The New Vauxhall Corsa VXR Will Cost The Same As The Brilliant Ford Fiesta ST

Vauxhall has released details of its pricing plan for the new Corsa VXR, and it looks mighty promising. With an on-the-road price from £17,995 it’s £1000 cheaper than the outgoing model and only marginally more expensive than the entry level Ford Fiesta ST, despite packing more power and technology.

The VXR gets a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine that makes 202bhp and up to 207lb ft, versus the Fiesta’s 180bhp and 214lb ft. It’s quicker to 62mph, with a claimed time of 6.5sec, 0.4sec quicker than Ford’s effort.

The numbers don’t tell the whole story though, as the ST’s strength is in the way it drives. VXRs have a bit of a reputation for being a raucous handful, so it’s likely the pair will be completely different beasts; composed compliance versus edge-of-your-seat progress.

If you don’t mind parting with a little more cash, £2400 gets you the VXR Performance Pack. This includes a ‘motorsport-derived’ Drexler limited-slip differential, Brembo four-piston brakes and re-tuned Koni Frequency Selective Damping (FSD) shock absorbers.

We can’t wait to get behind the wheel of this little hot hatch. We drove the standard car last year and were genuinely surprised at how good it’s become. In VXR form it should be an absolute riot, and we’d expect it to really put the frighteners up Ford.