Vauxhall Corsa Electric review

Perhaps the renaming of this car to Vauxhall Corsa Electric is necessary to drive home to buyers that it is indeed the electric version, given how it looks just like the regular petrol model. It even has the same interior as the standard car, and is nearly as practical inside. The only differences are that where a petrol engine once lived, an electric motor now resides, and there’s a battery pack under the floor where the fuel tank used to be.

Certain buyers will appreciate how ‘normal’ it looks and feels – ideal for anyone nervous about driving an EV for the first time. Others will be charmed by how easy it is to drive, the real-world range of more than 200 miles, and its nippy performance, all qualities which we think count towards it being among the best small electric cars around. However, only the Yes trim could be considered good value for money, while other trims have ballooned to the point where you might consider a number of cheaper rivals instead.

Vauxhall Corsa Electric: Price, specs and rivals

The Vauxhall Corsa is one of Britain’s motoring institutions, and the latest version of the best-selling supermini is the most significant yet. Not only does the sixth-generation Corsa share its platform with the Peugeot 208, but - like its French sibling - it’s also available as an all-electric car. While the Peugeot E-208 has kept its name, Vauxhall’s equivalent was called Corsa-e at launch, but now has been rather unimaginatively renamed as the Corsa Electric. 

Nothing here should scare off buyers new to electric-powered cars, because the Corsa Electric looks almost identical to the regular petrol-powered Corsa. We’re well acquainted with the Corsa Electric’s 50kWh battery pack and 134bhp electric motor, because it’s used in various other zero-emissions SUVs, vans and people carriers built by other brands in the Stellantis group, including Citroen, DS, Fiat, Jeep, and Peugeot. 

There’s no shortage of competition in the small electric car segment, including the E-208 mentioned earlier, which has a more premium feel and significantly sharper looks than the Corsa Electric. And let’s not forget that the E-208 offers just as much range.

​Meanwhile, the Fiat 500 and MINI Cooper bring funky, retro-inspired looks and some slick infotainment systems to the proceedings, though being smaller city cars, none of them can quite match the Corsa Electric’s range or practicality. It’s a similar story with the distinctive-looking Ora 03 (formally known as the Funky Cat) hatchback, which might have a similar price tag to the Corsa, but we found it lacking in sophistication and very limited in boot space.

However, the MG4 is the Corsa Electric’s strongest rival. It’s cheaper, yet more spacious and practical, plus it can go even further on a single charge. Whether you like or loathe the looks of the MG4 is up to you, but in terms of value for money, it’s got the Vauxhall licked.

There are now two battery sizes offered in the Corsa Electric (50kWh and 51kWh), and customers can pick from four trim levels: Design, Yes, GS, and Ultimate. Design trim gets you LED lights, 16-inch wheels, rear parking sensors, climate control and a 10.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Then there’s the sportier-looking Yes model, which comes with everything a Design trim has, but costs significantly less. It comes with various black exterior details, sports seats in the front, and is available in a choice of four free colours.

GS trim adds larger 17-inch alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera, sat-nav, and blind spot monitoring. Top-of-the-range Ultimate cars are fitted with Matrix LED headlights, heated front seats, adaptive cruise control, wireless phone charging, and a panoramic rear-view camera.

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The Corsa Electric uses a single electric motor to drive the front wheels, much like the regular petrol Corsa. Both power outputs feel similarly nippy around town due to having a responsive accelerator pedal, which is typical of an EV. The near-instant torque from the electric motor makes the 0-30mph dash very swift despite the 1544kg kerbweight. 

It’s a fine car to drive around town, with light and reasonably precise steering helping to boost agility in built-up areas and around roundabouts, the typical roads this car will spend its life on. Grip is also decent, and thanks to the heavy battery pack keeping the weight low in the car, the Corsa Electric doesn’t lean too much in the bends and doesn’t feel out of place on a twisty country road. It’s safe and predictable, rather than fun. For that, you’ll need to go for an MG4, because its rear-wheel-drive setup and extra power affords much more adjustability to the driving experience.

The ride is smooth enough for the most part. The extra weight and slightly stiffer suspension compared with the normal Corsa means it starts to feel a little lumpy over poor road surfaces. On the motorway, the Corsa Electric cruises with relatively low levels of road noise. There is a little bit of wind noise over the chunky door mirrors, though. 

