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Vauxhall

Friday, 25th of July 2008

The Corsavan comes with a powerful 1.3CDTi oil burner, which has 125lb/ft of torque and you have 90hp at the press of the accelerator. Right through the gears you can feel the 90 horses pull the Corsavan to your destination. The vehicle is front wheel drive and the engine is mated to a smooth shifting six-speed gearbox. To make your driving experience Vauxhall has given the steering speed-variable electric assistance – very handy when getting parked in town centres. There’s plenty of grunt left when you’re in the outer urban environment so if you need to go on a longer journey the Corsavan will be more than ample.

So how does the car-derived van get on when it comes to ride and handling? Its brilliant – coming from the Corsa Chassis, our Sportive model has lowered suspension you can feel how supple it is, which makes for a relaxing ride. Its road manners are refined which make journeys in the Corsavan a pleasure rather than a chore. It’s that good you can sometimes forget you’re driving a van.

You can see the there has been a lot of carry over from the Vauxhall Corsa – this is a good thing. The dash has that orange peel effect and all the gauges are neatly positioned and all the switches are within easy reach of the driver. Corsavan has service intervals of 20,000 miles. Vauxhall provides a three-year/60,000 mile warranty with no mileage limit in the first year. Roadside rescue and recovery is also provided for the first 12 months, and a six-year anti-perforation body panel warranty completes the package. The van looks the part too – the Sportive trim gives it a trendy look with the body coloured bumpers in metallic paint. It’s also got a roof spoiler, alloys and a sport exhaust, which really adds to the identity of this variant of the Corsavan.

Safety and security are high on the list for maker Vauxhall and the Corsavan is no different. Some of the equipment includes side-impact protection beams, energy absorbing steering column. There’s also a driver’s airbag to protect you in the aftermath of an accident while preventive measures include Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD). On the security side, you’ve got an electronic engine deadlock immobiliser Electronic and remote central locking with deadlocks for all doors, tailgate and fuel flap, while the audio kit is also pin protected.

Vauxhall has made good use of the limited available load space in the Corsavan — 0.9m cubed — and provides four load-tie rings to keep your goods in place when on the road. It has also got a half-height solid steel bulkhead; this can be topped-off to full height with an optional mesh grille. The all-important payload is 550kg.

Looks good, drives great - the Corsavan is the all round package for firms needing to get around town and on occasion venturing out on the open road. Vans can be fun to drive and the Corsavan proves this. The Sportive trim model makes the Corsavan a class act – it’s expensive at £11,298 but as with all things in life you pay for the look.