by David Morgan (06 Aug 07)

Whatever Vauxhall designers are putting in their tea these days, it works. Their new Corsa supermini is already a sales winner at bread-and-butter level and now the VXR flagship has turned the tables on the performance competition.

I've rarely come away from a small hot hatch with such a wide smile. The turbocharged 1.6 VXR Corsa is a classic mighty atom – a devil in disguise, a delight on a twisty road and refined to a level that it's easy to live with flat out or bumbling through traffic.

It's so good I can even forgive its square-bottomed steering wheel rip-off of the Audi original. The VXR is fast, taut, well-equipped and comfortable. It looks good, turns heads and sounds brilliant at high revs. This is a hot hatch star that mimics its outstanding lesser Corsa cousins thanks to careful design, quality trim and a clever balance of aggression and refinement.

Initially I wasn't too sure how I would feel about this slingshot. I'd heard stories of rock-hard ride, poorly-weighted power steering and an indifferent transmission with a notchy six-speed gate. Wrong! The ride is perfect – firm for precision blasts along demanding country roads but compliant enough not to leave its occupants all shook up and numb-bummed after a brisk drive. Round town it fidgets over uneven surfaces but dual-carriageway work is like driving on glass. Even road noise, that bugbear of most hot hatches, is well suppressed.

The steering could be more communicative. It lacks ultimate feedback, but I've driven a lot worse. Round town it's lifeless, but pick up the pace and it lightens up and helps the VXR feel like a kart.

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