The Corsa Electric’s two-stage regenerative braking system works well, with the ‘B’ setting providing a decent amount of stopping power when you lift off the throttle. It’s more intuitive than it sounds, and with enough anticipation, you can slow enough for roundabouts without needing to use the brakes.

0-62mph acceleration and top speed

With the electric Corsa, you can choose between two power outputs, ranging from 134bhp to 154bhp. We say that, but the power output does vary depending on which drive mode you’re in. For example, if you’re in the 134bhp version and stick with the car’s default Normal mode, you have 108bhp on tap; only when you toggle the selector switch into Sport do you get the car’s full 134bhp. Conversely, switch to Eco, and you’re restricted to 81bhp and have a much softer response to throttle pedal inputs, while each setting naturally varies the range you can expect.

According to Vauxhall, when Sport mode is engaged, the 134bhp Corsa Electric will do 0-62mph in 8.9 seconds; the more powerful 154bhp drops this down to 8.2 seconds. That’s very nippy for a supermini, but even the entry-level MG4 is quicker than this, managing the same 0-62mph dash in 7.7 seconds.

The strong surge of acceleration in the Corsa Electric starts to tail off once you get up to motorway speeds, but you’ll find that’s the case in most of the electric Corsa’s rivals.

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This is where you’d hope the Corsa Electric scores well, and in many respects, it does. The chunky 50kWh (47kWh useable) battery under the floor isn’t bad in a car of this size and packs enough juice for an official range of 222 miles – about the same as an entry-level MG4 offers. 

It’s worth noting that the slightly larger 51kWh (48kWh usable) battery boosts the electric supermini’s official WLTP range up to 246 miles, although that can’t match the Extended Range MG4 with its much larger 77kWh (74.4kWh useable) battery and up to 323 miles of range. 

As far as rapid charging goes, the Corsa Electric’s 100kW maximum charging speed is somewhere around the middle of the pack – certainly better than the 50kW the Fiat 500 maxes out at, but not quite as fast as the 150kW you can reach in the MG4. Both the 50 and 51kWh models have the same quoted charge times, so a 10-80% top-up (roughly going from 25 miles of remaining range up to just under 200 in the 51kWh car, depending upon outside temperature and driving conditions) from a suitably fast rapid charger will take 30 minutes, while a standard 7.4kW home wallbox will take just under eight hours to fully charge each battery pack from flat.

Those who are tech savvy can get somewhat of a bargain with the 50kWh Yes trim Corsa that’s only available to order online, because it starts at just under £27,000. That saves around £5,500 (at the time of writing) compared with the Desgin trim, which starts at around £32,500. Even with the discount, that’s still about £4k more expensive than our preferred 99bhp 1.2 petrol Corsa in mid-range GS trim. Thankfully, the electric version’s exemption from road tax (VED) until 2025 and 2% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) company car tax rate help with the day-to-day running costs.

Insurance groups

The Corsa Electric’s insurance ratings of group 26 and 30 (the latter, oddly, being the cheapest Yes trim) are a lot higher than for the petrol Corsa, the worst of which ends in insurance group 19. Still, it isn’t as high when compared with the MG4, which lands in groups 27 to 40 – although the latter one is for the hot 435bhp XPOWER version.

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Depreciation

The Corsa Electric is predicted to shed its value at quite an alarming rate. It’ll only retain between 33 to 41 per cent of its value over three years and 36,000 miles, with the best being the 50kWh You trim, and the worst being the 51kWh GS model. The MG4 does much better, with the Trophy Long Range and XPOWER keeping around 52% of their respective values over the same period.

Longer PCP deals have been created for those looking to buy on finance to help soften the blow of this steep depreciation curve, but that’s still quite a large drop in value to have to take on the chin.

To get an accurate valuation on a specific model check out our valuation tool...

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There isn’t much visual difference between the petrol Corsa and the Corsa Electric. One has an exhaust pipe, and the other has a plug socket under the fuel filler flap and a small ‘e’ badge on the tailgate – ideal for those not keen on standing out. 

There are six colours to choose from. White is the free one, which is disappointing when your Peugeot E-208 counterpart has a vibrant yellow for free.

