Vauxhall Corsa - 2005 Automatic - short review

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Tue 6 Sep 2011 21:16
Vauxhall Corsa - 2005 Automatic - short review - Trilogy

NB this isn't as detailed as our last resident road tester, jamie

No surprise here for the car I've been loaned while the E300 has some paintwork carried out. As my car is an automatic I've been loaned a bright red Corsa automatic. This one is 1.2, 05 plate, twinport? Corsas seem to be a favourite for any bodywork specialists

My Merc is the 3rd auto I've driven over any distance. The others were a 2004 Corolla and a 2008 Auris. Both were from Bayswater Car Hire, William Street, Sydney. I'm giving 'no birds' hire cars a plug because you won't get better in Sydney. Mind you, the choice of cars for hire is wonderful, if the only car you want is a Corolla/Auris. They have up to 1,000 cars on hire at any one time.

So back to the Corsa, don't have a fried breakfast just before you drive it. The gear changes, its a 5 speeder too, are anything but smooth. The gearbox is a little too eager to change down, especially at times when I don't really feel it's necessary. The engine noise is well subdued at any speed. The cacophany of road noise is extremely intrusive on any surface and only marginally better on smooth asphalt. Wind noise adds to the discomfort. Quite frankly, the engine would have to be loud to be heard at all!

BTW I had no grpes with the Corolla/Auris gear change

Plus points - resonably nippy, nimble, good visibility, very easy to park, simple to use and good radio sound.

Another negative or two - headlight beam strength isn't wonderful, interior is full of hard plastics.

It won't go back until Thursday so have time to add to the review

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Wed 7 Sep 2011 15:52
Vauxhall Corsa - 2005 Automatic - short review - jamie745

Ive heard alot of complaints about small Vauxhall automatics for jerky gearchanges, Peugeot's old boxes were the same, like being kicked up the backside by a Transit van. No wonder they've gone to Porsche for the box on the new 508. Five speed auto box in a 1.2 is just too much, its daft.

Albiet its not surprising you find a small Vauxhall loud and jerky compared to an E300 the fact the Corolla is fine speaks volumes.

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Wed 7 Sep 2011 17:05
Vauxhall Corsa - 2005 Automatic - short review - daveyjp

This won't be a traditional auto, it will be an auto clutch system and the Vauxhall one isn't very good!

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Wed 7 Sep 2011 17:31
Vauxhall Corsa - 2005 Automatic - short review - Bobbin Threadbare

I love the logic there; you drive a large, luxurious automatic vehicle, so they match it with some sort of automatic type effort. 'Corsa...Merc....oh, they look similar!'

I did most of my driving lessons in a manual Corsa. Horrid little car.

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Wed 7 Sep 2011 17:40
Vauxhall Corsa - 2005 Automatic - short review - jamie745

Generally you have to pay more on your insurance or whatever to qualify for a like-for-like replacement. They just give you the most horrid little rotbox they can get away with.

I dont see how Vauxhall manage to make such a hash of things, its a perfectly simple formula to make a little runaround car but they seem to get every facet of it completely wrong. Shame as the exterior looks of modern Vauxhalls look like cars you'd want to buy, its a shame it all falls down when you get inside.

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Wed 7 Sep 2011 22:04
Vauxhall Corsa - 2005 Automatic - short review - Trilogy

Bobbin and jamie, this isn't an insurance related job. They have 2 loan cars, which are both Corsas. One manual and one auto. The advantage of this one is that its also manual. It's much smoother in manual mode. More about that later.

jamie I've recently had a few small acsr and don't recollect the road and wind noise being as bad as the Corsa.

I drove a 1.0 Mk1 Corsa for a couple of days over 10 years ago and always refer to it as a hateful car. It was awful. My MK1 1.0 Micra was a revelation by comparison. One day I did 600 miles in it!

Edited by Trilogy on 07/09/2011 at 22:09

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Thu 8 Sep 2011 13:50
Vauxhall Corsa - 2005 Automatic - short review - Bobbin Threadbare

Sorry Trilogy; I didn't mean to imply that it was.

The Corsa I drove (which obviously was kitted out with dual pedals for the driving instructor) always left me with a sore back and if I was zipping along Morecambe prom on a windy day, it wobbled in a most alarming manner.

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Thu 8 Sep 2011 16:01
Vauxhall Corsa - 2005 Automatic - short review - Victorbox

"dont see how Vauxhall manage to make such a hash of things, its a perfectly simple formula to make a little runaround car but they seem to get every facet of it completely wrong"

That must be why they haven't sold any (any potential buyers agreeing with you) and it wasn't the second best selling car in the UK in August.

We'd all love to run a Mercedes but some of us have cut our cloth accordingly.

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Thu 8 Sep 2011 18:16
Vauxhall Corsa - 2005 Automatic - short review - Ethan Edwards

Driven one in similar circumstances...a loaner.

Awful rubbish. Seat too low, uncomfortable, jerky box just awful. they must just sell on cheapo price and low insurance group. Though in my mind only to people too lazy and dumb to see that there are better alternatives.

Want a small nice auto? I got lent an old shape (just) Micra. What a nice place to be. I could easily live with one of those.

Edited by Ethan Edwards on 08/09/2011 at 18:17

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Thu 8 Sep 2011 20:06
Vauxhall Corsa - 2005 Automatic - short review - unthrottled

I think most of the robotised manujals have fairly jerky changes if you keep your foot down during changes. If you lift off during the shift, it eases the jerk. It was obvious from the start, when they started boasting about 30 millisecond gear changes, that such a quick change would be abrupt. You wouldn't bang the clutch around that quickly in a manual.

The other solution is having a large nmber of close ratio gears-but then you just have to put up with the constant shifting.

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