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[C993]Consumer Used Car Review

by Robert01 Elding01, Rob

The Vauxhall Corsa car made its debut at London's British International show in July though in its sweeping roofline it strongly resembles the Astra, the chief designer Niels Loeb said:? We wanted to give the Corsa owner a feel-good factor. It just cried out to be driven.? and that is exactly what he has presented to the world in the form of Vauxhall Corsa, a car that loves to be driven.

The Vauxhall Corsa lacks the Renault Clio's panache, but the new interior reveals substantial improvement in quality and design. The quest for fuel economy has also led to the introduction of an electronic power steering system which only saps power when assistance is needed, giving a further cut in claimed fuel consumption of up to five per cent. The other result of the new steering system is that it gives a much improved feel than before. The time spent on the making of the Vauxhall Corsa car is seen in the variable sports power steering to improve feel while driving on twisty roads.

Vauxhall have used Lotus to help with the chassis, fitting revised springs and dampers throughout with revised suspension mounting points and a front anti-roll bar bolted on to all models. The result is much neater handling than before. There is still plenty of roll in the turns but the Corsa is more communicative, better tied down and safer to throw around and ready to be driven on tough roads than before; though still not rating quite as highly as the Fiesta. The ride is now a little firm and bumpy, although the compromise is worth the overarching improvements.

Inside there is a new selection of color coordinated trim combos, the austere driver's seat is fully height adjustable and the steering wheel still sits too high, with no adjustment at all. Air-conditioning is now available for the 1.4-litre GLS and CDX models. The interior of the Vauxhall Corsa car carries greater room for heads, luggage and legs and a stereo compatible with MP3 players.

Externally the revamped Corsa has only been given a little chrome moustache and wider bumpers, neither of which alters the fact that it still looks as fresh and modern as any Fiesta or Polo. No need to make dramatic changes. Vauxhall have limited the most serious changes to making the Vauxhall Corsa much nicer car to drive.

For starters there will be 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4 liter petrol engines and a 1.3 liter turbo diesel.
Standard models will have a sport option that includes lowered suspension and 17in alloy wheels. The Vauxhall Corsa car does all the most important things well. It steers, goes, stops and handles in excellent fashion. The acceleration and speed is very good making it a comfortable car for the tracks, when most other drivers would pray that the driver of the Vauxhall Corsa car is not as quick as them. The turbo kicks in quickly at low revs and you soon learn to anticipate the slight lag and drive it on the torque curve.

The new Magnum is a great looking car that will get your neighbors talking as you rumble around the block. The unique styling of the Magnum will also attract gawkers in the form of 18-22 year old guys pointing for their friends to ?check that out?. And a few people will approach you as you are filling up the gas tank to ask, ?Does it really have a Hemi??, with only a vague notion that it somehow makes the car better.

The Magnum is offered with many different engine sizes (either a 6-cylinder or 8-cylinder) with your choice of horsepower output of 190, 250, 340 and 425. The price of the vehicle also corresponds with the engine size starting at $30,345 to the expensive STR-8 model for $37,320. A big part of the mystique around this car is the Hemi engine. The Hemi is short for hemispherical combustion chamber, which creates more efficient fuel burning and allows larger valves for better airflow. Basically, it produces more power than an engine with its displacement would normally produce. (There are also drawbacks to the Hemi, which is why it isn't the only engine that Chrysler produces).

The interior of the car looks much more expensive than you'd expect for the price of the Magnum. Since Mercedes bought Chrysler, the Dodge vehicles I've sampled have had a sharp improvement in interior quality. While on the road, the car is very solid and the seats are comfortable even on long highway runs.

As much as I like the looks, after driving it a while I really have to question the design concept that the Magnum offers. It is a station wagon built to transport a lot of people and a lot of stuff. But mating this with a powerful engine with the taught racing-like suspension is uncomfortable for both. It is like having a Corvette tow a small trailer, and you are in the trailer and the Corvette driver is 15 years-old, pushing the car to its limits. (Only an actual Corvette has a much more comfortable suspension than the Magnum). Even driving on smooth roads, the steering is very darty and difficult to control. And with a large car, all that weaving and road feedback is exaggerated for the passengers and everything you've stored in the back.

I like having a navigation system, but figuring out how to use it with the steering wheel controls made me frequently refer to the user's manual. In spite of the high horsepower and low-end torque I played with when starting from a full stop, the RT model I drove averaged 20 MPG on the higway.

What I presume to be the target market for this car, those 18-22 year-old guys that I mentioned, will probably love this car. And as much as I love driving sports cars, the darty steering and sharp suspension make it too uncomfortable without any spectacular payoff. The 0-60 sprint is fun for a little while, but I'd pass on buying a Magnum as a daily driving vehicle.

Article Source : Buy Used Cars Online

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Both Robert01 Elding01 & Andrew Kier are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Robert01 Elding01 has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cars. Robert Elding is the author of this article on . Find more information about. Robert01 Elding01's top article generates over 480 views. to your Favourites.

Andrew Kier has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cars. Andrew Kier is a car fanatic that grew up near Motor City and has been writing for automotive magazines since 1992. He shares his two decades of car comparison experience with recent models. More of his articles are available at http://cars.real-solution-. Andrew Kier's top article generates over 480 views. to your Favourites.