Ona charge
Here is a Vauxhall Corsa that’s almost pioneering. And that’s something we’ve never been able to say before. This is the Corsa-e, and it’s a fully electric hatchback that looks just like its petrolpowered base car. It’s not alone in its offer, nor is it the first of its kind. We did say almost pioneering. Indeed, it’s only really come about because Vauxhall was bought by PSA and this is – effectively – a Peugeot e-208 in a plainer suit.
It uses the same combination of 134bhp power and 50kWh battery as the e-208, adding 345kg to a regular Corsa’s kerbweight but keeping it all in the floor. Better for handling, and it means room for people and luggage is unimpeded too. The fully charged range is quoted at 209 miles.
How close you get to achieving that will depend on how you’ve toggled between Eco (81bhp), Normal (107bhp) and Sport (134bhp), with the former maximising your range potential but stifling performance and aircon output. We reckon you’ll stick in Normal. That’s what the Corsa defaults to on start-up, and you can have full power in all three modes if you shoe the accelerator with enough gusto. Handy for slip roads and impromptu overtakes.
What the Corsa-e really aces is feeling normal to drive. You use the same gear selector as an automatic Corsa with a petrol engine, only now it has an additional notch into B for if you want to recuperate more energy when slowing down. The dashboard is just like you’ll find in the regular Corsa, which is either good or bad news. It’s all very safe in here, which rather summarises the whole car. Like choosing the bloke who’s most logistically astute as your best man: you’ll get to your wedding in good time and with little stress, but the room won’t be in raptures when the speech comes.
This lacks the verve of a Honda e, but fights back with more space and 50 per cent extra range. For people who like buying badges they know from dealers around the corner, its head start over anything resembling an electric Fiesta could garner it rather a lot of sales. The Corsa-e is the EV to choose if you want your leap of faith into the world of electric to resemble more of a light skip.