Why is there more than £7,000 between these two Vauxhall Corsas? 

It’s no secret that cars are getting more expensive, and the days of the sub-£10,000 small hatchback are long gone. I’ve had to recalibrate my brain in recent years to the fact a £20,000 hatchback is cheap in 2026, such as the Vauxhall Corsa.

You could get a new Corsa for around £8,500 in 2006, but 20 years on you’ll pay more than double that. Go for the top-spec Ultimate model and you’ll pay close to £27,000, but is it worth paying that extra cash? Or should you save your pennies and go for the basic car?

I’m going to compare their standard equipment, engines and design to help you decide, as well as go over the savings available on both cars so you get the best deal possible.

Remember, you can buy a brand new or used car right here on Carwow. And you can sell your car, too. We’re here to help you through every step of your car-changing journey.

Cheapest vs most expensive Vauxhall Corsa: prices and standard equipment

Let’s start with the most important thing: price. There are petrol and electric versions of the Corsa to choose from, but I’m going to be focussing on the former for this comparison. Electric cars inherently fetch a premium over petrol ones due to their expensive battery packs, and the EV version of a basic Corsa costs around £7,000 more than one with an internal combustion engine.

We’re going to be comparing the Vauxhall Corsa Yes edition with the Ultimate. The former starts from £19,740 at the time of writing, and it comes with the following standard equipment:

• Heated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• 7.0-inch digital driver’s display
• 16-inch alloy wheels

Bizarrely, the Yes is actually better-equipped than the next model up, called the Design, costing around £2,000 more and doing without heated seats and getting a smaller driver’s display. Very odd.

Going for the top-spec Ultimate will cost you £26,765, and it does get you a lot more kit including:

• Keyless entry and start
• Power-folding mirrors
• Adaptive cruise control
• Reversing camera
• 17-inch alloy wheels

So you are getting a lot of stuff for your extra £7,000, and things get even better when you look at the deals available on these cars.

Cheapest vs most expensive Vauxhall Corsa: deals and savings*

At the time of writing, you can save an average of almost £4,500 on a new Vauxhall Corsa through Carwow, but the biggest savings are to be found on the Ultimate.

When I requested some quotes through our network of trusted dealers, I was offered a £5,300 saving on a Corsa Ultimate. This brings the price down to around £22,000, which is great value for money.

I was also offered a £2,800 saving on a Yes edition, meaning that car would cost £17,400. That’s temptingly cheap, but I still think the Ultimate is worth the extra cash considering how much kit you get.

The lease prices on these cars are also surprising, because the Ultimate works out way cheaper than the Yes.

You can lease a Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate for £152 per month as I write this, and this is over three years with an initial payment of £2,176. This will cost you £7,510 over the full term.

A Corsa Yes with the same 1.2-litre petrol engine will cost you £274 per month over three years with £3,635 up front, costing you £13,217 over the course of the lease.

Why is there such a massive price difference? Well the Yes is a fairly new trim, so you’ll be buying one new to order. There are brand-new Ultimate models in stock and ready to go, which brings the leasing price down significantly.

That’s why it’s important to check the latest offers when buying your next car, because new deals and offers are coming in all the time. You never know when you’re going to find a bargain.

Cheapest vs most expensive Vauxhall Corsa: design and interior

The styling changes between these two cars are pretty minimal, so there’s no real way of telling which is the cheapest by looks alone.

The Ultimate gets 17-inch alloy wheels, up from 16 inches on the Yes, and it also gets LED taillights in place of the halogen lamps on the less expensive car. You can get the Yes in an exclusive colour though, called Eucalyptus Green.

Changes to the interior are easier to spot though. The Ultimate gets half leather half Alcantara seats, as well as some leatherette on the door cards with contrast stitching. The Yes looks a bit more plain with its cloth seats, but neither look as cool inside as a Peugeot 208.

Cheapest vs most expensive Vauxhall Corsa: engine options

All Vauxhall Corsa models come with the same range of engines, kicking off with a 1.2-litre petrol with 100hp and a manual gearbox. You can also pair this engine with an automatic transmission, and there are two hybrids to choose from.

There’s a 112hp version which will return up to 63mpg, or you can have a 145hp model which will still do 62mph but feels a lot quicker.

If you fancy an EV then there’s the Corsa Electric, which you can have in 136hp or 156hp flavours. The latter has up to 265 miles of range, and if you have access to home charging then the cheap running costs may offset the additional cost of buying the car.

The basic 1.2-litre petrol manual is the cheapest engine option, but I’d pay the extra £3,000 or so for the 112hp hybrid. It’s smooth around town, gliding through traffic on electric power alone, and it’s really fuel-efficient as well.

Cheapest vs most expensive Vauxhall Corsa: my expert verdict

So which of these cars should you buy? Well when you look at the numbers on paper, the Yes seems like a bit of a no-brainer. It’s a lot cheaper, and it’s very well-equipped for the money.

But after digging a bit deeper, I’ve decided that the top-spec Ultimate is the car to go for, especially if you lease your car. The leasing offers are insane right now, and it’s actually cheaper to go for the most luxurious Corsa over the cheapest.

Even if you’re planning to buy your car outright or on finance, the deals available on Carwow make the Ultimate the better-value proposition. Go for this model with the 112hp hybrid engine and you’ll have a comfortable, economical small car with plenty of posh tech on board.

Car change? Carwow!

Looking for a new set of wheels? With Carwow you can sell your car quickly and for a fair price – as well as find great offers on your next one. Whether you’re looking to buy a car brand new, are after something used or you want to explore car leasing options, Carwow is your one stop shop for new car deals.

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*Savings are made up of the maximum dealer discount off RRP – subject to dealership, location and trim. Prices correct at the time of writing.