Vauxhall's hot hatch family tree: 2015 Vauxhall Corsa VXR vs 1990 Astra GTE

[@1066gaz]

I will have the astra any day of the week. Classic 2.0 16v redtop engine. Cheaper running costs, no concentric slave hidden within the gearbox to worry about. No turbo to worry about. Lightweight. Easy to work on. 30 years as well and still going strong i bet the corsa won't go 30 years. I had a mk2 1990 astra 1.8 sri and when i sold it with nearly 200,000 miles the engine was still perfect using very little oil and on the original clutch and gearbox. This 2.0 16v will be even better. Corsa is alright if you have plenty of money to repair it in the future and it will be a lot harder to work on than the astra. You will also need a laptop as well to sort its problems out too. The astra mk2 2.0 16v is king.

[@656781g4]

The Astra was never going to win but look at it. It's an Astra GTE 😍😍

[@Sanyey]

no.. its actually a Kadett GSi16V :D

[@cyclemartin4073]

Yeah I remember when I had my Xr3i escort , the first time I took one of these on it ducking left me . Lol. But I never been a great fan of Vauxhall gear shift . Of Old at least they always felt Notchy

[@Niels_engelen077]

2010 corsa D is beter

[@megadave1197]

Cars are so much bigger now. I like that digital dash looks retro af

[@machomanOOOOHYEEEAH]

@@Sanyey wrong- in the UK the car was sold as a Vauxhall Astra GTE 16v. Stop looking for trouble cunt

[@miketheknight2268]

it makes perfect sense to race a turbo car vs non turbo...GTE all day for me...

[@willpark7483]

It does actually, why wouldn’t it? But I get your point of preferring the Astra

[@superbrit3845]

I had a Nova GSI with the C20XE 16V Red Top engine in it pushing 194bhp. It ran 13 second 1/4 miles and would have spat that Corsa out of the exhaust.

[@cyclemartin4073]

Super Brit The old red tops are good engines , did you turbo it ? That’s a big gain from 150bhp in a N/A Engine . But you have to remember also that cars of today are bigger and heavier .

[@ghvtg]

Fair enough...but that's not comparing a standard Corsa VXR with a standard Nova GSI is it. Nearly double the hp in the Corsa and it'd probably spit your Nova out the exhaust!

[@vicesat]

The Kadett GSI still better than the new Astra.

[@ThisIsMTH]

This guy is good. A rare blend of journalistic talent and half a personality. Makes a nice change. Keep it up.

[@martinparker6536]

still got his facts wrong though..........GTE 16v had ABS he says it hasnt

[@carlos84000]

still prefer the gte. old school!

[@davekennedy6315]

The GTE engine was really limited by its standard fuel injection. If you stuck on a pair of carbs or ITBs without any other mods you got an instant 180-190+bhp. Although even as standard the GTE 16v struggled to get its power down. Man, I'd love to have my GTE 16v back now haha!

[@killy1]

I had a rare F reg one back in the 90's with the coscast engine. It was significantly faster than the H reg cars and would definitely have made a race of it.

[@davekennedy6315]

Same as me! I had a F reg red GTE 16v and loved my years with that car. I used to belt it down the A120 at 130+mph nigh on daily. That was my only problem with it was that it felt like it needed another gear for motorway cruising as sitting at 5500-6000+rpm was very tiring. It was more fun in bursts and overtaking. Great car and the 90s were a great time to be young.

[@jani7683]

Would have kicked the Corsa's ass

[@jamesclarkson3009]

I still think the Corsa would win. Standard its half a second quicker to 60 than even the early 156bhp GTE's and it's got that turbo in gear acceleration that the Astra just can't match. Having said that ultimately it comes down to the driver. If the corsa driver is shit and the astra driver knows what he's/shes doing then yeah the Astra will win lol. Tbf for a car that's well over 30 years old to still give a good account of itself demonstrates how awesome it must have been back in the day.

