I drove limos for a living, when I first drove it it had 19k on the clock, it's now on 120k and the plastics are all pretty much as they were when it was new, nasty but undamaged. The drivers seat is creased to hell but it's still comfy and everything still works.

[UglyAmerican]

Lord what have I started?Looking back I appreciate the Corsa more - also hearing what they ACTUALLY cost. I was just shocked by the RRP listed on Parkers.co.uk.Most importantly the Corsa got me around, and was OK on petrol. I am back home in my Honda Cynic and the interior is actually a real step below the Corsa.FWIW, I've driven the Zafira and liked it a lot and the 300C is a decent car, feels cheap inside sometimes but hauls like crazy. Petrol is $3.00/gallon here (that's US gallons), or $0.79/liter. Makes the lousy mileage of a V8 yank (german) tank a lot more tolerable.

[Cavcraft]

Cavette is the exception that proves the rule on the Vectra B vs Mondeo Mk2 debate

 

Would you rather have a Cavalier Mk3 or a Vectra B Cavette?

Cavalier everytime fella. My favourite family car of all time and can't see that changing in a hurry.

Doesn't mean Vectras are crud, they're just not as good as a Cav but better than a Mondeo in my experience/opinion

I would never pretend Vectras are 'exciting' but a) they're nowhere near as bad as some will tell you and they're better than a Mondeo to own/drive again in my experience/opinion.

 

(Vauxhall) viva la difference!

[retrogeezer]

That reminds me....snapped a lovely Mk3 Cav SRi the other day, looked freshly resto'd so I'll post the pic here to remind us how nice they were.

[retrogeezer]

Here it is for your viewing pleasure:

 

[Cavcraft]

Looks like an earlier pre-facelfit one with later kit on it as I think earlier ones had the bagde on the bonnet and latter ones in the grille. But it is nice and almost exactly the spec I want one. In fact a while pre-facelift saloon on standard steels and no kit would float my boat immensely.Cheers for the pic, made me smile!

[Milford Cubicle]

Those wheels are unlovely, they spoil an otherwise nice looking car.

[retrogeezer]

Yeh, I wasn't so keen on the wheels, exhaust and extra spoiler but it's still a lovely car and at least he didn't buy a Subaru Impreza!

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Now that doesn't mean all Vauxhalls are fugging magic and all Fords are shite because that's not true. But sorry dismissing all Vauxhalls (as you've effectively done) is EXACTLY the kind of shit you'd see on Piston heads or something some sort of badge snob/Clarkson lover would say. Not knocking you wholesale as you seem a top bloke but I cannot agree with your comments on this one and I'm speaking from long term experience of these cars and others.

I have to agree really. You can't write off an entire manufacturer on the basis of a few cars.The latest Corsa is a surprisingly mediocre effort but it's not a BAD car inasmuch that it's not dangerous, horribly ugly etc. Just not particularly good. Vectra B's were mainly crap, BUT the late ones such as the SRi 2.2 diesel were pretty good and for the £1200 you'd pay for one now they're a useful old barge with decent road manners and a huuuge boot - I mean seriously big. You can get two Ford Pinto engines (with manifolds etc) in the boot with room to spare, ask me how I know...Next door to me bought a 57 plate Zafira new and it's never blown a bulb and it does what it's needed to do.I prefer Fords myself because they always drive better and I'd have a VW over both of them although VW have only really come good in the last 10 years.

[warren t claim]

Looks like an earlier pre-facelfit one with later kit on it as I think earlier ones had the bagde on the bonnet and latter ones in the grille. But it is nice and almost exactly the spec I want one. In fact a while pre-facelift saloon on standard steels and no kit would float my boat immensely.Cheers for the pic, made me smile!

1.4 base in white for me as well. The one with the mk2 Astra steering wheel.

[CIH]

I prefer Fords myself because they always drive better and I'd have a VW over both of them although VW have only really come good in the last 10 years.

I disagree. I feckin hate newer VAGs. Horrible bastards they are.

[Cavcraft]

I prefer Fords myself because they always drive better and I'd have a VW over both of them although VW have only really come good in the last 10 years.

I disagree. I feckin hate newer VAGs. Horrible bastards they are.

Oi! Agreed, but sort your quoting out please fella, don't want people thinking I like VAG stuff