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.