Vauxhall Corsa E First Drive – Budget Electric Vehicle

The Vauxhall Corsa E is a stylish new full EV. It lists over 200 miles of EV range, 50 kWh of battery capacity and a 0-60 time of just 7.6 seconds. For a budget family car, that’s not bad!

The Corsa E starts from a hair over £26,000, although as of writing this you can pick up an SE NAV PREMIUM model with 7.4KW AC charging for just £22,360 making it one of the cheapest full EVs on the market. That’s a £5,100 saving, plus the £2,500 from the Plug-in Car Grant.

Despite it being a fairly small car, it’s still a full 5 door with a surprising amount of rear leg room. It’s based on the exact same chassis as the ICE versions, so much so they didn’t make a new bumper for the electric version, instead opting to use a body colour blanking plate. You also have 309 litres of boot capacity and you can fold the seats down if that isn’t enough. Up front you’ve got a display for the instrument cluster, and either a 7″ or 10″ infotainment touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Build quality isn’t quite as premium as some of the other EVs I had the chance to test out at the SMMT Test Day, like the Mini Electric, but for the price it’s hard to argue.

As for the driving feel, it’s well suited to it’s market. It’s not exactly sporty, but it is comfortable and felt well grounded and safe. As will all EVs, it has great off the line acceleration and even a solid roll on. I wouldn’t feel out of place driving this most anywhere, and thanks to the 209 mile WLTP quoted range you should be able to do most journeys without trouble. It even allows for up to 100 kW of DC fast charging, giving it a strong leg up compared to the Renault Zoe.

For the price, it’s hard to argue the Corsa E isn’t a great deal. It’s main competition comes from… itself. Stellantis, the new parent company of both Fiat Chrysler and the PSA Groupe (who own Vauxhall and Opel) made the Peugeot e-208 based on the same platform meaning it’s pretty much the same car. I haven’t had the chance to drive the other variants yet, but seeing as they will drive and handle much like the Corsa E I can be sure they are a good option.