Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 Turbo?

[Orange Peel]

My wife's 1.2 57 plate Corsa has had it.
She wants another Corsa but something that has a bit more power whilst still remaining in the £30 per year tax bracket.
The 1.0 Turbo seems a good little engine and is still only £30 per year to tax.
The 1.4 16v (90hp) is ok but a little flat compared to the 113hp 1.0 Turbo.
Has anyone had one and/or know anything about them?
Are they a good engine?
Reliable?
Etc.....
I may put up a WTB buy, she's after a "Limited Edition" 3 door (face lift version with flat bottom steering wheel/very gear knob etc.) preferably in white but also red.....or perhaps lime green...or grey....or Persian blue....��
Im not optimistic though.
Would £9k get me a good one with less miles than the USS Enterprise?

[walkerwek1958]

Not a fan of 3 door cars, the doors have to be longer to allow access to the back and they’re awkward to open in confined parking spaces. Getting in and out of the back is also a pain (literally) as you get older. Just got rid of wifey’s 3 door Fiesta for this very reason, it was getting on a bit but was still in great condition.

The current crop of small turbo engines seem to do the job very well. I’m sure the manufacturers have designed them to give decent longevity so I wouldn’t be worried on that score.

I wouldn’t worry about tax bands, when you calculate the total cost of running/owning the car it makes little difference.

I favour buying used cars from the main dealers thesedays, plenty of choice and the cars are usually very good. You might pay slightly more but as a private buyer you can haggle for stuff like free servicing, I’ve done that a couple of times.

Always choose a colour that’ll sell well in the future, avoid girly colours or fashion colours.

Paul

[Kingstepper]

Not a fan of 3 door cars, the doors have to be longer to allow access to the back and they’re awkward to open in confined parking spaces. Getting in and out of the back is also a pain (literally) as you get older. Just got rid of wifey’s 3 door Fiesta for this very reason, it was getting on a bit but was still in great condition.

Paul

If it's your car, why are you getting in the back?

[andyb28]

Its out of the £30 tax bracket, but a guy at work has Corsa VXR and that goes rather well.

[Skyman]

Try a Polo. Vauxhalls are just awful.

[Dave O'Sullivan]

Your wife's current car is 11 years old so I'm guessing you keep your vehicles for a while? I am very wary of these little petrol turbo engines. Ok for a three year lease but as a long term owner car, I'd avoid.

[Omegamanic]

Try a Polo. Vauxhalls are just awful.

Agreed. They have been going through a very rough patch for too many years now.

[Omegamanic]

Your wife's current car is 11 years old so I'm guessing you keep your vehicles for a while? I am very wary of these little petrol turbo engines. Ok for a three year lease but as a long term owner car, I'd avoid.

I wouldn’t be too worried, the power outputs seem very low to me. Ford had theirs running at over 200bhp, and PumaSpeed will do a 205bhp customer power up kit. I think there is a current 177bhp version too. Light pressure turbos should be fine, and the power outputs aren’t crazy.

I would have bought the new Up GTI, but I’m waiting for a better 1.0 turbo option to become available for my uses.

[Orange Peel]

Thanks so far....

3 doors is my wife's preference Paul not mine. I agree they're not as practical but likely only her in it 99% of the time. Agree about the wide doors in narrow parking slots though.

VXR Very quick but way overkill for her not to mention cost.

Polos are good, especially the newer ones but over priced IMO. Out of budget for anything less than 4-5 years old and a decent spec.

She's been happy with her Corsa these last few years and had one before this one to.
The 1.2 engine is crap though (that's what her current one is and the
ast one was) as this one has had a new head gasket and now has a knackered cam shaft after only 52k miles. Also the 1.2 is gutless even when running well.
Thats why I am looking at either the 1.0 Turbo or a 1.4 16v (90bhp) this time.

I was thinking of a Fiat 500 1.2 but have heard bad things about reliability on them and my wife doesn't want to risk it if the horror stories about them are true. Also heard Fiats are expensive to service and repair/parts etc.

[walkerwek1958]

If it's your car, why are you getting in the back?

Think about it.

