Vauxhall Corsa GSi goes on SALE – and it costs as much as a Ford Fiesta ST

The Vauxhall Corsa GSi, a car aimed at the Ford Fiesta ST-Line, will cost as much as the Fiesta ST at £18,995. On sale now.

Back in the spring, the Vauxhall Corsa GSI was revealed as Vauxhall looked to put a bit of affordable vim in to the Corsa range with a new GSi for the first time in a very long time. And it looked appealing.

As proper performance Vauxhalls with VXR badges don’t seem to be a priority in the PSA-owned world of Vauxhall, the GSI, we thought, would take the fight to cars like the Ford Fiesta ST-Line with lower power and lower cost than a Corsa VXR.

That is the plan, and offering a Corsa which looks a lot like a VXR but has less power and costs a chunk less is a good way to tempt in young buyers. But the plan seems to have a flaw. The Corsa GSi isn’t cheap.

As Vauxhall announce the Corsa GSi is now on sale in the UK, they also confirm the price. And they want £18,995 for their 148bhp Corsa GSI. Which is exactly the same as Ford want for their 197bhp Fiesta ST. 

True, the GSi will cost less to insure, especially for a young driver, than the Fiesta ST, but a Fiesta ST-Line with the 140PS three-pot costs less than the Corsa and will probably be a better drive.

To be fair, the GSI does come with 17″ alloys, infotainment with CarPlay and Android Auto, a VXR-look body and is lively-ish with a 0-62mph 8.9 seconds. And if you wish, Vauxhall will flog you a Plus Pack with 18″ alloys, Recaro leather seats and bi-xenon headlights. But that pushes the price up to almost £21k.

Even if Vauxhall mop up sales from those who just don’t want a Ford, the new Suzuki Swift Sport is an appealing alternative too. And it’s cheaper too.

It’s hard to see what Vauxhall are trying to do.