Electric Vauxhall Corsa-e revealed at Frankfurt; VXR version on way

The new, all-electric Vauxhall Corsa-e has been revealed for the first time at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, the company has confirmed. It's also set to get a high-performance hot-hatch version, reviving the brand's VXR badge in the process.

Order books for Vauxhall's first electric car opened in June: prices start from £26,490, with monthly finance payments of £270 being offered to tempt new customers. The company says it'll give customers a deposit contribution of £2,615 as part of its personal contract purchase deal, with an interest rate of 5.1% APR and an annual driving limit of 10,000 miles.

It's worth nothing that the full on-the-road figure includes the Government's plug-in car grant of £3,500; in SE Nav trim, the Corsa-e sports a pre-discount price of £29,990. This is higher than expected, however the first 500 customers to place an order will at least benefit from a free home wallbox charger when taking delivery of the Corsa-e in 2020.

Vauxhall is asking for deposits of £500, which are fully refundable at purchase. The car's 50kWh battery comes with a warranty guaranteeing that it maintains 70% of its capacity for eight years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first.

The Corsa-e has a quoted range of 205 miles, however, Vauxhall claims this will be “extendable by 40%” in Eco mode, suggesting a maximum theoretical range of around 287 miles. The company also claims a 0-80% rapid-charge time of just 30 minutes, but hasn’t yet specified the charging rate required.

The Corsa-e’s electric motor generates 134bhp and 260Nm of torque, resulting in a 0-62mph figure of 8.1 seconds. 0-31mph should take 3.1 seconds. As well as Eco mode, the Corsa-e gets Normal and Sport modes. The latter improves the performance and responsiveness of the car, with a range loss in the region of 10%.

The brand says the Corsa-e will be a sportier offering than its key rivals, notably its own sister cars; the new Peugeot e-208 and the more expensive DS 3 Crossback E-Tense. The Corsa-e is compatible with Type 2 and CCS ports, with the charging socket located at the rear of the car, where the fuel filler cap is on a petrol model.

Inside, buyers will find a seven or 10-inch infotainment touchscreen depending on trim, angled towards the driver for easy use on the move. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are compatible as standard, featuring voice control functions. LED headlights, alloy wheels and sat nav will also be standard features.

A smartphone can also be used to unlock the e-Corsa, with vehicle data displayed in an app. Various driver assistance systems are promised, too: traffic-sign recognition, speed-limit display, lane-keeping assistance, lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, parking assistance and drowsiness detection are all options.

Vauxhall Corsa-e VXR high-performance version planned

Vauxhall’s VXR badge, reserved for its fastest production cars, will return on a special-edition version of the Corsa-e. The company’s MD told our sister title Auto Express at Frankfurt that the Corsa-e will be available as a VXR model from next year, starting with cosmetic enhancements and possibly extending to handling and performance.

The CEO of Opel/Vauxhall Michael Lohscheller earlier said: “You can be sure that we will have some positive surprises in terms of having emotion as one brand pillar of Vauxhall. I think the electrification point is important; most people think electrification is for green reasons, for CO2, etc. It’s not only that – it’s also fun.

"I think that’s what we’re thinking of and how we might bring that to more people – but it’s just in the thinking at the moment. We’re thinking about how we can bring electrification to a new level in terms of sportiness. This emotional aspect of electrification is important, so it's not years away.”

Vauxhall is set to have four electrified models on sale by the end of 2020. There'll be a Vauxhall Grandland X PHEV arriving in late 2019, followed by the Vauxhall Corsa-e in early 2020. After that comes a Vauxhall Vivaro electric van, called the Vivaro-e, and finally an electric version of the next-generation Vauxhall Mokka X.