New Vauxhall Corsa prices soar

THE new Vauxhall Corsa will be priced from £15,550 to almost £26,000 when it arrives next year – a significant increase over the current model.

The 27 model line up – excluding electric versions which will also be available – will come in four main trim levels and will feature a range of fuel efficient engines.

Vauxhall announced several weeks ago that the battery-powered Corse-e will cost from £26,490 including the Government grant for zero emission cars.

The new Corsa is the fifth generation of Vauxhall’s top selling car and the first all-new model to come from the brand since its takeover by Peugeot/ Citroen owners PSA.

As such, the new Corsa shares its underpinnings with the latest Peugeot 208 which is due to arrive in the UK later this year.

The new car Is up to 108kg lighter and now tips the scales at less than a tonne. The lighter weight aids fuel efficiency and all versions will feature LED headlights and a seven-inch touchscreen.

The entry level car is powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine developing 75ps with a five speed manual gearbox in SE trim.

Three-cylinder 1.2 engines will also be offered and these are turbo boosted to deliver 100ps. With a six-speed manual transmission they are priced from £16,350.

Diesels are powered by a 1.5-litre engine with 102ps on tap and come in from £17,560 while an eight-speed automatic gearbox is also available on the more powerful petrol version priced from £18,080.

Fuel economy ranges from 88mpg for the diesels with emissions of 85g/km to 70mpg for the lower powered petrol model. The higher output engine is rated at 68 to the gallon with emissions of 93 and 96g/km.

Other performance data is still to be released but the new car has a five door only body and measuring 4.06 metres long is only slightly longer than the current car.

A new telematics service, Vauxhall Connect, is also available as are Matrix headlights. The lighting system will be fitted as standard to top grade Ultimate versions which are available only with auto gearboxes and priced from £25,990.

SRi models cost from £18,700 and Elite Nav grade versions are priced from £18,990 while navigation and other upgrades will be offered throughout the range.

The new model is due for release in January with the electric version following soon afterwards.

The current Corsa, which was launched in 2014, is priced from £11,735 and tops out at £20,185 for a sporty VXR version.