Of Corsa. It's Vauxhall's sunny delight (From Asian Image)

Of Corsa. It's Vauxhall's sunny delight

9:40am Friday 13th January 2012

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Sunny Melon! I ask you, is that a suitable colour for a car for a middle-aged and sometimes sensible man?

No matter. I’ve driven worse (a pink Nissan Micra convertible springs to mind, but that was for a breast cancer charity). I had no such excuses with this vivid Vauxhall Corsa.

It was electric yellow, which might have been a better title than Sunny Melon. These ‘in your face’ colours are traditionally a way of tarting up an unfashionable car and making it appear to be attractive to young people.

But Corsa is already, and I believe will remain, a popular young person’s car. It is smart, sensibly-designed and, most importantly, well priced.

Value for money is more important in these tough times, especially with better quality cheap and cheerful offerings flooding in from Kia, Hyundai, Chevrolet and co.

Corsa, which starts at £8,995, has another couple of features now designed to keep it at the top of the game: Easytronic and ecoFLEX.

Let’s deal with ecoFLEX first. This is Vauxhall’s low-emission, high-mpg engine which in this form is capable of more than 64mpg on a run, not bad for a small engine. The Easytronic bit refers to the semi-automatic transmission which is excellent, managing to be smooth at low speeds and efficient even on motorways.

No wonder Corsa are everywhere, a favourite with older drivers, learners and most people in between. But it would be naive to live off its reputation, and so understandably Vauxhall has taken the Corsa in for a little spruce up to keep it at the top of its game. Recent changes have included the suspension set up benefit from detail changes, whereas the latest model now has a series of design and specification enhancements.

Although the Corsa is one of the most familiar shapes on UK roads, it is easy to spot the latest version, thanks to the broad grin of the new grille. Just like those on larger models in the Vauxhall range, it has a wide band of chrome, flanked by new headlights which included daytime running lights. There’s a new bumper at the front too, while the rest of the car can be enhanced with a wide choice of colours and increase wheel options, including some particularly attractive 17-inchers finished in black.

If you’re already a fan of its looks the changes will help, while the undecided won’t deny it looks modern and fresh.

Climb inside and you are greeted by one of the better cabins in the supermini class. It feels sturdy and looks surprisingly expensive given the modest price tag.

New for 2011 are the seat trim options, both of which add colour and avoid the default shades of grey approach. You can add colour elsewhere too: the door trims, centre console, air vents and door handles can all be colour-coded. You’ll need to exercise restraint and apply some taste, but sitting in the colour-splashed cabin makes a refreshing change.

Another important change is the new Touch and Connect multimedia system, which brings sat-nav, Bluetooth connectivity and multi-input audio playback in one simple system. There’s a clear colour screen up the top and it’s good value too. Another big-car option is the heated steering wheel, which sounds like an irrelevance but first thing on a frosty morning it’s the next best thing to still being in bed.

With no changes under the skin this time around, you can take it as read that the Corsa drives well and makes life easy for the driver. The top-specification 1.7-litre diesel offers up strong torque from 2,000rpm which helps make life easy in town traffic as well as more than brisk acceleration if you’re in a hurry. It’s also pretty refined and avoids become too noisy at the higher end of the rev range.

But for me the 1.2 litre is better. It’s a lively unit and while the 0 to 60mph figure might sound unimpressive it is actually quite a nippy town car. Drive along any mix of typical British lanes – lumpy urban streets, patchy motorways and undulating B-roads – and the Corsa comfortably deals with them all.

Although there are newer rivals to contend with it filters out road imperfections without coming over all jelly-like through a tricky bend. Modern small cars get used for much more than just the high street run, so the Corsa’s ability to be a jack of all traders will satisfy most buyers. Some rivals may be more fun, but if it’s fun you’re after the hot VXR will take care of that.

There may have only been modest changes made over last year’s model, but that’s due to the fact it was a pretty well-sorted model in the first place.

One more thing: choose any colour other than yellow!