The straightforward interior layout of the Corsa Electric gives you little clue as to the car’s powertrain. The only giveaway is that the conventional dials used in other Corsas are replaced by a seven-inch digital driver’s display. Some will like how simple the cabin is, but in our opinion, it’s a shame there’s not at least a little more flair, something the E-208, which the Corsa Electric shares its platform with, has in spades.

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

As standard, you get a ten-inch touchscreen which is packed with features, but it can sometimes feel a bit slow to respond. It is fairly straightforward to navigate, making it easier to live with than the rather fiddly menu layout used in the MG4.

All screen sizes in the Corsa Electric have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity. The mid-tier GS adds a satellite navigation system and a wireless smartphone charging pad. A six-speaker sound system is standard across the range and cannot be upgraded.

You can view your remaining range, schedule charging times, and remotely pre-condition the battery and cabin temperature via an app.

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The regular Vauxhall Corsa has been designed to accommodate an electric variant from the outset, so there’s little penalty in terms of cabin or boot space compared with the petrol-powered model.

Comfort levels are good, with plenty of seat and wheel adjustment and well-shaped seats. Visibility is obstructed by thick roof pillars and a small back window, which is why opting for mid-range GS is likely to be a good idea, because this trim comes with front and rear parking sensors, and a reversing camera.

There are plenty of places to stash everyday items like phones and keys, and the door bins are big enough for bottles. The glove box is just as small as it is in the Peugeot E-208, which is a bit annoying if you want to keep valuables out of sight.

There’s seating for five in the Corsa Electric, although adults will have a much easier time in the front than in the back.

Size

The Corsa Electric is exactly the same size as the regular combustion-powered Corsa, which means it’s 4,060mm long, 1,765mm wide and 1,433mm tall.

For some comparison, the MG4 is 227mm longer, 71mm wider, and 71mm taller.

Leg room, head room & passenger space

Cabin space is unchanged from the regular Corsa despite the need to stash batteries within the same footprint. That’s good news for those sitting in the front, where the regular Corsa is considered to be pretty spacious. It’s just a shame that taller people in the rear will still find themselves a little more cramped than they would be in an MG4

As per the regular petrol Corsa, the rear door opening is small and awkwardly shaped for taller people to get in, which will also make it trickier for parents to put children in their car seats. Two ISOFIX points are mounted on the outer positions of the rear seats.

Boot

The Corsa Electric has no underfloor storage like the petrol Corsa, reducing its total boot capacity from 309 to 267 litres and leaving you without anywhere to keep your charging cables besides a bag rolling around the boot floor. Nevertheless, the Corsa Electric still trumps many other small electric cars for luggage capacity. The cheaper and larger MG4 has a negligible 22 litres of additional boot space on the Vauxhall, while the practical BYD Dolphin has an extra 76 litres of space.

Fold the rear seats down, and you’re left with 1,076 litres of space to play with, just slightly less than the 1,118 litres in the regular Corsa.

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While the Corsa Electric itself didn’t feature in the most recent 2023 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, the Vauxhall brand came in 24th out of 32 manufacturers in rankings. That puts it above fellow small electric car manufacturers Renault and MG, but behind Nissan, Honda, and Peugeot.

There are plenty of standard safety features on-board, from driver, passenger, side and curtain airbags, to preventative systems like automatic emergency braking (AEB), brake assist, forward collision alert and speed sign recognition to help keep you out of trouble in the first place. However, the four-star Euro NCAP crash-test rating (out of a maximum of five) the Corsa received in 2019 is a little disappointing compared to its competition. Its score was penalised due to concerns raised with the rear head restraints and their protection level against whiplash. If safety is your primary concern, then look at newer rivals such as the BYD Dolphin and MG4, which have both been tested under the latest and most stringent testing criteria and received a maximum five-star rating.

Warranty

Like every new Vauxhall, the Corsa Electric gets a fairly standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty, which is fairly typical for the class, but falls somewhat shy of the seven-year/80,000-mile policy of the MG4.

Every Corsa Electric has a separate eight-year or 100,000-mile battery warranty. If the battery’s usable capacity drops below 70% during that time, Vauxhall will replace it for free.

Servicing

The Corsa Electric needs an initial service after one year or 8,000 miles, whichever comes soonest, then it’ll need to be serviced every two years or 16,000 miles from that point onwards. That gives electric owners a distinct advantage, as the petrol Corsas require maintenance every 12 months, which inevitably raises your running costs – even with a service plan.