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Not long ago I hired a 1999 Vauxhall Corsa with 6000 on the clock. When I got to 70mph on a motorway I found the steering to be very twitchy and the car felt quite unstable. A friend who owns one finds his much the same. Does anyone have experience of this? Is it a characteristic of the model or are they very sensitive to tyre pressures/tracking/castor/camber/ make of tyre or what have you? I have been offered a low mileage, immaculate Corsa but do not want to buy one for an experienced driver if the fault cannot be cured.
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I have a 2000X SXi. The short wheelbase and the sports suspension on this one mean that it is bouncy and choppy and nervous on the motorway, but very responsive as the short gearing means the engine is in the power band. I haven't driven any other old model Corsas but the new model I drove as a courtesy car wasn't as bad. Did the one you drive have sports suspension? It might be better without it.
I am pleased with mine - it hasn't set the world on fire but it is reliable and capable.
Paul C
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Thanks Paul, I had a 1.2 Merit so I think it had standard suspension. I was quite happy with it on A roads including fast sweepers; it was just the straight line tracking at speed which was very much inferior to Fiestas Puntos Peugeot 106s & Polos which I have also hired.
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My son wrote on off on a bend which I would not have described as particularly sharp, even if it was a bit damp/frosty.
IMHO those short wheelbase hatches can be a bit unstable, but others will probably swear by them.
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I enjoyed the handling of my corsa, 1993 1.2 merit, owned from new for seven years. I did spin it at 80 a few weeks after I had it, and the back end will break away on lift off round a bend, but once these traits are learnt then it is far preferable to the stodgy handling of larger cars.
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I hired a Corsa 1.0 in Ireland - it was brand new then 3 years ago. I had no problems with the stability on motorways at all, even driving it flat out (probably about 85!)
Andy
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Thanks for the input Andy. At least that tells me all Corsas are not like the one I drove - John
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"At least that tells me all Corsas are not like the one I drove"
are you sure about that??
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
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Hi Dr. Dave, No, not entirely sure but I read a fair number of motoring magazines and while Corsa road tests criticised the lumpy ride and stodgy steering, I don't remember high speed stability being mentioned. Do you?
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When Corsa first released I was looking for a small hatch to buy so rented one for a weekend to try for size. Fatal flaw on the steering column for me was the pinch bolt connecting to rack which I painfully found was just the right height to gnaw my big toe when going round corners. I suppose you could say I should not drive in sandals (or eat muesli for breakfast either) but anyway that was the last time I ever got in Corsa.
:-) Phil I.
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LOL @ Phil :)
MG-Rover Questions? Click on www.mg-rover.org
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Thanks to those who contributed to this item before. I suspect HJ has supplied the answer in his road test of the 2002 Seat Ibiza, i.e. too much toe in; exactly the symptoms I was trying to describe. Are small front-drive hatches more affected by this than larger cars?
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Old shape corsa is a hateful car! Especially without power steering.
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I work part-time for a large rental company who are Vauxhall's largest customer.This involves hours driving Vauxhall's up and down the UK's motorways doing swap overs/end of lease collections e.t.c. My biggest surprise was just how good the new Corsa is to drive especially after driving the old model many years ago.Why not hire one for a weekend just to be sure before parting with your hard earned. The Astra is not half bad either.....
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John,
Dont' forget Auto Express Driver Power Survey recently voted the mark 2 Corsa (i.e. not the latest one) the car with the worst handling.
What Car has commented on the excellent cruising ability of the latest Corsa on the motorways, (even the buzzy 3 cylinder 1.0 model).
Regards
Rob E
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