Vauxhall Corsa hatchback - Interior & comfort

Think of a Corsa and you'll probably imagine a first car or budget runaround, but the fifth-gen model is more sophisticated than ever. The latest Corsa is more luxurious and advanced than ever before, and may pleasantly surprise anyone looking to downsize from a larger car.

Its new chassis manages to isolate the interior from outside noises far more effectively than the old car. Even at motorway speeds, there's less road and tyre noise, making progress more relaxed.

Vauxhall Corsa dashboard

While class champions Volkswagen seem to be downgrading the quality of some of its new interiors, the Corsa takes a definite step up. Soft-touch materials now adorn the top of the dashboard and tasteful colour-coded trim spans the dashboard.

Most trims feature a seven-inch touchscreen, which is replaced by a 10-inch display in the range-topping Ultimate model, and if you put sticky tape over the badges you could almost think you're sitting in an Audi. There are some physical controls too, making controlling the heating and ventilation easier than having to use the central screen. There's also a physical volume button and a set of shortcut keys to quickly access important features.

A digital instrument panel is also offered but we found it odd that it doesn't fill the space on offer, making it look cheaper than rivals with wider displays.

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Equipment

Vauxhall has stuck with its familiar trim levels, so SE Edition is the entry-level model. Unlike some older Corsas, alloy wheels come as standard, along with a leather steering wheel, LED headlights and the seven-inch display. SRi Edition is sportier, with a black roof, tinted windows, LED front fog lights and LED rear lights. It also gets a Sport driving mode and useful features like electric rear windows, rear parking sensors and an alarm. When it was available, the Griffin trim carried over most of the features from the regular SRi model, adding a panoramic rear-view camera, heated front seats and steering wheel, and automatic headlights.

Elite Edition offers yet more convenience items, such as sat nav, folding door mirrors, a rear-view camera, front parking sensors, a Winter Pack and ambient mood lighting. Ultimate is even more surprisingly well-equipped for a supermini, boasting a 10-inch screen, massaging leather seats, Matrix LED headlights and keyless entry, but it's also rather pricey and only available with the 99bhp petrol and an automatic gearbox.

Options

Vauxhall tended to offer trims within trim levels until recently. Before, it was possible to upgrade to Nav specification to add sat nav, for example, but now it seems one of the few options to pick is the colour of the car, costing between £320 and £650.