The new Vauxhall Corsa will not offer any individual optional extras apart from paint colour and a spare wheel, as the British brand looks to simplify things for car buyers.
The many thousands of configurations available with the outgoing Corsa have been cut, with Vauxhall instead offering a handful of upgrade packs for key variants.
These bundle individual options together, making things easier and offering better value – as the packs cost less than choosing the options individually.
“The old Corsa had over 3,000 different configurations,” said Vauxhall brand manager Zoe Peacock. “We’ve cut the confusion and bundled options into three packs – Nav, Premium and Nav Premium.”
Vauxhall isn’t doing this just to make things easier for customers and retailers, though. It also helps the firm manage CO2 emissions.
“The previous system made it very hard to control range CO2 emissions,” said Peacock. Under new WLTP fuel economy regulations, each individual option has an effect on CO2.
The amounts are small, but they start to add up – and it’s almost impossible to manage on an ongoing basis.
Given how, from 2020, car makers have to meet strict range-average CO2 targets or face hefty fines, Vauxhall made the decision to simplify things for its UK best-seller.
And, far from being disappointed, Peacock feels customers will react positively: “It’s going to be interesting to see if it encourages greater options uptake.”
2020 Vauxhall Corsa options
The 2020 Vauxhall Corsa is offered in SE, SRi, Elite Nav and Ultimate Nav guises. The core best-sellers will be SE and SRi – and it’s these two variants that offer the three new upgrade packs.
Nav is the most affordable (£740 on SE, £500 on SRi), and, as its name suggests, adds on satellite navigation.
Premium is £780 on SE, £1,240 on SRi, and incudes luxuries such as heated front seats, auto wipers and heated steering wheel. Nav Premium combines the best of both.
Otherwise, the only option with the new Corsa is paint colour: Navy Blue is free, while the other seven hues range from £340 to £650.
The firm will also sell a 15-inch emergency spare wheel for £110.
Vauxhall’s move follows a decision by Seat back in 2018 to cut back on options and range complexity. It calls the three-step sales process Seat Easy Move.