[@StephenButlerOne]

Loved that 16v gte. My neighbour had one, and my had the xr3i. We had fun in them. Last November I got rid of trh GTC, and loved the handling of the gtc. I use to think it was a far off successor to the GTE.

[@1066gaz]

The early gte 16v ones had 156bhp this later one had a few less horsepower 150bhp. Its mainly the heavy weight that made the latest hot hatches feel a bit dumpy & lifeless with lack of feel for the road. That's the first thing i noticed with late 90's onwards hot hatches. I could get 60,000 miles plus on the rear tyres with the mk2 astra but only 40,000 miles with the new ones.

[@craigconey9971]

Early one was called a 20xe and the later the c20xe

[@daveschofield8231]

ABS was standard on the 16v .Do your homework .

[@justinatkin8450]

No it wasn't

[@xatzpskl]

@@justinatkin8450 yeah it was

[@davidhaygarth4763]

@Michael Flitter True. i had one...

[@benpassman5630]

Dave Schofield does come standard and also the cars a 1991on here 🤔

[@benkay8295]

Mine hasn't got it. On a G plate

[@leekindell9937]

Ah love it, i had the 8v in 90s and then the 16v, was quick for its time. Although hes incorrect about abs/antilock mine had it on the 16V? in fact at 1.27 you can see the ABS check light. Great engine in the gte...but could be tail happy, but that made it fun too. Dam that corsa is ugly

[@stratrovarius]

I still love driving my Calibra Turbo 4x4.....Oldschool all the way.

[@cyclemartin4073]

Dionis Stratrov No the Chavalier 4x4 turbo 👍

[@martinparker6536]

do you want to sell it ?

[@bushybeard1135]

I just can't believe the wieght of that Corsa, is more or less the same as the old 1982/3 Pontiac Firebird Coupe with 2.5L ironduke. That is mad.

[@SuperAlicat1979]

I still have my mk2 Astra gte and they do have abs

[@EugVR6]

mk2 16v gte's handled crap when they were new but my mates used to wipe the floor with my rs turbo in the early 90s in a straight line but there was no comparison when it came to the bends. The rs made you go faster the astra loved to swap ends from time to time....many a heart stopping moment in his car! but as I said it was very fast for the time..

[@tweeny55]

same can be said for sierra xr4x4-on paper it was rubbish but I humbled a few exotics in mine..

[@Mytim34]

EugVR6 toooo right...the thing just used to go into snap oversteer....frickin dangerous...that engine though..

[@NYChemicalRomance]

Yep. The GTE DOES have ABS.

[@vistron888]

When he went into 2nd gear in the Corsa I thought he was trying to break the gearbox..

[@mtlsi]

Great test, loved oldtimer. Looking forward to more similar test.

[@Soulvex]

I remember when i lived in Hull in the 80's/90's seeing GTE's being nicked every other night thrashing about, sounded great and scary to watch such a quick car in the hands of 15yr olds.

[@WHITE888-]

Hull in the 80's/90's Sounds glamorous.

[@Soulvex]

Lol

[@vertigobay8466]

what a fantastic car the gte was, im suprised he didnt mention the escort rs turbo aswel, such a close rival

[@MichaelStanfield81]

I had a GTE, they do have ABS.

[@RCFunTime]

also air bags too.

[@justinatkin8450]

Not all

[@neildutton8077]

It's rare to see these cars nose to nose. It really drives home how cars have grown. The Corsa(Nova) was a super mini and the Astra a compact.

[@Basic002]

The sound, when he put into 2nd in the corsa.. Ouch! :'D

[@trajanaugustus8783]

Hmm.. well the Astra (Kadett) 16v in 1990 would of had 150hp, the non-emissions versions were in 1988 with 156hp. Also these cars had ABS brakes added to them as standard starting in 89. Before that ABS was an option. By 1990 all Astra/Kadett GSi16v's had 150hp and ABS brakes and the excellent F20 5sp sport transmission. 0-100 (62mph) for Kadett GSi16v 150ps/hp was 8.0s with a top speed of 217kmh as stated by Opel. You could go quicker and faster of course depending on your driving skills.

