Damaged Vauxhall Corsa Salvage
Salvage Cars January 15th, 2009The Vauxhall Corsa Versus the New Ford Fiesta - The Battle of the Superminis!
There is a worrying trend for all the fashionistas out there in automotive land; these days everything has gone a little too 'practical'. Form over function has been the car fanatic's raison d'être ever since a young boy first put a car poster on his bedroom wall. Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Zonda, all of them have created cars that men and women all over the world have literally drooled over, but try and take these cars on the weekly shop and you will find yourself exceedingly frustrated. You can barely fit a loaf of bread in the cabin and boot-space is either so small it's pointless or simply non-existent. So in a world dominated by fears of a financial nature, the car fanatic has been forced to think practically, economically and ecologically. When buying a car, these three considerations NEVER even came close to entering the equation, but times have changed and alas the cars have too. It is an impossible aspiration to drive a stylish car that is also economically sensible and ecologically sound. Or is it?
 Vauxhall Corsa 12 16v 2000 W Damaged Spares Repairs £795.00 |
 08 Vauxhall Corsa 12i 16v Life Silver £6,994.00 |
 2004 VAUXHALL CORSA 12 SXI 16V SHOW CAR £3,995.00 |
 2002 VAUXHALL CORSA LIFE 12V DAMAGED SALVAGE CAT C £525.00 |
 2009 Vauxhall Corsa Active 12 DAMAGED £4,750.00 |
 2003 VAUXHALL CORSA SRI 16V BLUE  £1,170.00
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 2004 VAUXHALL CORSA LIFE CDTI BLUE £1,495.00
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 Vauxhall Corsa 54 SXI 12Repairable Salvage with Parts £721.00 |
 2004 VAUXHALL CORSA LIFE 16V SILVER VERY LOW MILES £2,200.00 |
 1996 VAUXHALL CORSA LS DAMAGED REPAIRABLE SALVAGE £60.00
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The new Vauxhall Corsa caused quite a stir a couple of years ago, getting all the reviewers a bit hot under the collar. Add to this a catchy, media-saturation advertising campaign and a shining endorsement from the boy-racer contingent and Vauxhall found themselves with a success story on their hands. The Corsa began to virtually fly off the forecourts and became the car of choice for hip, new, young drivers. To meet with some kind of nationwide consensus, BSM (the largest motoring school in the UK) chose the Corsa as its fleet car, thus cementing the reputation for performance, cost and likeability amongst the young folk. It seemed the Corsa could do no wrong. Something ominous appeared on the horizon though not too long ago; a sight that must have struck fear into the hearts of all the engineers and designers at Vauxhall HQ.
Yes, Ford had only gone and decided to revamp the Fiesta; turning the old boxy ugly duckling, into a chic, sleek, jaw-dropping machine of motoring brilliance. The fight was on. In direct comparison there is very little to separate the two vying superminis; both look absolutely stunning, both perform unbelievably well for their shared price range and both are so cheap to run you virtually can't afford not to own one. It looked like this little scuffle would go right down to the wire. The Fiesta has got the slight advantage in the respect that it is new and as we all know, fashion is about being on the cusp of a revolution, never living in the past and constantly pushing the boundaries. On a technicality, the Fiesta takes round one.
The Corsa has a strange kind of elevated driving position that gives you a better view of the road and the impression that you are more in command of the vehicle. It also has the comfier ride of the two superminis, which as the owner of a constant bad back, is entirely necessary to my enjoyment of a vehicle. One round-a-piece. In the tale of the tape, the performance comes under scrutiny and this is where my experiment falls flat on its face. The Corsa I have driven was 1.3 Diesel model and the Fiesta was a 1.25 Petrol version, so comparison is slightly unfair. The Fiesta was obviously punchier and a little quicker of the mark, where as the Corsa was more economical and ecological. In the Corsa's defence though, the 1.3 CDTi engine was relatively quiet and built up speed at an impressive rate. So in summary, the direct fight/boxing analogy has yielded a draw of sorts. In my opinion if you are swayed by current trends and feel embarrassed sat in a car that has a design that is more than a year old, then no doubt you will have already booked a test drive of the new Fiesta. If you are slightly more concerned with making the most of every penny you spend on fuel, then I would recommend buying a diesel Corsa. Again it comes down to the form or function argument. Which side are you on?
Pete J Ridgard is a writer and a car enthusiast. He currently writes for the automotive industry. Here he discusses the best supermini available; The Vauxhall Corsa or The Ford Fiesta.
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