Here's a clue: Wifey's driving, we give someone a lift who's less agile than me.......I end up in the back. Wasn`t hard, was it?

Simples........and when you've had a knee op it's not as easy to bend it as it once was.

Like most of my advice, it makes sense.

2/3 door cars are a bad idea, the only time I`d entertain one is if it was something really special. When wifey got her Fiesta several years ago I tried to persuade her to get the 5 door model but she wouldn`t listen, eventually the 3 door thing was the reason it had to go. She actually admitted she was wrong, that doesn`t happen often.

I`m not a Vauxhall fan, we've stuck with Ford and bought a Focus 1.5 petrol automatic. I drove a 1.0 litre Focus and it was far better than I expected, perhaps a Fiesta is worth thinking about? Ours was almost 9 years old and never gave problems, it would still be on the driveway if it had had 2 more doors!

I think it's worth test driving a few and keeping an open mind....and don`t let her buy a girly colour!

Paul

[Dave O'Sullivan]

The Fiat 500's aren't all that bad actually.
Which is rare to say for an Italian car!

(Although, they share many components with the Ford Ka.

[Kingstepper]

Like most of my advice, it makes sense.

Paul

Yes, you’re very wise.

[walkerwek1958]

Yes, you’re very wise.

Yep.....it’s taken many years for me to get this wise, I’m wise and getting wiser

Actually I preferred being young and less wise, this wisdom thing’s over-rated.

[Foxy100]

I always thought the doors on three-door cars are heavier because they're longer. Some cars have doors that fell heavier because they put the pull handle too close to the hinged end.

We have a 500 1.2 that's now 10 years old and has done about 30k miles. Nothings gone wrong apart from a brake cylinder and the central digital display that died when we didn't use the car for three or so months. We've stuck a set of new tyres on too, and a battery. Does the job but there's not much room in the back or boot. It's also rather gutless and you try to stall every time you pull away. Nice handling though and you need very long run-ups to overtake anything.

[Snoodles]

Ok for a three year lease but as a long term owner car, I'd avoid.

I agree with Dave, highly stressed little engines. Being in the trade one of our warranty providers is a company who supply Ford warranties, they have had thousands of claims with 1.0 Ecco Boost!

[Dave+63]

Your wife's current car is 11 years old so I'm guessing you keep your vehicles for a while? I am very wary of these little petrol turbo engines. Ok for a three year lease but as a long term owner car, I'd avoid.

I remember being told something similar when I bought my ZZR600 in 1990: “Anything that revs to 16,000rpm isn’t going to last!”

There are still plenty on the road nearly thirty years later.

You could be right but it doesn’t necessarily follow. Although with it being made by Vauxhall, you’re almost certainly right!

[senwar]

Even though my mrs had a recent issue with her Corsa Ltd edition (warranty claim), she's been extremely happy with it and its coming up to 5yrs old. Hers is a 1.2 though so I don't know about the 1.0 engine.

Previously she had an earlier model SXI for 8yrs (well, in between a Fiat 500 for 3yrs that she hated). So she's a big fan of them

She'll certainly keep this for a few more years although I am trying to push her into a new car just for the convenience of better warranty and no MOT etc

[Orange Peel]

I have made several attempts to persuade her into other cars and it always ends up with her getting annoyed and asking me to stop confusing her.
Ive suggested a Fiat 500, Fiesta (also more expensive than a Corsa), an Adam and even a Peugeot 208 or Renault Clio, all to no avail.
She just wants a Corsa, end of.
Truth be known she simply doesn't get cars and wants what she feels she knows....but with a little more ooomph.
Enter the 1.0 Turbo.
A VW Polo would perhaps tempt her but sadly they are too much cash for anything near a 16 plate with decent mileage and specification.

Did I mention that she would be doing no more than 5000 miles per year, mainly around town and going 1 mile to work?

[JonRA]

My brother got a new petrol Corsa in 2001 and traded it in earlier this year for new one. He only does a few thousand miles a year but the old one gave him no problems of note (an annual service and a couple of new batteries over 17 years I think). He enjoys the way they drive and is looking forward to this one lasting as well as the last one. Fingers crossed!

