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The Vauxhall Corsa Electric offers all the benefits of an electric driving experience in a supermini package and the new model delivers a longer driving range.
We last reviewed the Vauxhall Corsa Electric in 2020 when it had an official electric driving range of 209 miles; the new model has had changes such as a facelift and the gaining of a longer WLTP range of 248 miles.
The exterior design of the latest Corsa is best described as simple – perhaps to create space between it and its Peugeot family member, the 208 – the latter seemingly benefiting from more creative design input. And it’s a similar story with the interior – the Corsa is quite basic, whereas the 208 has an interesting ‘i-Cockpit’.
The Corsa is a supermini so you wouldn’t expect it to offer cavernous amounts of space, but even in this class, rear legroom is tight. The boot is 267 litres in size (1,081 with the rear seats folded), and there’s no compartment under the boot floor for storing charging cables.
The 2024 Corsa is bizarrely offered with two battery sizes that are almost identical – 50 kWh or 51 kWh. A 156 PS motor delivers front-wheel drive.
The headline is that the Vauxhall Corsa Electric delivers a very likeable driving experience. It brings all the benefits of an electric powertrain to the supermini class such as responsive acceleration and refinement. There are drive mode choices of Eco, Normal and Sport, and with a 0-62 mph time of 8.2 seconds, performance is better than the petrol model, which takes 9.9 seconds for the same sprint.
The Corsa is front-wheel drive so you’d expect wheelspin when accelerating, however the traction control system generally manages to keep this under control.
Primary ride quality on well surfaced roads is comfortable, however suspension clunks become evident on potholed roads (which means virtually all roads in South Manchester).
Handling should be helped by the EV’s low centre of gravity; but although the handling is fine, there should be more fun on offer from an electric supermini (did someone say Peugeot e-208…?).
The Corsa comes with the standard Stellantis gear selector, which has a switch that you pull to choose R, N and D, and small buttons that you press for P and B – the latter offering increased levels of brake regeneration.
Like the exterior, the interior design is quite plain; there are lots of small buttons, such as for the heated steering wheel, and the heating controls tucked away under the touchscreen (you need to press the small button marked ‘Menu’ in the middle of the left temperature dial to change heating and ventilation settings).
The infomedia system doesn’t feature shortcut buttons, instead you have to swipe the screen to the side to find features such as satnav. If you’re looking for additional controls, such as to connect your phone, you need to swipe the screen again. Swapping between Apple CarPlay and the radio isn’t particularly easy.
The Corsa’s rear view camera projects a clear image onto the screen, but sometimes the screen decides to display a diagram rather than the more user-friendly view from the camera.
A good feature of the Corsa is the ability to switch off the lane departure warning system with just one press of a button near the gear selector, but perhaps the best features when testing the Corsa in cold weather were the heated seats and steering wheel (standard on this top of the range model).
There’s no option to adjust the angle of the seat base, so the driving position may not be to everyone’s taste.
To start the Corsa you need to exert a lot of pressure on the brake pedal for what feels like quite a long time while you press the start button.
The Vauxhall Corsa Electric Ultimate has a combined WLTP electric driving range of 248 miles. During a week of mixed driving in cold weather the Corsa’s real-world range averaged 200 miles, despite the car’s range predictions of 248 miles when fully charged.
The Corsa has a maximum rapid charging rate of 100 kW, which should enable a 10% to 80% charge in around 30 minutes.
The top of the range Vauxhall Corsa Electric Ultimate, as tested, costs £38,585. Our test car had the option of graphic grey paint (£700) (although we’re not sure why you would want to pay £700 for grey paint…), taking the price of our car to £39,285.
There are cheaper Corsa Electric models: Design trim is available from £32,445, and GS trim from £34,080.
These prices compare to £25,685 for the petrol model in Ultimate trim, although the petrol model is available from £19,625 for Design trim.
With improved refinement and responses, the Vauxhall Corsa Electric is better to drive than the petrol model, and it offers the major benefit of zero tailpipe emissions. The key selling point of the latest model is the longer driving range of 248 miles. However the Corsa isn’t as fun to drive as, for example, the Peugeot e-208, and the Corsa’s design, inside and out, is very understated compared to the Peugeot. The Corsa is a perfect example of why the UK government needs to offer incentives for consumers to switch to electric; although there are EV tax benefits for businesses, the higher price of the Corsa Electric for private buyers compared to the petrol model is likely to be a significant barrier. The Vauxhall Corsa Electric gains a Green Car Guide rating of 7 out of 10.
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