1996 Vauxhall Corsa LS from UK and Ireland - Comments

Boot lock broke and had to be fixed after having the car for about a year.

The cam shaft needed changing at about 90,000 miles as it was making the engine sound terrible, almost as if it needed the tappets tightening.

Fan belt screeched after 90,000 miles and had to be replaced.

I have owned the 1.4i 8v LS Corsa for about 3 years now and I have to say its been very reliable. Its never broken down on me once and is still in good condition. However, for a 1.4i the car is very under powered, leaving it feeling very sluggish and even being beaten by 1.1's! The torque of the car is terrible slowing down considerably when more than 2 people are in the car and also finding it very difficult getting up steep hills. I even timed its 0-60 and it took 15 seconds! However I have heard the 1.4 16v sport doesn't suffer from being so sluggish, doing the same in just over 10. Reliability of the car however is very very good, seeing that it has done over 100,000 miles for such a small engine. I have modded mine slightly with alloys, lowering, backbox and induction kit. Do not change the original air filter unless you want to serously lower its fuel economy! Before this however, fuel consumption was good if driven appropriately. Standard handling is OK, but I would definitely recommend lowering on solid springs and wider wheels for a more exciting drive. The car looks great with a few modifications, especially with wide alloys. Overall I do really like my little Corsa, but I could really do for something with a little more power, like the Corsa sport, not because I'm a boy racer, but because I am tired of slamming it into 2nd up a hill on a road with a 60 MPH speed limit!

Good honest review, sounds exactly like mine.

Good review I couldn't agree more, I have a 95 Corsa 1.2 8v so imagine what that is like!

I know what you mean about the 1.4i, the torqe is rubbish for a 1400 as standard. I had a nova 1.4i and it did'nt feal much different to my 1.2 carb. That's because its single point injection, worse than carb. But with the cat removed, good zorst and filter it can be made to realy go, if driven well. Raced a colt 1.3 GTi 16v once and it was side by side till the next set of lights.