Vauxhall Corsa Electric Review

Performance

There's lots to like here. The Corsa Electric’s smooth, serene electric motor puts out a total of 134 bhp with the older model or 154 bhp with the upgraded powertrain.  This is good enough to send it from 0-62 mph in a scant 8.2 seconds. That makes it the fastest new Corsa you can buy – beating even the turbo petrol engines. You’re left in little doubt when you floor the accelerator away from the line on a wet road, mind: the front wheels scrabble and spin alarmingly before the lazy traction control catches up. The wrong sort of electrifying. 

There’s a reassuring amount of surge at all speeds, right up to the restricted 93 mph top speed (naughty…). A button next to the oddly-shaped gearshifter lets you choose one of three modes – normal, eco or sport. All give different power outputs. The default is normal, where you have 107 bhp. Eco cuts it back further, to just 80 bhp. Only sport gives you the full 134 bhp. 

The idea is to let people conserve the battery’s power – the response of the accelerator pedal even changes (it’s super-lazy in eco mode, for example). Vauxhall doesn’t over-complicate things though. There are no steering wheel paddles to alter how strongly it slows down when you lift the accelerator, for example. The only battery-charging recuperation option is pulling the gearshifter back from ‘D’ into a ‘B’ setting. It’s just enough to be useful, without jarring necks when you take your foot off the accelerator. 

Drive

The Corsa is a grown-up car with a big-car feel. The suspension is firm, which can make it a bit jittery on city streets, but it comes into its own once you start to gather speed. It gives the driver lots of confidence, particularly in the way it tackles corners: the batteries are mounted nice and low, so it doesn’t lean over in bends, and feels nicely reassured. 

Like most electric cars, it’s a fair bit heavier than a regular Corsa (not that you’d know it from the performance). The benefit of this is how it seems to soak up bigger bumps nicely. It rarely becomes crashy or harsh, which again bolsters its miniaturised big car credentials. 

The Corsa-e is more refined than a normal version, and feels suitably more sophisticated (whether it’s enough to justify the price hike over a regular Corsa is another matter…). Perhaps the most impressive aspect, though, is exactly how normal it all is. This is an electric car without the fuss or fanfare. It’s just like any other automatic Corsa. Just one that’s nicer to drive than any Corsa before it.