Vauxhall Corsavan – the small van that gives you even more

With great about-town driveability, minimal running costs and a body shape that oozes style and chic, the all-new Corsavan is a vehicle which Vauxhall is rightly proud of.

But more than that, and unlike some of its rivals, New Corsavan is a purpose-built commercial vehicle. While it shares many of its components with the award-winning New Corsa car, a panel van was part of the model’s development programme from the very beginning, designed to cater for the needs of fleet users requiring city-bound service vans and small business users who want a van that has all of the driveability of a class-leading supermini.

New Corsavan suits both of those needs, and is an exciting addition to this rapidly-growing segment of the market. Even in its final full year, the previous Corsavan saw a sales increase of 18.1 per cent – the biggest percentage increase of any van on sale in 2006! Its contribution to the Vauxhall Commercial Vehicles brand helped the Luton-based manufacturer strengthen its position as the second best-selling LCV manufacturer in the UK, with 47,816 LCVs sold and a market share of 14.6 per cent. Parent company General Motors is also Britain’s biggest producer of Light Commercial Vehicles, with over 96,000 vans built at its plants in Luton, Beds and Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, during 2006.

The original Corsavan’s replacement may have a lot to live up to, but it’s a vehicle that’s up to the challenge. It has a uniquely-designed, purpose-built load bay with a ‘proper’ flat floor, a best-in-class payload of 550kg, a choice of lively yet frugal powerplants and the all-important benefit of good looks. With buyers clamouring to get behind the wheel of Vauxhall’s New Corsa, a car which smashed the company’s sales records with the highest ever number of pre-orders, Vauxhall is very proud to offer a commercial vehicle with the same visual appeal and dynamic abilities.

New Corsavan might be small on the outside, but it’s big in both ability and charm.

Style and Comfort

New Corsavan was designed from Day One to give operators more than the current model, and in so many different areas.

Bigger, more practical and even more fun to drive, New Corsavan is the perfect vehicle to complement New Astravan, which set the bar for new levels of comfort and driving dynamics at its launch last year.

And while there’s no denying that its sleek good looks are the most obvious key to its appeal, New Corsavan enjoys the same sturdy build, well-trimmed cabin and dynamically-developed chassis that have made the Corsa car such a success, thus making it a more than worthy companion to Vauxhall’s acclaimed ‘Driver’s Van’.

From the outside, smart body-coloured bumpers, full-width wheeltrims, and a choice of vibrant colours add to its appeal, while inside the funky cabin of the award-winning Corsa car is unchanged.

That means high-quality fabrics and plastics, a superb driving position and a curvy yet durable dashboard, with all of the key controls sensibly located within easy reach. Translucent backlit dials for the stereo and ventilation controls add further to the van’s youthful appeal.

The cabin is practical, too, with storage pockets in both doors and under the passenger seat, a spacious glovebox and a useful cubby hole/cup holder ahead of the gear lever.

Engines and transmissions

New Corsavan comes with either a 75PS 1.3-litre CDTi diesel or an 80PS 1.2-litre TWINPORT petrol engine,

The 1.3 CDTi is expected to account for the lion’s share of sales, and delivers 170Nm of torque between 1,750 and 2,500rpm, making it especially flexible, while the 1.2, which will appeal to the lower mileage customer or small business buyer, has an output of 110Nm of torque.

Both units have already been highly successful in the Corsa car, and are both responsive and economical. Whichever engine you choose, a five-speed manual gearbox comes as standard.

Both units are economical, which will make them appeal to both fleet and small business customers. In the Corsa car, the 1.2 TWINPORT returns a combined mpg figure of 48.7mpg and up to 60.1mpg in extra-urban driving, while the award-winning 1.3 CDTi returns 61.4mpg combined, or an astonishing 72.4mpg in extra-urban conditions – just the thing for the van user who wants to cover a high mileage, but without the expense of running a larger commercial vehicle.

Running costs are kept even lower by virtue of a 1E T2 insurance group rating – the equal lowest in class, and significantly cheaper than rivals such as the Peugeot 206 Van and Renault Clio Van.

Loadspace and security

Unlike most rivals, which are converted from supermini hatchbacks, New Corsavan was designed from the ground-up as a purpose-built van, which means it has an incredibly useful loadspace.

Access to the business end is easier than ever before, too, with a taller loading aperture and a low sill height, thanks to a large tailgate that lifts well out of the way to give you greater headroom, yet extends down into the bumper moulding to make the van easier to fill up with heavy or cumbersome objects.

A sturdy half-height steel bulkhead and durable plastic panelling around the edge of the load bay add further protection, while load lashing eyes are provided to help prevent shifting loads. Options include a full-size rubber floor mat (£75), an upper load restraint mesh (£65) and a very clever four-piece load compartment cover (£75), which was purposely designed to fit into the load bay and offer the same protection from prying eyes as would a parcel shelf in a hatchback, yet at the same time be easy to fit, fold and stow away.

Further security features include remote central door locking with deadlocks on both models, anti-theft protection for audio equipment, an electronic engine deadlock immobiliser and a dash mounted button which allows the doors to be locked or unlocked from the comfort of the driver’s seat. New Corsavan will also fit easily into a standard-sized garage, meaning you can lock your van – and its load – snugly away for the evening or weekend.

Driving dynamics and safety

One of the advantages of sharing its underpinnings with the Corsa hatchback is that New Corsavan is both rewarding and agile to drive, sharing the award-winning supermini’s excellent handling and rewarding steering feel.

Indeed, the electric power steering system features enhanced, speed-sensitive assistance, delivering more weight at speed and proving both light and responsive around town.

Although its dimensions may hint more at town or city driving, New Corsavan shines on the open road. Both its petrol and diesel engines are refined when cruising at the legal limit, while the stability of the chassis makes New Corsavan feel like a much bigger vehicle from behind the wheel.

For added peace of mind, buyers can add Vauxhall’s coveted ESP-Plus electronic stability programme, with its enhanced understeer control, for a highly affordable £215. ESP-Plus works in conjunction with the van’s traction control system to help you maintain control during adverse or emergency conditions. The ESP applies corrective braking to the appropriate wheel (or wheels), correcting slides and helping you to regain control more rapidly.

As well as active safety features, New Corsavan benefits from the same impact technology that helped the Corsa car achieve a top Euro NCAP safety rating. The body is designed to incorporate a number of crash zones, which spread the force of any impact and reduce its force upon the van’s occupants.

New Corsavan will also warn other motorists if you are in trouble – under heavy braking, if the ABS is activated and you are travelling at more than 18mph, all three brake lights will blink five times per second, while if an airbag is deployed in a collision, the van’s hazard warning lights will automatically switch on to warn other motorists.

Prices

Only one trim level of New Corsavan is available, with a choice of 1.2 petrol or 1.3 CDTi diesel engines.

In petrol form, New Corsavan costs £8,740, while in diesel form it’s available at £9,125, with both prices excluding VAT.

Standard equipment on both petrol and diesel models includes an integrated radio-CD player, body-coloured bumpers front and rear, side protection mouldings, central locking with deadlocks, electric door mirrors 14-inch wheeltrims and tinted tailgate glass, with options including air conditioning at £555, electric windows at £85, heated door mirrors at £75 and rear parking distance sensors at £225.