[Ellietwed]

I'll use my stock answer when anyone asks me what small car to buy..Japanese...then again Kia or Hyundai could be in a shout too

[Foxy100]

1 mile to work? Can't she walk? Or lease an electric car?

If you can't afford the Polo can you instead afford a Fabia?

[Orange Peel]

1 mile to work? Can't she walk? Or lease an electric car?

If you can't afford the Polo can you instead afford a Fabia?

She will walk when possible and only use it on bad weather dsys and for shopping/social when I’m not there etc.

[Riley]

Yep.....it’s taken many years for me to get this wise, I’m wise and getting wiser

Actually I preferred being young and less wise, this wisdom thing’s over-rated.

Agreed, it's a burden.

We have a Ford Courier van with the 1.0L ECOBOOST engine on the firm, it goes very well and the only negative I can think of is the vibration at high revs due to the unbalanced 3 pot.
For something sporty have a look at the Fiesta ST-Line ECOBOOST. Basically a Fiesta ST with a smaller engine.

[bobdog]

Running a Fiesta eco boost 1 litre turbo as a second car and it’s brilliant, 100 bhp and 44mpg around the town, great little runabout.

[Omegamanic]

Ok for a three year lease but as a long term owner car, I'd avoid.

I agree with Dave, highly stressed little engines. Being in the trade one of our warranty providers is a company who supply Ford warranties, they have had thousands of claims with 1.0 Ecco Boost!

As I understand a huge number were affected many years back due to a faulty part/hose. But something like 500k cars are running with those engines in the UK.

We will see, but I think we will see a lot more of these types of engines being used, and the power levels going up significantly.

We see over 200bhp in 1.0 motorbikes auth no turbo, most close to that, some with huge mileages. So similar power with a turbo to boost low and midrange in a car is coming.

[Bry1975]

https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=11588

[Orange Peel]

We went for a 2016 Corsa 1.0 Turbo (115bhp) Limited Edition in white.
My wife is very happy with it so all is well in my world.
Drives very well and quieter than the Ford Fiesta Ecoboost (125bhp) I drove earlier last week.
No real noticeable difference in performance either in my opinion.

Also the Fiesta had a very dated interior where as the Corsa was the all new interior with Apple Play touch screen infotainment system.

Job done and thanks for the input chaps

Oh and Paul...she insisted on a 3 door although i do agree with you on the drawbacks of that

[KavKav]

Try a Polo. Vauxhalls are just awful.

‘I agree with your Vauxhall comment! We bought our youngest daughter a Corsa, it was an absolute lumpy dog and we got rid and got her a Fiat 500 which she is very happy with.

[Dave+63]

Agreed, it's a burden.

We have a Ford Courier van with the 1.0L ECOBOOST engine on the firm, it goes very well and the only negative I can think of is the vibration at high revs due to the unbalanced 3 pot.
For something sporty have a look at the Fiesta ST-Line ECOBOOST. Basically a Fiesta ST with a smaller engine.

A 120 degree, three cylinder engine should have perfect primary and secondary balance.

[walkerwek1958]

Amazes me how the modern small engines produce so much power, that's the benefit of turbos I guess.

My modified MGB (1868cc, +60overbore) gives around 110bhhp, that's 59bhp/litre. These modern things are producing double........but they don`t sound or look as nice! The only thing letting modern small cars down is the weight, they all weigh the wrong side of 1 ton thesedays, and they're not exactly small anymore.

Just been topping up the retiree's suntan this afternoon, cruising around with the roof down. Makes a change to drive it rather than crawl under it.

I`m sure your wife will enjoy the motor, Neil..........but you could've fixed her old one and bought a couple of watches instead

[Orange Peel]

Yeah she's happy enough and we collect it Friday evening.

I did suggest getting a new engine on her old car and using the rest of the cash to fund an SD4000.....didn't go particularly well though 🤕

[Riley]

A 120 degree, three cylinder engine should have perfect primary and secondary balance.

That may be true on paper but there is no doubt you know you are driving a 3 cylinder.
That aside though it wouldn't put me off the car version if I were in the market for a cheapish to run small car. Ford have really got their act together recently.