While other CARkeys staff members were in a position to accept Vauxhall's invitation to the launch of the new Corsa, I had to stay at base camp to sweep the floor, muck out the byre, re-catalogue Rufus's libel writs and so on. Therefore my first experience of the range was a matter of days ago, when this 1.4-litre 16-valve Elegance appeared in the compound wrapped up in a pink ribbon with the words "Drive Me" scrawled across the windscreen.Apart from the fact - widely noted elsewhere but worth repeating all the same - that somebody appears to have reversed a Fiat Punto into the GM design office shortly before work started on the Corsa's styling, the latest version is a smart update of the previous one. It's also slightly bigger, so there is more interior room - in fact for a small hatchback it is pleasantly spacious inside, and very much better than a lot of its rivals.The Elegance, being the poshest of all Corsas (it is second in line only to the sportier SRi in the range), has the most attractive upholstery colours. Use of the word "beige" at this point generally causes the heart to sink, but there are other colours as well, and the overall effect is quite successful. All the fittings seem very solidly attached, too, giving the impression that the car should be free of irritating rattles for a long time to come.So what else do you get if you buy an Elegance rather than a lesser model? Well, there's a choice of air-conditioning or a sunroof (the former in the case of the test car), plus a leather steering wheel complete with radio controls, heated mirrors, electric windows, front foglights and alloy wheels.Our example also had five doors, which is part of an increasing trend among Corsas. Vauxhall reckons that this is what the market wants, to the extent that it expects five-door sales to account for 40% of the total, as opposed to the 25% previously.Earlier Corsas, and their Nova predecessors, used to have spongy brakes and awful gear linkages, but this one was well up to scratch in both areas. It was also free of the alarming front-end bounciness which made the older cars - and indeed Tigras - so unpleasant to drive in the wrong circumstances.By no stretch of the imagination is the Elegance a sporty car, but it's light and precise and it doesn't tire you out. It's also quite nippy - a healthy 88bhp combines with relatively low gearing (19mph per 1000rpm in top) to give smart acceleration when needed.Motorway cruising is slightly strained because of the high revs, but Corsas are more likely to be used for town work than commuting, and on the whole I reckon Vauxhall has got the balance pretty much right.In fact, after a week behind the wheel I could happily say that this is by some margin the best Corsa I have ever experienced - certainly the most comfortable to drive in a variety of situations. I also suspect it may be the best Vauxhall of any sort I have tried for a very long time.
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