Vauxhall has announced prices for its Corsa GSi.
The sporty version of the Corsa will cost from £18,995.
Essentially a warm hatch rather than a hot hatch, it sits under the more potent VXR in the Corsa line-up.
Both models are built on a similar chassis and use a 1.4 litre turbocharged petrol engine with a short ratio six-speed manual gearbox.
While the VXR produces an hefty 205bhp, the GSI only musters 150bhp. That’s still plenty of power for a supermini though, and the GSI will have a good turn of speed.
It will do the 0-62mph sprint in 8.9 seconds and run out of puff at 129mph – by contrast the VXR hits 62mph from rest in 6.8 seconds and goes on to 143mph.
The £18,995 cover price nets you a standard specification that includes 17-inch dual-tone alloy wheels, GSi-specific rear spoiler, front grille and bumpers, dark tinted rear windows, carbon-effect mirrors, and LED daytime running lights.
Inside, customers benefit from sports seats, a leather steering wheel with a flat bottom and an IntelliLink 4.0 infotainment display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
For those after a bit of extra specification, there’s the GSi Plus Pack. This upgrades the wheels to 18-inches, adds leather Recaro seats and bi-xenon headlights. It’s an additional £1,900 on top of the initial price of the car.
There’s no denying that the Corsa has some strong rivals at this price point. Chief among them are the Suzuki Swift Sport, which costs less than £18,000, and the brilliant Fiesta ST which starts at an identical £18,995.
Though the Ford’s specification isn’t quite as generous as the Vauxhall’s, it does offer 197bhp from its 1.5-litre engine and will crack 0-60mph in 6.3 seconds – over two seconds faster than the Corsa.
Company car drivers with their sensible hats on may prefer the Corsa, however. As a company car, the Corsa GSi will cost drivers (20% taxpayer) less than £100 per month in Benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax.
The Corsa GSi is available to order now, with first deliveries arriving in September.