1995 Vauxhall Corsa Reviews - Page 6 of 6

Rubber strip below the front bumper came loose.

Dashboard temperature display went crazy.

A cheap oil gasket blew at approximately 26,000 miles without the warning light working. Cost £300. Fobbed off by 'Network Q' service reps. Clearly a design fault that Vauxhall have kept quiet about.

Otherwise no problems, never failed to start and no breakdowns.

Solid and well built for a supermini, probably the best looking at the time.

The steering feels heavy at low speed.

Acceleration below 50mph is inadequate and it makes overtaking nerve-wracking. On the motorway it becomes a far better car, smooth, stable and quiet and with surprisingly good acceleration at high speed:- capable of cruising at 80-90 mph indefinitely.

Handling unaffected by extra passengers. Seating is fairly comfortable, good quality trim and controls and with good leg-room in the back.

The ride is a bit harsh on poor surfaces.

Gearlever feels a bit sticky.

No sign of corrosion or leaks yet.

Speedo cable failed meaning that the engine couldn't rev properly (I thought that Speedos were output devices not input!!!)

Major oil leaks. Due to aluminium sump and steel sump nut, this meant the thread was stripped. Gasket on oil pump failed (seen this on two Corsas). Oil is seeping through the valves.

- Wheel bearings

- Brakes

- Exhaust

- Electronic Management (Light came on = big bill - no real explanation)

- Exhaust recirculation valve

Basically a lot and oddly almost every month something went wrong!

Based on the reliance of my little Nova SR, I decided to go for my third Vauxhall. Nice looking car. Cheap to insure. Reasonably fast. Handling a bit dodgy. Quite comfortable but the bucket seats may be too small for larger people. Some bits are standard like ABS, power steering and CD. There are no electric windows, electric mirrors, sun roof, air con as standard (which is what I really wanted!)

Avoid at all costs the "EcoTec" engine. It hasn't been tested properly, can sound like a diesel and it not very reliable!

Non "EcoTec" engines start from K reg upto L/M. These may be better.

Oil gasket blew at 25,000 miles, (right after a £300 service), after causing a commotion I had the work done for free overnight.

Except for above, no problems. Love my car to bits, and would never sell it. (I'd just buy another car as well!)

Cambelt pulleys broke at 60mph but luckily the cylinders stayed together.

Has refused to start twice in the wet (cured by leaving for about 30 minutes).

16v engine means you get the best out of it at higher revs, looks wicked in black and the build quality is excellent. Just waiting for a 1.6 to appear on the market....

Starter motor.

Total engine failure at 98,000 miles, caused by blocked heater matrix.

The dealer knew of the block, informing me that it was non-urgent.

Good reliable workhorse.

Shame about my local dealer info.

Three seperate Faults, that stopped the speedo working.

1. A wheel in the Gearbox broke, took dealer 3 weeks to fix.

2. Cable snapped twice.

Not a major fault you think, but with an Engine Managment System (EMS) this became dangerous.

After driving for 20 miles or so the EMS detects a fault and iluminates an orange bulb on the dash. Once the bulb is illuminated, the EMS takes over. If the engine drops below 1800 rpm the EMS decides to stall the engine. Very dangerous if turning down a steep hill, as you loose power steering and the servo assisted brakes.

Current problem is that the ABS warning light keeps coming, this is due to a loose connection only, but still disables the ABS.

A fun car, great economy. Have now done over 65,000 miles, with the only faults being those above.