Having heard that my sister in law has for financial reasons had to trade in her quashquai for a smaller car,( which i am sure many people have had to do) i found out what that change was.- Basic 1.2 Corsa.

Out of pure curiosity i thought I would do a price comparison on 2 main competitors - Skoda & Ford. Here is what i found trying using the following criteria

• 1.2 engine with power as close as possible
• No extras added
• No cost extra colour ( which Red was the most common ).

Corsa,S,1.2i 16v VVT, Manual 5-speed - 3 Door 63 KW engine £ 11970,

Fabia,S, 1.2 12v Manual 5-Speed - 5 Door 60ps engine £9765

Fiesta,Studio, 1.25 stageV Manual 5 speed - 3 door 60 PS engine £9495 ( discounted on web take off £500)

The Fiesta & Fabia prices are close not including any discounts you can get & I deliberately didnt add the Polo or ibiza as these are VW brands.

After hearing on this mornings news that vauxhalls parent company are loosing money in Europe suppose it shouldnt really surprise me given the price above, & the not very good reputataion that the brand has around build quality, & dealers. What was a real surprise is that they may close their most efficient plant in europe ( Elsmere Port) & move production to a less efficient plant on mainland europe -

Now wouldnt that be one of the strangest business decisions around, along with the VW idea of decontenting Skoda range to coax people into buying VW's again

I would much prefer the Fabia as it has 5 doors.

The only reason I would want Vauxhall to remain is for the jobs, they have long since been producing GM cars, so there is no heritage as such, apart fromt he name.

With regards to efficiency, it depends how you calculate it, cars per worker or cars per sterling. I have no knowledge of Ellesmere Port facilities, the efficiency may be quoted as cars per worker. Furthermore, if technology in the plant is quite old, it may not be competitive in the next decade and building a new plant may be altogether more efficient.

Look on drive the deal and get accurate prices instead of rrps. Vauxhall can't give them away. I would check but I'm mobile today!

http://www.perrys.co.uk/vauxhall-corsa-1.0-ecoflex-s-3-door/new-and-delivery-mileage/offer-191093-12197#?vehDTech

That's 65bhp from a 1.0 and matches the price before discounts

Arnold Clark

New Corsa 1.2 SXI = £8995

New Fiesta 1.25 style = £8941

New Fabia 1.2 S = £8295

IMHO 60hp is no way near enough to haul these fat lardy cars that get called small cars these days.

You have to thrash the guts out of them to get anywhere meaning pretty poor economy in real life and (relatively)short engine life.

If she must then I'd pick the Ford or the Fabia. I suspect the Ford will hold it's money best.

If I had £8-9k to spend on a small car is wouldn't be on one of these.

What about a 61 plate Mazda 3 1.3 TS = £7995

Cheaper and 75hp

Or for basic motoring with a warranty what about an 09 Kia Ceed for £6k.

Still got as much warranty left as the others.