2001 Vauxhall Corsa SXi review from UK and Ireland

Fuel pump failed at around 35,000 miles.

Gear linkage needed replaced at around 40,000 miles.

Front wipers failed at around 40,000 miles.

Front CV joints failed at around 41,000 miles.

Problems with steering, large dead zone, feedback isn't as good as it should be - probable cause is power steering pump (replaced with a refurbished part around 35,000 miles but it didn't improve matters much).

I've had my Corsa for around five years now, only recently finding that it's been getting expensive to keep in working order (see fault list above!).

The car has a number of good points, I'll start with those:

- Reasonably nippy. The SXi version is stated to have a 0-60 of about 12 seconds. Not 'quick' by anyone's standards, but compared to other cars in its class with the same equipment levels and engine size etc, it's ahead of the pack.

- Economy-wise I get around 40-45mpg. At current petrol prices, that's about 10p a mile, pretty good.

- Good looks. OK, this is a personal thing, but I reckon the styling doesn't look all too dated - even though the 2001 model is now getting on 10 years old.

- Good equipment levels. Alloys, CD player, electric windows, electric doors, 'sports' seats, slightly better looking dash than the standard Corsa version with the SXi.

And some bad points:

- Most of the faults I've listed seem to fall into a 'common theme' for Corsa owners (namely gear linkage, front wipers, and steering). I only need my ECU to start going haywire and I'll have had the full list. Might seem bad for a car that's only done 40,000 miles, but it's probably the age of the car that weighs in here (2001).

- Car does seem to be getting slower over time. This might just be me, but a 56 plate Corsa I've driven was noticeably nippier.

Since I started driving I've had a Nova, Astra, then this Corsa. I think I've been pretty lucky with the cars - no really expensive problems (did get stranded at 1am in a Tesco car park when the fuel pump went though!).

Now looking for a new car, which is taking me ages since I just can't seem to find one for any reasonable amount of money that matches up to what I've got. I suppose that says the most about this common, ordinary little car at the end of the day ;-)