Woah! A fast Corsa?
It is indeed. We’ve not had a bona fide Vauxhall Corsa hot hatch since the old VXR retired back in 2018. It did so with a gloriously old-school attitude to ride, handling and performance, its 1.6-litre petrol engine driving the front wheels through a manual ‘box and rugged little diff.
This new Corsa GSE is made possible with a newer school of thought, however; its name stands for Grand Sport Electric and it draws its forward motion purely from a plug. A single e-motor dishes out 277bhp and 254lb ft to the front axle, a 54kWh battery endowing it with a claimed 220 miles of range (optionally 232 miles with a less sticky, more eco-friendly tyre).
It’ll complete 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds on its way to a 124mph top speed, the former figure putting it a good half a second (or more) ahead of its most obvious competition: the less powerful Mini John Cooper Works Electric and Alpine A290.
Some of that sounds familiar…
Its key outputs are mirrored by a number of Stellantis group cousins, including the Abarth 600e, Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce and upcoming Peugeot E-208 GTI, not to mention its in-house Mokka GSE rival.
The Corsa undercuts ‘em all, though, priced from £34,495, or £32,995 post government Electric Car Grant. Nearly twice as much as a Corsa VXR cost a decade ago, but thoroughly tempting in the widening expanse of the electric hot hatch class. And it commands almost exactly the same cash as the lowlier, 154bhp electric Corsa in similarly kitted-out Ultimate spec, Matrix headlights a notable coup in this class. Surely Vauxhall’s profit margin here is miniscule.
Do its mechanical upgrades match the power boost?
Oh yes. Its core changes echo the Mokka (not to mention the Abarth and Alfa), with tough new Alcon brakes, a quicker steering rack, a Torsen limited-slip differential and a pair of fabulously grappling sports seats. The suspension’s received even more attention, its notably stiffer, 25mm-lower setup and hydraulic bump stops joined by a big increase in its track widths, some naughty looking negative camber on the front wheels and a bit of light training at the Nürburgring.
GSE is Vauxhall’s fourth different hot hatch badge since the Eighties’ Nova GTE (a car this Corsa’s three-spoke alloys hark back to), suggesting it’s never fully landed on a performance car philosophy like Ford, Renault or Volkswagen have. But on paper this Corsa sounds like a proper effort, whatever you make of its electric powertrain.
Any gimmicks to draw me in?
There’s no fake gearbox here, but Vauxhall has implemented a synthesised soundtrack to supplement your acceleration. There are three drive modes, and in the sportiest you get a looser stability control setting (albeit no ‘off’ setting) and the brake regen function disappears (unless you ask for it back). Bad for the range, great for natural feel through the left pedal.
You immediately sit much lower than in the Mokka, hunkered closer to the floor in an identical sports seat, albeit one with a natty, retro-coded chequer pattern. It feels a significantly easier sell to an enthusiast from the off. Its controls are pleasingly simple, too, easily figured out on the go thanks mostly to the Corsa’s now advancing years on the market.
This isn’t an especially fresh feeling car beyond its bold yellow flourishes and Alcantara steering wheel strips, but that’s easily construed as a perk. There’s a physical volume knob and climate controls alongside easily extinguished ADAS. Bliss.
Is it as quick as they say?
Seems it. It feels brisker than the Mokka by a greater margin than its 43kg advantage might promise (the Corsa GSE weighing 1,554kg). Being electric, its power can be accessed instantly, even in lowlier drive modes if you shove the throttle right into kickdown. Despite the mighty Torsen diff up front it’ll still scurry and torque steer down the road – just enough to feel fun and frenetic while never intimating a struggle for control.
The tension coursing through its steering and damping imbue the Corsa with some welcome hot hatch mischief
Our initial miles in performance EVs are spent looking for vital signs of life, proof that there’s something to be excited about once the novelty of unabated, single-speed acceleration has worn off. Which it rapidly will. Its convincingly piped soundtrack and the tension coursing through its steering and damping imbue the Corsa with some welcome hot hatch mischief.
‘Tension’. Is it stiff?
Oh yes. The Mokka GSE is hardly a shrunken Cullinan, but this dinkier alternative feels like another step on. Plenty of ‘Ring-developed hatches actually ride very well on UK roads – you need compliance on the Nordschleife – but this Corsa appears keen to reinforce old myths about the toll the Green Hell can take on road cars. You need to test drive one of these to ensure you’re happy with the way it thumps around over even velvety smooth roads.
The byproduct? It impressively irons out the pitch and roll of the Mokka, feeling like a more serious and honed device beside it and providing a useful gap between the two beyond their prices or badge kudos. There’s an infallible feeling to your progress in here, the Corsa allowing you to cover ground at a properly breathless pace.
Just without its driver grinning ear to ear. There’s a sensation of hanging on to it rather than being a crucial component in the process. A chat with one of its chief engineers reveals that faux gearshifts were never on the agenda – GSE is a proudly electric sub-brand, and mimicking old ICE cars wouldn’t really fit, he tells me – but when the Nova GTE is so unsubtly referenced by the fabric and wheels, a bit of throwback technology simply wouldn’t feel remiss here.
Its key hot hatch rivals don’t yet offer it, I should add, but an opportunity for more interaction with the GSE might tally better with just how stiff and resolute it feels even in urban driving.
What’s the verdict?
Quite a lot of what the Corsa GSE does is fun, frenzied and close to fabulous. And it’s surprisingly adept on track, too. We suspect Vauxhall (and Opel) didn’t know such a thing would exist when the ‘Corsa F’ launched in 2019, but their apparent rush job to overhaul its design and dynamics to launch alongside Peugeot’s comeback GTI is to be lauded.
Quite a lot of what the Corsa GSE does is fun, frenzied and close to fabulous
The fact they’ve bothered to make one now rather than wait for the next gen, Vision Gran Turismo-inspired Corsa is one we should welcome, especially when the GSE looks decent value against some pretty talented competition. And in its own showroom. It’s just hard not to crave a mite more interaction to excuse its gnarly ride and modest range during more committed driving. Expect 100 or so miles if you’re having fun…