WITH the price of fuel marching ever upward, Vauxhall's range of Corsas on sale soon have been fitted with new money-saving petrol and diesel engines.

Although the revamped Corsa has been given a face-lift, the sales emphasis will be on the new engines, and two new models called the Corsa Design and Corsa Life.

Six models make up the new range, the Expression, Life, Active, Design, SXi and SRi. All are available as both three and five door, apart from the Expression which is a 3-door hatch only. On-the-road prices range from £6,995 for the three-door Expression 1.0-litre to £12,870 for the five-door SRi 1.7-litre.

However, the biggest news is reserved for the engines: four of them with two petrol units fitted with Twinport technology which, through new manifold design and exhaust gas recirculation, can cut petrol costs.

For example the fuel consumption on the new 1.4-litre Ecotec engine matched to a five-speed manual, at 47.9mpg, is almost 13 per cent over the old engine.

Its smaller 1.0-litre 12v brother was already one of the most economical petrol engines around, but with Twinport technology even less fuel is consumed, returning 53.3mpg on a combined cycle. At the same time, Twinport technology also boosts power delivery.

The complete engine range for the Corsa is now six - four petrol and two common rail turbo diesels - from 1.0-litre to 1.8-litre and 60hp to 125hp and includes 1.0-litre 12v Twinport, 1.2-litre 16v, 1.4-litre 16v Twinport and 1.8-litre 16v petrol engines and 1.3-litre CDTi and 1.7-litre CDTi diesels.

Diesel engines feature the latest common-rail direct injection, and are refined, economical and have plenty in reserve when it comes to torque. For money-saving motoring the 70hp 1.3-litre CDTi returns 62.8mpg while the 1.7-litre CDTi, with 100hp, manages 56.5mpg.

Performance does not suffer, either. With the larger 1.7-litre CDTi diesel, the Corsa reaches 60mph from standstill in 10.5 seconds, while the in-gear 30-50mph is only 6.8 seconds.

Vauxhall's automated manual transmission Easytronic is available on two of the petrol units, the 1.0-litre 12v Twinport and the 1.2-litre 16v.

The Corsa, which has won many admirers over the years for its modern looks, has nonetheless had a design makeover with re-styled front and rear bumpers, new wheel arch treatment and the addition of striking dual ellipsoid headlights on selected models.

Inside new upholstery materials and colours have been introduced.

On top of engine changes there are others under the skin. Vauxhall technicians have modified the car's speed-dependent electric power steering, which now has greater steering precision for sharper, more agile handling. Also two important safety features are now standard on all models (except the Expression) - anti-lock brakes and emergency brake assist to give shorter stopping distances.

New three dimensional ellipsoid headlamps are standard on the Design, SXi and SRi models. Besides improving visibility they have a distinct look with three cylindrical lamp bodies inside the housing for the headlight, high beam, and turn signals. Two names which are new to the range, the Design and Life models, both feature a generous standard equipment list, with for example the Design model (starting price £9,220 on the road) being fitted with twin airbags, CD player, anti-lock brakes, air-conditioning, remote control locking and electric mirrors. The Life model starts at just £8,175 on the road, and is fitted with a CD player, electric windows, remote control locking and anti-lock braking.

The Corsa's low running costs are helped through its repair and long service intervals - two years or 20,000 miles for petrol and 30,000 miles for diesels. The flexible service interval display takes account of each driver's individual driving style, indicating in the cabin when a service is due.

Updated: 09:55 Friday, October 17, 2003