Vauxhall's new Corsa-e will likely meet many impatient friends, open to the idea of a 100% electric car, but without the time and inclination to charge its battery.
Why? It will arrive next April with a fast charging capacity of 100 kW to recharge the 50 kW battery. This feature isn't an extra either, and it could appeal to a lot of people who would otherwise have to charge a battery before heading to a gas station to refuel.
A five minute or potentially many minute pit stop while waiting for these battery bars to rebuild is perhaps the reason why many of us decided to catch fire by switching to an EV. This is still the most frustrating aspect of owning an electric car and it mostly concerns the infrastructure.
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(Image credit: Rob Clymo)
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Having a car that can be recharged quickly is a definite advantage. Plus, with its very promising charging potential, the Corsa-e could really find the right classification, assuming it can find a vacant 100 kW charging station.
In real terms, this means that you can travel about 160 miles in half an hour, which is certainly very convenient. Vauxhall also notes that the Corsa-e has a 205-mile range, which has been verified through WLTP certification. The car will also come with a quieter 11kW charger, allowing you to charge at home in about 7.5 hours with a home wall box.
Plug and play
Other than that, there's certainly nothing too revolutionary about the Corsa-e in the looks department, but Vauxhall isn't really the benchmark for controversial design lines. What you get is a pretty simple car with not too many surprises.
It is interesting to note that the Corsa-e will also be available as a gasoline and diesel option and therefore the charging port is where the normal fuel filler cap is. Investing in these charging bays with a boring short cable may be the only option in this regard.
Although this is not a big problem, it will be interesting to see if this provokes a reaction from those who prefer to stop in a bay to recharge the battery in stores. Another reason why, for example, the new Renault Zoe works so well, as it has a charging socket at the front of the car.
Elsewhere, while you get some references to the fact that it's an "e" model, the Corsa looks conventional from every angle. The front and rear ends get the job done, while the centrally located wick doesn't offer crazy access to the interior through four doors, as in the example below. However, the 17-inch alloy wheels of press day offered a much-needed spirit of excitement.
Premium Keys
The overall impression is similar when you look at the interior style. This is a fairly balanced presentation of meat and potatoes that will please many people who love and have purchased the currently best-selling Corsa.
That said, Vauxhall clearly had the guts to add a touch of luxury to spice up the interior, at least with its Elite Nav-trim model. The seats provide enough space for four adults. Also, the car is surprisingly low in this regard. Headroom is not compromised.
In fact, the battery seems to have cleverly housed in the bottom of the Corsa-e, which means that the proposed room makes you quickly forget that you are riding in a trio of cells on the floor plan. At the back, thankfully, the boot space is quite large for your weekly grocery store, which is probably the kind of ride the Corsa-e will be used for in many cases. We'd like to see how it copes with larger objects, like a folding stroller, for example.
Vauxhall Corsa-e will also have a fairly robust technical spec. As buyers now expect, the levels of features and functionality that we find inside are quite robust. Apple Car Play and Android Auto, for example, are part of the package, as is Bluetooth sound and wireless smartphone charging. There's a 10-inch touchscreen on the dash, which is great on the eyes and allows access to options like your favorite in-car apps. The cheaper entry-level SE Nav model comes with a smaller seven-inch touchscreen. Active Lane Assist, meanwhile, is one of the safety highlights.
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(Image credit: Rob Clymo)
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(Image credit: Rob Clymo)
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(Image credit: Rob Clymo)
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(Image credit: Rob Clymo)
At the bottom, the center console is equipped with a speed selector, which allows you to select the driving modes, with the options Normal, Eco and Sport. Although the Eco offers, unsurprisingly, the lowest battery power consumption, the sport mode will allow you to take full advantage of the 134 horsepower of the engine. Battery power reserves will certainly suffer, even if regenerative braking allows cells to power down the road. Eco mode, on the other hand, offers access to 81 hp, which is enough for driving around town.
However, the nature of the Corsa-e road has yet to be determined, as Vauxhall has so far restricted most journalists to a passenger route, most recently at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in Leicestershire. We first saw the Corsa-e at the Frankfurt Motor Show, where it sported the Opel badge. The same can be said for their Vauxhall marked edition here in the UK, especially the blue example in these photos. This is not a puzzle, but we like unobtrusive lines.
The next step is to get behind the wheel and put it in place, as well as this fast-charging potential, at your own pace. An uneven charging infrastructure allows it. On the pricing side, the base model will start at € 26,490 (around USD 34,000, AU 49,000) after the UK government grant, making it competitive.