Vauxhall Corsa is Britain’s new best-selling car – and we can see why

SHOCK news. Britain’s best-selling car is NOT a Ford Fiesta.

For longer than I can remember, the Fiesta has ruled the new car sales chart.

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Come boom, bust or the credit crunch, it was miles ahead of anything else. But so far in 2021, the Vauxhall Corsa has nipped in front.

Why? I believe the answer, for the most part, lies in Ford’s own hands.

The Puma has been a huge ­success – a cracking Fiesta-sized SUV for only a few quid more.

And everyone wants an SUV these days. So Ford has been nicking its own sales.

Also, the Corsa now comes in all three flavours – petrol, diesel and fully electric – whereas the Fiesta doesn’t.

Plus, the Corsa is now a much, much better car than the Corsa of old.

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It’s basically a Peugeot 208 under the skin, sharing all the bits you can’t see with its French sibling – engine, gearbox, chassis, etc.

But you’d never know by looking at it. I’d wager the Corsa’s safe-to- the-point-of-being-really-rather-boring styling is also helping sales to a wider, ostensibly more sensible market.

It also, unexpectedly, handles ­better than the 208 thanks to the Vauxhall’s revised suspension, which makes it feel a dash more spirited behind the wheel.

And while the new Corsa is lower and longer, yet usefully narrower than previous models, it feels bigger than ever inside – at least in the front seats.

Meanwhile, the luggage capacity – now at 309 litres – is bigger to boot.

Stowing the rear seats, I managed to fit a full-size mountain bike in the back with some jiggery pokery.

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Only just, but it did fit.

The ever-popular Corsa was ­traditionally somewhat regrettable inside – but that has changed, too.

THE BEST CORSA YET

While in no way posh, of course, it does now look more the part, with a standard 7in (upgradable to 10in) touchscreen infotainment system with some actual buttons and a proper knob.

And for the more mature buyer who refuses to smartphone, you can also get a built-in satnav.

It’s not the greatest but it is yet another base covered.

The seats are more comfortable than any other Corsa you’ll ever have travelled in.

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It’s a fact most noticeable at the end of a long journey when you hit your ­destination and only then realise you have been comfortable ever since you set off.

Starting at £15,615 (while Vauxhall is offering a saving of £1,200), it’s not positioned as a budget box as such but as a decidedly accessible new car from a brand which British buyers have trusted and bought from for many decades.

With five levels of trim to choose from, you can push the price up to an alarming £25k for the Ultimate Nav spec, but the entry-level SE does come reasonably well equipped.

Other standard kit includes 16in alloys, LED headlights, lane assist, cruise control with intelligent speed limiter and speed sign recognition.

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The Vauxhall Corsa has not been the UK’s No1 previously for a bunch of reasons, not least desirability, ­driveability . . . and the Fiesta.

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But those reasons have fallen by the wayside. The best Corsa yet deserves to be the most successful.

Congratulations, Vauxhall.