Used Vauxhall Corsa cars for sale or finance at 10.9% APR

Officially, the Vauxhall Corsa is categorised as a supermini, but that term makes it sound really small. Like many similarly sized cars, the Corsa is plenty big enough for four adults (five at a pinch). Unless you need lots of luggage space or have tall friends, a car like the Corsa could be all you need.

At 4.06m long, it’s marginally longer than a Renault Clio or SEAT Ibiza, but it’s ever-so-slightly lower than both of those cars – and you can feel that in the back seats. It’s bigger than the previous Corsa. Both the Clio and Ibiza manage to be more practical, though, especially in terms of boot space. The 309-litre boot is about 10% smaller than the Ibiza’s boot, so the difference probably won’t be a dealbreaker.

Unless you’re planning to take your Corsa up and down the country, the answer to this is probably a petrol engine. There are several to choose from: an entry-level offering that brings the cheapest insurance, then a couple of more powerful options. If they don’t suit, the Corsa can also be had with a diesel engine or a fully electric powertrain.

Vauxhall Corsas share parts with a few other cars, so these parts should be very well tested by now. Reliability is hard to predict in any car, but this parts sharing and development points to the Corsa being dependable. As is the case with most modern cars, glitches with the on-board tech are much more likely than powertrain failures – and often these can be fixed with a software update at a dealership. The electric Corsa is likely to be the most reliable version, as it has far fewer moving parts (and a longer service interval) than the petrol Corsa.

Insurance groups have jumped a little for the latest generation Corsa which launched at the end of 2019. The most affordable models are grouped around 10-12, while the most expensive Corsas are groups 17-19 for manual cars and up to group 22 for automatic models.

Electric-powered Corsa insurance groups are usually around 25, making them a little more expensive to cover than fuel-driven models.

Pre-2019 Corsas have low insurance groups, ranging from 3 for the most affordable models through to 8 for the most expensive, so annual cover shouldn't be too expensive.

SRi and SXi are trim levels for the Vauxhall Corsa – both designed to have sporty looks to mark them out from lesser versions. SXi was discontinued in 2015 and has not been offered on the fifth or sixth-generation cars released since then.

SRi gets sportier looks than the standard Corsa, with cars from 2020 onwards featuring a cool contrast-colour black roof. SRi trim is often bundled with a 'Premium' or 'Nav' package that adds extra interior goodies along with larger alloy wheels. SRi isn't available with the entry-level engine either, so you end up with a little more power under the bonnet to match the sporty looks.

When it was available, SXi trim came with the visual upgrades of SRi models including the larger alloys and sharper styling, but kept the more affordable entry-level engines. This version was more about the 'show' than the 'go'.

In short – yes, the Vauxhall Corsa makes a great first car.

Insurance groups for 2020-onwards Corsas are a little higher than before, but are still competitive with the likes of the Ford Fiesta and among the lowest you'll find in the UK.

You also get an easygoing driving experience, a refined cabin and a simple-to-use touchscreen infotainment system. Safety is substantially improved over older Corsas, too, with all models getting automatic emergency braking and lane-keep assist as standard.

Pre-2020 Corsas have even lower insurance groups, so will cut a decent chunk off your annual premium, but the interior and styling feel a little dated compared with the current model.