[@leonchilton8507]

Mine had 195 40 14 tyres handling was spot on

[@fatwalletboy2]

The advantages of the new car were slways gonna mean it won regardless of the 250kg penalty. More torque.....that turbo punch..... better tyres....drexler diff......forget all that. Back in the day it was up there as one of best. Easy to diss it 25 years on.

[@josephtaylor3769]

Put a Vauxhall cavalier turbo against the corsa

[@MultiVeeta]

200bhp is faster than 150bhp, tune in next week to find out 'is water wet'?

[@cavturbonutta]

The Astra wins purely because i don’t feel sick looking at it 👌

[@tigraxtreme]

good old opel kadett gsi !

[@SM-zx9mx]

thats an Opel Kadett!! My dad used to have one !!!

[@caoimhinsaunders8494]

My dad had lots of Vauxhall’s and he had a bombshell Astra and he had a nova gsi

[@marcnobel3938]

How big the corsa is now. When you think that the Corsa is one number smaller than the Astra (or Opel Kadett GSI 16V). In Germany it was not overlooked. Here was always a "battle" between Kadett (Astra) and Golf. Ford Escort was way behind in sales on 3rd place in the hot hatch size. Peugeot GTIs have been very rare here. This was mostly like this in continental Europe. Only UK was different market and in France it was the Peugeot and the Golf mainly. Citroen and Renault have been there also mass sellers.

[@mudachuka12345]

Damn I wanted the Astra to win

[@russcattell955i]

All quite true, however there is lot more power to be extracted from the C20XE "red top" without forced induction. My old pal has one in a Mk I Escort, 330 bhp, that is period Formula 3 more or less. He can beat ex WRC cars in the dry on tarmac rally's.

[@neilwilliams2883]

I can't believe how big that Corsa is compared to the Astra! And to think that Corsas were meant to be baby Astras when they first came out... Cars have become enormous...

[@sailordave1000]

USA got the Astra as the Pontiac LeMans but not with this engine option. The previous car with the LeMans name was huge and with a big V8. Had Pontiac used a different name and brought over this engine then this car could have stood a chance.

[@user-ee5xs6lg1t]

The astra has ABS also It wasn't embarrassed on performance despite the fact it is 30 years old and doesn't have a turbo

[@protonicstorm7228]

Didn't have anti lock brakes, 1:27 abs light on dash !

[@sammartin4543]

Lets face it. Skinny wheels and prob loadsa miles on clock means its not got the grip and prob not as much bhp that it had new. Plus the vxr kicks out around 50hp more. Not a fair test

[@ChrisTian-co4oc]

I had a GTE back those days. As RC car.

[@jani7683]

1988 16V Astra 0-60 6.9sec legendary .....

[@alincostache2750]

Well done,super well made video

[@alabar9795]

The tyres alone make this an unfair challenge

[@scott4345]

Be a different story if the GTE had a C20LET in it which most do nowadays 😎

[@Travelswithpaul]

Vauxhall nova was way hotter😍😍 then an Astra in my eyes

[@DethThrasher1]

great vid

[@tomwall7966]

astra gte any day

[@nicuzvarici1331]

Amandoua Opel sunt super👍

[@GT6SuzukaTimeTrials]

What are their lap times?

[@JETJOOBOY]

Oh Yeah, that is the WRONG Digi Dash too! That is off an earlier Car

[@vx.calibre2901]

the early cars had the "tick" type rev counter, and didn't have space for the abs warning, the "curve" as shown here is for late 1990 models onwards, also with the "rainbow" cloth seat trim

[@markwood9987]

The size difference is incredible just goes to show how fat people have got these days.

[@TheSuperMotoHooligan]

V to the X to the R vs G to the T to the E...

[@neildavies7466]

TheSuperMotoHooligan no mate its G to the T to the E vs V to the X to the R

[@minorearthmajorsky1476]

wouldn't it make more sense to compare the Corsa B sport (1993-2000) to the corsa vxr 2015

[@feboober]

+ONYX.G The GTE would have been more of the beast of the day.

