Vauxhall Corsa review

Wide opening doors really help when it comes to getting in and out of a car, and the Vauxhall's Corsa's open wider than most other small cars. With an aperture of 71 degrees, the Corsa's front doors open wider than the Citroën C3's (62 degrees) or Ford Fiesta's (63 degrees). The door sills are 392mm from the ground – pretty much what you'd expect from this sort of car – so there’s not too much of a step when getting in.

The driver’s seat height can be adjusted from 551mm to 594mm – broadly in line with other small cars, although the C3 is worth considering if you prefer a really lofty seating position. Even entry-level Design trim brings with it six-way adjustment for the driver's seat, and four-way adjustment for the front passenger seat, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a comfortable seating position.

At 697mm from the ground, the boot sill isn't so high that lifting heavy items in will present more of a struggle than in rivals, but there is a small drop between the sill and the boot floor. You’ll need to lift things over this when hauling them out of the boot.

There are cupholders in the front and back of the Corsa. The door bins in the front are a practical size and there's more useful open storage at the base of the centre console. The glovebox isn't especially big, though, and the door bins in the back of the car are pretty small.

A five-speed manual gearbox is standard with the entry-level engine and you can’t swap that for an automatic ‘box. If you want an auto, you’ll have to upgrade to the 1.2-litre turbo petrol, which isn’t a bad thing because it’s our pick of the range. There’s also the Corsa-e, which is electric and comes with an automatic gearbox as standard.