The final post on this series about driving school cars is about another Vauxhall Corsa. This 2001 Corsa 1.0 Expression is identical to the one I learned to drive in towards the end of my learning career, except it has a different numberplate...
The 1.0 litre three cylinder Family 0 engine produces just over 60 bhp, but as the Corsa 'C' weighs so little, the car never seemed underpowered. The other amazing thing at the time was the electric power assisted steering, a real novelty on cars at the time. It meant that it lacked a bit of road feel, but it was really easy to park, and could be twirled with one little finger from lock to lock (although one would never do such things on a test).
The other revelation was the difference in interior quality between this and the older Corsa. These days, a Corsa 'C' interior seems quite tacky, but in 2001, it seemed high quality and well assembled. The ride and handling were probably OK (it was a while ago now), but the gearbox was typically vague with quite a long throw in the finest Vauxhall tradition.
I passed my test in the Saxo in September 2001, and have driven a fair few cars since...
