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Sat 25 Oct 2014 12:05

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - brighteyes

Hi guys, we are considering changing my wife's troublesome Peugeot 207. Peugeot eventually cured the coolant loss problem of a couple of months ago but it has now developed a EMU problem that has got Peugeot baffled. Had a look at various car supermarkets and the choice has been reduced to a 1.2 SXi which are plentiful but without air con and a couple of 1.4's with aircon. Both choices are very low mileage. My wife averages about 200 miles per week mostly on a fast dual carriageway. My last experience of Vauxhall was a Viva HB so any upto date opinions re Corsa would be more than welcome.

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Sat 25 Oct 2014 12:46

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - Avant

You haven't said why you / your wife particularly want a Corsa. It's an OK car just for getting from A to B, and so-so for reliability. If she wants to enjoy driving, she should look at a Fiesta; if she wants comfort and refinement, go for a Polo; is space is the priority, a Skoda Fabia; if reliability is key, I suggest a Toyota Yaris 1.3 (the 1.0 is underpowered). Or to be quirky . retro etc, there are the Mini and Fiat 500.

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Sat 25 Oct 2014 13:27

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - elekie&a/c doctor

Corsa is fine,probably better with the 1.4 engine and a/c..Fiesta is excellent with a superior drive.The polo is ok,but stay away from any model with the 3 cylinder engine.As for the Mini,I would steer clear as it has the same engine as the Peugeot.The Fiat 500 seems good but keep to the 1.2 petrol with standard manual gearbox (Or Ford Ka which is same car with different badge)

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Wed 5 Nov 2014 23:33

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - 1litregolfeater

Nobody who's ever had a Corsa in real life would really recommend them to a friend.

The engines are crap.

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Thu 6 Nov 2014 08:37

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - parfour

Nobody who's ever had a Corsa in real life would really recommend them to a friend.

The engines are crap.

Not so. My son has one and rates it highly. He lives in London and reckons it is an ideal car for his circumstances.

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Thu 6 Nov 2014 10:18

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - Andrew-T

The engines are crap.

This kind of remark is no help to anyone looking for helpful advice, as it simply can't be true. No current car has such an engine as no-one would buy it. This means 'I don't like Corsa engines', which is the kind of help dished out by J** Cl**ks*n and his like.

Edited by Andrew-T on 06/11/2014 at 10:18

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Thu 6 Nov 2014 12:30

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - oldtoffee

Not everyone's cup of tea but you can get into a new Dacia Sandero for the same price as a 2 to 3 year old Fiesta/Corsa/Polo. For a couple of grand less a 1 year old Sandero is still 2 years younger than equivalent other superminis.

My wife had a Fiat 500, not great on long journeys very firm ride and a fair bit of tyre and road noise comes through. She now has an i10 which is miles better. I had a Fabia a long time a go and that was great on a long run, felt like a much bigger car.

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Thu 6 Nov 2014 12:48

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - alan1302

Nobody who's ever had a Corsa in real life would really recommend them to a friend.

The engines are crap.

I've had a real one and enjoyed it.

In what way do you think they are no good?

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Thu 6 Nov 2014 20:48

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - mfarrow

The engines in Corsas vary from the bullet-proof 1.7 diesel to the 1.0-1.4 petrol range which sound the same as the diesels after a few years poor maintenance and are all based on the same layout as the 1.0 and 1.2 available since ~2000.

I would personally avoid a non-diesel variant as I've worked on the 1.4 and they're awful and tappety at any excuse. If you're going to own one do yearly oil changes and don't pay any attention to the 2-year extended interval.

Edited by mfarrow on 06/11/2014 at 20:49

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Thu 6 Nov 2014 20:52

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - focussed

The most charitable thing that can be said about the Corsa is that there are better cars out there from more reliable manufacturers.

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Thu 6 Nov 2014 23:31

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - daveyK_UK

I would second the reccomendation for a 1.2 Dacia Sandero.

I have had the latest shape Corsa on 3 occasions, one of those I had it for over a week.

Each time, it was a 1.2 model and the engine was fine, it cruised comfortably at 60.

The one thing I liked about the Corsa was the space inside the 5 door model, it was more spacious than the current shape Fiesta.

I am told Corsa insurance is one of the lowest around.

Im not normally a fan of GM products, bu the Corsa did impress me.

Friends who have had current shape Corsa's have taken them upto high mileage without any major problems.

And dont buy a C3; one of my collegues purchased for his wife one of the first of the current shape C3's and its been nothing shot of a disaster. I suspect it shares alot of components with the 207/208.

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Fri 7 Nov 2014 09:47

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - Andrew-T

And dont buy a C3; one of my collegues purchased for his wife one of the first of the current shape C3's and its been nothing shot of a disaster. I suspect it shares alot of components with the 207/208.

This thread gives another example of people building strong prejudices on personal experience of a small number of cars. I have owned my current 207 SW diesel for 6 years and nearly 40K miles. It has had 10K-mile oil and filter changes (now 8K), four tyres and a set of brake pads; nothing else. It has done over 60mpg during that time, so I am quite happy with a Pug. I have no reason to say Corsa engines are crap.

Even if you obey the stats which show that brand A is 95% reliable and brand B only 93%, you may still end up with one of the 5% or 7% as your sample is only one car. You may be unlucky (but probably not if you buy carefully), that's all.

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Fri 7 Nov 2014 16:31

Vauxhall Corsa - Changing car - daveyK_UK

I drive a citroen berlingo mutlispace and have 4 citroen berlingos/peugeot partners in our fleet.

Im not saying citroens are all bad, far from it.

I am saying the current C3 has some serious problems and the 2 citroen main dealers he has used where clueless about how to sort them.

I am certain the C3 shares many items with the 207/208/general peugeot and citroen parts bin.

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