We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Car website. However, if you would like to, you can change your cookies at any time
The start point for the best source of fleet information |
|
|
||||||||
Vauxhall has joined the manufacturer rush to bring out a green brand.
By the end of this year the company will have three Ecoflex models on sale: a version of the new upper-medium car, the Insignia, an Astra, and the first car to market, the Corsa.
That's a good list, but no match for Volkswagen's Bluemotion line-up, which is now 12-strong.
Vauxhall has also taken a different approach to its green range compared to Volkswagen: Ecoflex is not so much a green model, as a green engine. To get the Corsa below 120g/km all Vauxhall has done is tweak the 75PS 1.3-litre diesel engine; it hasn't resorted to less sound deadening to save weight, clever aerodynamics, stop-start or low rolling-resistance tyres.
This means the only difference to the Corsa running experience is in the tax bill and fuel bill, which is ideal as this is an excellent supermini with a fun drive and high quality feel to the interior.
You can also order the Corsa Ecoflex in three trim levels from a basic Life, through Breeze to Club, and there's no premium for going green.
If you're looking for the minimum amount of tax then Life is the trim level for you. At a shade more than £10,000 and a 13% BIK band (thanks to the 119g/km CO2 output) a 20% tax payer would be handing over just £22 a month to the Government, while the employer would have an national insurance contribution of just £500 - over three years.
Fuel costs, too, are about as low as you're going to get in today's market, thanks to a combined consumption figure of 62.8mpg.
It is possible to find lower-taxed and fractionally more efficient cars, but none in the supermini category include the Corsa's lack of compromise on refinement.
BusinessCar magazine ©2019
Business Car Magazine © 2020 | Business Car is part of NS Media Group.
