IF YOU'RE after a modern supermini, you can’t afford to ignore Vauxhall’s latest Corsa. reports.

As a sobering testament as to how quickly things move in the supermini sector, take a look at Vauxhall’s latest Corsa. This car was introduced at the end of 2000 but facelifted as recently as the autumn of 2004, proving that in the supermini market, you can’t stand still for long.

We’d hesitate to call this latest car a third generation Corsa as despite the revised front and rear ends and new engines on offer, it’s really more of a version two and a half.

It’s easy to understand why Vauxhall styled the current generation Corsa in such a conservative way prior to its 2000 launch. Buyers had cited the first generation car’s cheeky good looks as one of its key strengths and Vauxhall were unwilling to mess with a winning formula.

Unfortunately, what was seen as a strength became, in a surprisingly short period, something of a liability, hence the restyle which has given the Corsa a little more attitude with which to combat a crop of serious supermini contenders. Prices start at £6,995.

The first thing many will notice is the more aggressive underbumper air intake. The headlights are fashionably complex jewel effect units that Vauxhall dub ‘3D lamps’ due to the trio of cylindrical housings for low beam, high beam and indicators.

All models feature colour-keyed front and rear bumpers and these are fitted with impact-absorbent inserts to reduce the cost of typical supermarket car park knocks and scrapes.

Revised upholstery and brighter colours give the interior a classier feel and a number of 'big car' electronics functions such as follow-me-home lighting have been included. Electric speed sensitive steering and a shorter rack also quickens up the steering feel considerably.

No fewer than five engines are available – four petrol units and a common rail diesel powerplant. The 70bhp 1.3 diesel engine is comparatively new to the Corsa, Vauxhall proclaiming it as the smallest four-cylinder common rail diesel engine in the world. As claims go, it’s pretty modest and the same can be said for the engine’s thirst. It’ll average 62.8mpg and is fully compliant with stringent EURO4 emissions regulations.

A newly developed 90bhp 1.4-litre ECOTEC petrol engine is also one of the highlights, utilising twinport technology to give unparalleled economy. By using a variable length intake manifold and high rates of exhaust gas recirculation, the twin demands of engine breathing efficiency and low emissions are met.

Under 'partial load' the engine receives an additional 25 per cent of its fuel air mixture from the already burnt exhaust gas recycled back into the mix.

The advantages of twinport technology are achieved through a combination of fuel injection and exhaust emission control by three-way catalytic converter technology. This reduces technical complexity and consequently cost, making the twinport solution particularly attractive for superminis.

As a result, the 1.4-litre twinport equipped engine uses a full 13 per cent less fuel than its 1.4-litre predecessor, managing 47.9mpg on the combined cycle. A 60bhp 1.0-litre twinport petrol unit is also offered which notches up a 53.5mpg average, up three per cent on before. Alternatively, there’s a 1.2-litre twinport with 79bhp and a 48.3mpg average.

Opt for the 1.0-litre or 1.2-litre twinport petrol engines and you can mate them with the Easytronic automated transmission.

Leave this system in automatic mode and electronics determine the ideal gear ratio for the actual operating conditions and control the shifting process. Which is why you’ll use less fuel with Easytronic in ‘auto’ than you would in an equivalent manual Corsa.

If you want to shift gears yourself, simply move the shift lever out of the auto setting and push it forward (to change up) or pull it back (to change down). Vauxhall are well up with rapidly evolving conditions.