[@tomforrest7814]

the B 1.6 Sport had even less power than this Astra GTE at 125bhp ish but yeah i get where ya coming from they should have had either the B sport or the Astra GTC VXR against the GTE

[@machomanOOOOHYEEEAH]

The presenter is wrong here- the GTE does have ABS anti lock brakes 100%

[@tommybenton9945]

I had a GTE 16v with a c20let, f28 and 5 stud calibra turbo alloy's fitted...would spank most of these so called fat fuck hot hatch cars. It was like driving the USS Enterprise!!...once you got traction that is!

[@JETJOOBOY]

tommy benton my mate did one.. He had a Nightmare getting rubber.. Cost a fortune!

[@sarahwebster8927]

Not sure this was a fair test, I know Vauxhall Heritage centres 16v is far from factory fresh! Firstly the sloppy steering isnt a thing on GTE’s so says track rod ends are knackred. Secondly H and J plate GTE 16v’s had ABS as standard fitment. Thirdly this one is nowhere near as powerful as it should be, I can hear it, it sounds lazy. I hammered a MK6 Astra VXR in my GTE 16v last year! Granted he got me on corners as the GTE doesn’t like them but made it up on the straights...pretty sure mine wouldn’t sit behind a Corsa VXR like that!

[@fatwalletboy2]

Cars shouldnt be tested against ones 25 years younger with advances in all areas.....I mean seriously what do you expect? That the old car is going to trounce the more powerful newer stiffer more well built better braked better tyred better equipped car? A better test would be to see how the GTE once faired against the comptition of its day.

[@robertcoldham6849]

The early 1988/89 gte 16v were quicker, no cat? Nearly bought a 1991 one but had lost it sparkle compared to the 1989 I drove. Corsa ugly give me the old school gte any day

[@markymark-r]

1:17 he lists the features the Astra didn’t have including no ABS. At 1:26 oh look the dashboard runs through it’s checks and there’s an ABS light. 🙄 Do your research!

[@chrishart8548]

Wouldn't of had ABS as standard though. That probably didn't happen till the mk4 astra. The cavalier got standard ABS on the mk3 when they did the face-lift.

[@johncarr2420]

Prefer the astra gte to the new corsa

[@shanemacleod4011]

corsa is better in almost every area? um no. corsa looks like every other car today. no soul. were as astra good the looks. the feel. kept up with the vxr even when gte is 156bhp and corsa is 205bhp. and that with it being a c20xe engine and not the c20let. and lets face it who dont love the gte digi dash. and fact it dont have stupid breaking thing that modern cars have is a plus. my bmw everytime a wheel goes over abit ice it puts break on that wheel which then makes car drift where as been fine if it never had it and id drove over it without a problem. oh and why would want by a corsa vxr when they keep catching fire in the dash due to wrong gadge wire being used on the heater and not being recalled.

[@lechegustosa]

que interesante...y porque no lo comparamos contra un calibra turbo? los mismos cv casi..a ver que le podria pasar al corsa..lo mismo se le escapa al tio un ...ostia puta..asi lo mismo se equilibra un poco la batalla.

[@TheRodolfonas]

Brazilian Chevrolet Kadett GSI looks more clean them Astra GTE

[@monument4852]

25 years and is that all ???

[@rossbeake5779]

But the Astra's much better looking

[@barryjackson8512]

The Astra will still be plodding on after the corsa a spit piston 4 out. 😂

[@paulheard7480]

here is an idea take all that turbo crap off the corsa then redo the one horse race for the astra

[@minimanukuk]

But the GTE did have ABS…

[@BronchoGillespie]

Why does bloke replace T's with D's?

[@michaelc821]

Put a turbo in the gte, watch it leave the Corsa for dead..

[@chrisevansgardenservicesjo8093]

My 2008 Vauxhall mariva design 1.6 automatic and manual car will wipe shit out of them both

[@CARmagazineTV]

It’s automatic AND manual? Impressive.

