New 2027 Vauxhall Corsa aiming to set the supermini standard

A brand new Vauxhall Corsa will be arriving in 2027 and it’s primed to revolutionise the supermini class. Destined to be available in both full-electric and hybrid forms, this new version of Vauxhall’s traditionally conservative hatchback will turn up the volume in terms of tech, and offer a sporty range-topper. 

Destined to be priced right at the heart of the supermini class somewhere between £25,000 and £35,000, the new Corsa should undercut the current generation car when it arrives in the UK. This will put it right up against the Renault 5, plus new offerings including the Cupra Raval, the next Peugeot e-208 and the Volkswagen ID.2. 

Unlike the current generation Corsa, which was a quick-fire development project as Vauxhall was integrated into the larger Stellantis group, this all-new generation car has been given time to evolve into a more sophisticated supermini. It’ll do this by packing the latest and greatest tech from Vauxhall’s parent company, underpinned by a brand new platform. 

The best bit is that thanks to the new Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo concept car that’ll be displayed at this year’s Munich motor show, we can also reveal what the new Corsa might look like. Ignoring some of the concept’s more extreme design elements, our exclusive image reveals how the production car will shape up. 

The new Vauxhall Corsa’s arrival in showrooms is still some way off but if you’re in the market for a new supermini now there are plenty of options at your disposal. Check out the Auto Express Buy A Car service and you’ll find pre-registered versions of the current Corsa in stock with discounts of up to £7,000 on list price. 

How will the new Vauxhall Corsa’s design shape-up?

Mark Adams, Vauxhall’s director of design, assured us the Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo concept and the road-going 2027 Corsa are inextricably linked, sharing their core design language, bodywork and lighting designs. 

He told us: “This vehicle clearly combined not just the GSE vision, but we took Bold and Pure, which is our design philosophy, to the extreme.”

Look past the huge wheel arches and exaggerated bumpers and you’ll note a range of familiar design elements that have been refined and placed onto a more confident and resolved body. 

Mark Adams continued: “I think the future reference you can already see with the signature elements, with the Vizor, with the sheer surfacing, but it’s not boxy. It’s still got some voluptuousness to it. We can really see it when we’re standing back.” 

But beyond the body, there are two key design elements that will be directly transferred into the new road-going Corsa. The first is that well-known Vauxhall Vizor grille, which traditionally has integrated the headlights into a single black panel across the nose surrounded in either chrome or black trim. For the future generation, the Corsa will shed the outer rim of the Vizor to feature a slimmer, cleaner look. 

This has change has already been referenced in Vauxhall’s other new models like the Grandland, but Mark Adams went on to tell Auto Express: “You’ll notice the Compass lighting signature, which we’ve already started to evolve it into something that truly lines up with the horizontal part of the Compass with these blocks. We’re really building more on the Compass lighting signature for the future.”

Vauxhall has done this by putting lighting elements at the centre of the vizor, rather than around its edges. This is enabled by the use of new compact LED lighting up front that’s more subtle and integrated than the current generation Corsa’s. 

Like many current Vauxhalls, the roof will be available in a contrasting colour. However, this time, rather than using black or silver trim to split the colours, it’ll happen more organically on the C-pillar without any plastic trim. The production car will also feature four-doors, rather than the concept’s two.

The production car should also see a simplified version of the concept’s glazed rear end, with a more traditional tailgate and lighting. We do expect the full-width rear lighting, including another Compass motif, to survive alongside a more geometric and aggressive rear bumper. 

Vauxhall is also rightly proud of the triangular rear wing, which it’s hoping to bring into production on the future Corsa GSE.  

What do we know about the Corsa’s new platform?

Just like the current car does today, the new Corsa will share its underpinnings with the Peugeot 208. In this case both cars will be on the brand new STLA-S architecture. This is more than just a small update, because the new platform will be Stellantis’ first ‘software-defined vehicle’. 

A software-defined vehicle, in effect, means that all of the car’s electronic elements talk in one common language through the one control unit, or ECU. This both reduces complexity and allows the car to support more complex electronics and new-age hardware.

One such element could be a steer-by-wire system, as previewed by the Corsa GSE concept and its yoke-style steering wheel. Adding fuel to this rumour is the fact Vauxhall’s technical partner Peugeot is working on a similar set-up with its Hypersquare system. This won’t be standard on all Corsas, but could democratise a technology that so far has only really been seen on more expensive models. 

What will power the new Corsa?

The new Corsa will be available in pure-electric and hybrid forms, the latter using an upgraded version of the current turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine and a 48V mild-hybrid system. A plug-in hybrid option is unlikely because the platform is just too small to support so much mechanical hardware. 

However, the new generation Corsa range will be led by its electric models, and we expect a range of new motors and batteries to be available. The battery size isn’t expected to grow too much from the current model’s 54kWh, but there will be gains in efficiency and therefore range. It will power a single, front-mounted e-motor, with various power outputs across different models. 

By contrast, the Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo concept is driven by a dual-motor layout powered by an 82kWh battery pack, although this combination isn’t likely to reach production. What will reach showrooms is a slightly more sensible high-performance GSE production model that will share many elements with the next-generation Peugeot 208 GTi. Another high-riding Mokka SUV spin off will also be on the cards too, sharing the same STLA-S platform and its key technical features. 

What will be the rivals and alternatives to the new Corsa?

By 2027 the supermini class will feature a range of fresh rivals that will make the new Corsa’s life quite difficult. The big one comes from Volkswagen, which has a new Polo-sized electric ID.2 that’ll be on sale by 2026. Cupra’s closely-related Raval will precede it to market, and Skoda will have its own variant. 

Looking at France, the aforementioned Peugeot e-208 will share many of its key elements with the Corsa, and then there’s the Renault 5, which is already massively popular. Hyundai and Kia will also have their supermini-sized EVs on track by then. Regardless of how good the new Corsa will be, the market will be much tougher than when the original Corsa-e arrived in 2019. However, what we know so far suggests that the model has never been better geared up to lead its class – a first for a Vauxhall supermini in a very long time. 

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