I drove the new Vauxhall e-Corsa Anniversary Edition – it comes with four free pairs of socks

COMPETITION is a good thing. It keeps everyone on their toes.

We all want to see Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua clash.

Not Fury versus . . . me. It’d be over before the first bell. 

We all want to see Man City going toe-to-toe with Liverpool. Not Man City versus Dagenham.

For the last 40 years, one of the best punch-ups in the car world has been Ford Fiesta v Vauxhall Corsa (I’m including the Nova in that).

But as I told you recently, Fiesta will be axed within a year which means Corsa has lost its biggest adversary.

The big question is, will Vauxhall keep making this car? I think so.

The market is now wide open for Corsa and Vauxhall is taking full advantage.

Best seller by a country mile

Corsa has been Britain’s best-selling car for the last 18 months by a country mile.

It gets updated next year. Same visor-like face — think bike helmet visor — as Astra and Mokka. Same twin-screen dash. Plus, you can have an all-electric Corsa-e.

Shared costs within Stellantis, owner of Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat and others, also means that Corsa is cheaper to produce than Fiesta.

I’m told Ford makes more money from Lego licensing than it does Fiesta.

Ford will reveal an as-yet-unnamed electric SUV in November and there’s a Puma EV coming in 2024. But no Fiesta EV.

Now let’s discuss the car you see here.

This is the Corsa-e Anniversary Edition, celebrating 40 years of Vauxhall superminis, Nova and Corsa.

Limited to one thousand cars. Electric only. Painted in red and black only. Online orders only. The seats have a similar tartan pattern to the Eighties Nova SR. Nice touch.

And if you buy one, Vauxhall will throw in a collectors’ box with four pairs of socks — two pairs inspired by the classic Nova seat pattern, two pairs inspired by the modern Corsa seat pattern.

Or you can save yourself £31k by winning them all in my little competition, right.

As for the car itself, it’s a peach. Quiet, nippy, easy and massively comfy. B mode for harsher braking regeneration.

Range is now up to 222 miles. Recharging to 80 per cent takes 30 minutes at a public rapid charger. About 7hrs 30mins with a home wall box.

As a second car, Corsa-e is a solid choice. 

Maybe even as your only car if it is big enough and you don’t do big miles.

Just remember, battery-powered cars like summer but dislike winter, much like humans.

The cold eats range. The heated seats and heated steering wheel sound like a nice little bonus when it’s -5C in February but they come at your own risk.

By the end of 2028, Vauxhall will sell electric-only cars and vans. No petrol. No hybrids. Just electric.

Which means Corsa-e is future-proof.

With Fiesta dead, you can’t lose a one-horse race.

MORE COMING FROM VAUXHALL

THERE is a LOT of new stuff coming from Vauxhall over the next year or so. Here is what we know so far:

• Pure electric Astra-e and Astra-e Sports Tourer. Only the second electric estate after MG 5.
• Astra GSE and Grandland GSE. Like the old Astra GSi but electrified using a 225hp plug-in hybrid.
• Corsa facelift. See above.
• Crossland replaced “by a different animal” and renamed. Good. Crossland is the weak link in the Vauxhall line-up.
• Manta-E concept previewing what’s coming in 2025. The image on above is a render.

I was having a natter with Vauxhall design boss Mark Adams, pictured, the other day and he promised the rebooted Manta – the original Opel Manta is an Eighties rally icon – will blow your socks off.

He said: “All I will say is, when people see it they go, ‘Whoah. Not expecting that’.

“It really is a wow car. It’s about bringing the spirit and the DNA and that emotional connection but doing it in a progressive, modern way with leading technology and great functionality. We’ve got to deliver vehicles that fit with people’s lifestyles.

“I’m very excited about the products we’ve got coming on the horizon but that one definitely has a strong pull for me. You’ll like it.

 “Vauxhall is in this amazing transition phase. Not only did we have the ability to rewire the company in a different way because of the change of ownership but also because we made the commitment to go completely electric by 2028.

“What that does for design is open up all sorts of new and interesting doors for us. We reinvented Mokka in a more characterful way. The only thing the same is the name.

“When Crossland is replaced it will be a different animal again. We are a mainstream brand but see ourselves as an upper mainstream brand

“We think the execution of our cars and the quality and the technology demands people look at us in a different way.

Mokka has definitely done that. People are buying the more premium execution of our cars. We are hoping the same is true of Astra. People are positive about it.”

Finally, what is Mark’s vision for a tiny Vauxhall for megacities of the future?

He said: “We are considering not just standard typical vehicles, mobility solutions as well. Timing is everything.

“You can have a great idea but if you are a little bit before your time, or the infrastructure is not quite there, it doesn’t work. It has to gel with the surroundings.

“There is a lot to change to get to the urban environment of the future.

“We have to think differently. We can’t just be the car companies of old. Staying agile and being able to adapt during that transition is part of it. Otherwise you become a dinosaur very quickly.”