Dan Goff, UK Service Center Manager
1997 Vauxhall Corsa GLS 1.4 16v
Owned for: Two years
Best driving road: Skalkaho Pass, Montana, US (the Corsa has NOT been up it!)
Best driving album: Diva, by Annie Lennox
Dream car: Ferrari 288 GTO
First car: Yugo 45A
Favourite parents’ car: Austin Princess 2200 HLS – my dad’s first big car with a straight-six engine, which took us on some great family caravan holidays. And, as a kid, I loved the Princess badge
I don’t normally go looking for late-1990s hatchbacks with tiny engines – but, for me, finding my Corsa was a real trip down memory lane, not least because I have got good memories attached to that particular generation. I spent a decade in the car trade between 1996-06, and for nearly half of it I was selling Vauxhalls. They were the brand I learned the business with, so they’ve always felt a bit like ‘home’ to me.
My dad even bought a brand-new Astra from the dealership where I later worked, and growing up I was surrounded by friends running Cavaliers and the odd Opel Manta. Vauxhalls were simply part of the landscape, so finally getting a job selling them felt like the natural next step.
The Corsa B I own now is virtually identical to my first company car. Back then, as a trainee, I had to put in three months’ work before I got wheels – and when they finally handed me the keys, it was for a 1.2 Trip, so basic it didn’t even have a tape deck. I was the young sales lad, so I drove loads of Corsas. I even had a pretty bad accident in one, which wasn’t my fault – the car looked after me well for what it was back then.
Fast forward to modern times, and I ended up with my car when I spotted it for sale about 20 miles away. My wife and I went to see it, and it was a bit like looking at a puppy. It still had the original radio and tape deck, plus (we think) the exhaust it left the factory with – and even the original plastic wheel trims, although a couple were a bit battered. Everything was as authentic as it could be, and it was such a blast from the past. I drove the Corsa down the road and thought that, if I squinted a bit, I could almost pretend I was in my early 20s on my way to work. I couldn’t say no…
The seller’s aunt bought it as a three-year-old Network Q car, and she used it gently for shopping runs well into the 2010s. After she passed away, it went to her nephew; he wanted to keep it for sentimental reasons, but it ended up sitting idle on his drive. Eventually he decided it deserved someone who would actually use it.
By modern standards you don’t get much with your GLS badge, but back then it was a lot. Compared with the LS, there was power steering – a luxury that required the 1.4 16v engine – plus central locking, velour seats, heated electric mirrors and a better four-speaker cassette unit. A driver’s airbag came later with a facelift. Above the GLS you had the CDX, which gave you very little more – basically alloys and maybe front foglights. Air-con was an extra on the CDX.
I’m determined to use the Corsa and not let it sit there wasting away. My wife and I are both insured on it, and occasionally we go out for a pleasure drive at the weekend. If we’re heading to a country pub for lunch, we will take the Vauxhall and get a few looks. My wife has a huge company car, so it seems odd to see us in a late-90s five-door hatchback – but we enjoy it.
I’ve taken it to a couple of local shows, such as Lamport Hall in Northampton and another near Sywell. I’ve driven it to work, which is a 100-mile round trip to Hagerty’s Bicester office. It doesn’t go often, because it revs quite high at motorway speeds and the stereo isn’t loud, but it has done the trip. It’s incredibly comfortable with those soft period seats. It just needs a sixth gear.
The only real job is the tailgate, which has been painted in the past. It wasn’t bad when I got it, but it’s gone a bit ‘sandpapery’ – although oddly I quite like the slightly ratty look. The numberplate had dropped a bit and is now slightly lopsided – I’ve left it because it looks so rubbish it’s almost good.
The exhaust’s been patched more times than a 30-year-old jumper, so it’ll need replacing soon. What I’m really looking forward to, though, is taking the Corsa to July’s Festival of the Unexceptional. I might even enter it for the concours – I’ve had cars in it before, and one even won an award. If not, I’ll happily stick it in the classic car park, maybe dressed up with period Vauxhall showroom material.
When the Corsa eventually moves on, I quite fancy getting a Mk4 Astra. I remember the launch vividly. For the big reveal I had to drive one through a smoke-filled screen, which was excellent fun. I have got a soft spot for them, and I would love a three-door SXi or SRi because they still look great – or even an Astra Coupé Turbo, because they are underrated, brilliant and cheaper than the GSi with the same engine. The slogan back then was ‘quality is a right, not a privilege’, which we rather cheekily twisted to ‘quality is a privilege, not a right’. Still, the Vauxhall nostalgia keeps flooding back.
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