Corsa vs Polo
| Vauxhall Corsa<br>2024 | Volkswagen Polo<br>2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | £19,995 | £20,000 |
| Body type | Hatchback | Hatchback |
| Fuel | Petrol | Petrol |
| Engine | 1.2L 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol | 1.0 TSI petrol |
| Power | 100 PS (74 kW) | 95hp |
| 0-60 mph | 10.8 seconds | 10.8s |
| Top speed | 121 mph | — |
| Transmission | 6-speed manual (8-speed automatic optional) | 5-speed manual |
| Fuel type | Petrol | Petrol |
| Fuel economy | 51.4 mpg (WLTP combined) | 53mpg |
| CO2 emissions | 122 g/km | 119g/km |
| Boot space | 309 litres | 351L |
| Warranty | 3 years / 60,000 miles | — |
| Seats | — | 5 |
| Insurance group | — | 10 |
| Owner rating | — | — |
Here is a pub-quiz fact to start with: the Vauxhall Corsa 2024 and the Volkswagen Polo 2024 both take exactly 10.8 seconds to reach 60 mph. Same pace, same segment, same job — ferrying new drivers, commuters, and second-car families around Britain. Yet once you look past the stopwatch, these two superminis tell very different stories about where your money goes.
The Corsa leads on price: £19,000 against the Polo's £20,000. A thousand pounds is meaningful at this end of the market — it is the difference a young driver feels in their deposit. The Corsa also brings slightly more power, 100 PS versus the Polo's 95 hp, though as that identical 10.8-second sprint shows, the on-road difference is negligible. Where the Polo fights back is economy: 53.0 mpg against the Corsa's 51.4 mpg, which means £995 a year in fuel for 8,000 miles versus £1,026. The Polo is the car that sips a little less on every single journey.
The rest of the running costs are a near-dead heat. Insurance is £552 for the Corsa and £560 for the Polo; maintenance £426 versus £430; road tax £190 apiece. Because the Corsa's purchase-price advantage outweighs the Polo's fuel advantage, the five-year true cost favours Vauxhall: £22,940 against £23,475, a £535 saving. Monthly that is £382 versus £391, and on 48-month finance £432.88 versus £455.66. Neither car lands a knockout blow; they trade jabs for five years and the Corsa edges it on points.
Who buys which? The Corsa is the natural pick for the new driver or the budget-first buyer — Britain's best-selling supermini for good reason, cheap to buy, cheap to insure, and every dealer in the country can service it. The Polo suits the buyer who does big annual mileage and will bank that fuel saving year after year, or who simply prefers the Volkswagen cabin's more grown-up feel and the badge on the grille. The high-mileage commuter doing 15,000 miles a year will feel the Polo's 53 mpg far more than the brochure suggests.
Our pick is the Vauxhall Corsa — but narrowly, and with an asterisk. For the average 8,000-mile-a-year driver it is cheaper to buy and cheaper to own over five years, which settles it. But if you are a high-mileage driver, run the fuel maths on your own annual distance: the Polo's economy edge grows with every mile, and past a certain point it takes the crown.
Vauxhall Corsa review → Volkswagen Polo review →