[@stescustomhotwheels862]

pug GTI 1.9 , Renault 5 GT TURBO an Astra GTE were all the same speed just the GTE had a slightly faster top end but GTE handled like a boat.

[@ingloriousdonk]

I'll take the gte.

[@Katiebop89]

But the Astra GTE will always be cool. The Corsa vxr just isn't the same. Good car yes, cool as a car from the hey day? No!

[@Steve-Quinn-YC-GaSC]

GTE anyday

[@lee2217]

The 16 v was quick but it handled like a bag of shit

[@miguelmoreno880]

Por qué la caddett no le da caña se nota que no le pida de jamelo Ami yaberas lo que ago

[@JETJOOBOY]

That is NOT a real 16V GTE. It is a cobble together of an 8V or SRi .. It SHOULD HAVE a Top Spoiler It SHOULD HAVE ABS. I Should have rear discs..? As for the Gear Box and Suspension? Who knows.. Looks OK .... Doesn't sound correct either.. It has a None standard Exhaust.. And it SHOULD have (seriously) decent Alloys from a Modern Astra... (Sheds about half a tonne) Also, it should have a NUTTER Driving it!

[@JETJOOBOY]

I will just leave this here... THiS is how you drive a GTE!

[@tomwall7966]

I bet corsa gsi would beat vxr

[@vikingshpvs465]

So you make a video to big up the gte astra for only you to shit on it with a vxr corsa.

[@nisancashi2241]

kinda looks like a opel kadet

[@WHITE888-]

I presume you DO know....?

[@tomforrest7814]

they always have to talk about how the fiesta feels more "engaging to drive" bullshit. Anyway I would like to see a 179bhp Fiesta ST catch up with this 202bhp Corsa VXR its better... nuff said

[@EugVR6]

Tom Forrest ..its the feel of cars not the outright power advantage...if you look for 5th gear test of the Mk2 Focus ST and the VXR Astra...the Astra is lighter and 30bhp up but its chassis is rubbish at deploying that power and it got beat on lap times by the ST...The same on top gear..VXR insignia vs the Mondeo ST 220...the VXR is 50 bhp up but yet slower round the track...Vauxhalls have always had the power advantage over their rivals in class but always get beaten when it comes to handling and feel, vauxhall chassis have never been class leaders...its not a vauxhall kicking just how things are....

[@tomforrest7814]

+EugVR6 i actually agree thank you for not being a total prick about this lol yes the way the power is used is a bit rudimentary and the handling a little understeery but the power advantage gets me like a little boy the more power the better as Jeremy Clarkson said lol. Its also very down to my opinion that the VXR cars have always showed to be more sporty looking and in my opinion look better but i know how people dont like them just as the same way i dont like the look of the Ford range

[@dean8067]

Tom Forrest The Fiesta is 200 horsepower now

[@adrianbunyard6015]

Lets be honest here... The astra is the one you want. Lol

[@edbob0225]

should have been against the astra vxr!

[@ko6uta133]

This Kadet is not eaven thrying to win 😅

[@kevanmccaffrey8513]

nonsense out of context for each decade, Astra GTE in 1985... like having a New Range Rover now" not just about power, these were prestigious cars also.. something they aren't so much now. a hothatch pre 2000 was a different animal back in the day

[@michaelc821]

They can't drive a Gte

[@willpark7483]

Power wise there is not much difference. Astra is 151bhp (per tonne) Corsa is 156bhp (per tonne) So it’s all down to how that power is used , and I predict/ read other comments that the VXR will win 😂

[@willpark7483]

@Connor Cox true, I imagine the corsa being a modern turbocharged engine will have a good torque figure from relatively low revs aswell

[@MavAuto-Pete]

Pointless irrelevant test trying to compare something nearly 30 years old. Bloody obvious the result

[@Steve-Quinn-YC-GaSC]

190hp new car vs what? A 100hp 25 year old car. Come on! The corsa are sh¡te tbh

[@Imachickenlol]

What a stale performance