Vauxhall Viva Review Is as Awkward as the Car

But since James Batchelor joined the team, their videos have been getting 50% or more thumbs down, meaning it's not just us who don't like them. The fellow misses some of the technical details and isn't as easy on the eye as Rebecca Jackson used to be. But it's the personality people seem not to like, which is where James has been improving lately, just in time for the review of the Vauxhall Viva.

As he points out, Viva is a name that dates back to the 1960s. Usually, you do that if your new vehicle has retro flair and European pizzazz. However, the hipsters would much rather drive a heap of junk from half a century ago, since the new Viva is built in Korea.

We don't want to repeat what's being said in the video, so we'll add our opinion on the smallest and cheapest Vauxhall model. First of all, it's smaller than the Dacia Sandero yet it doesn't offer more luxury for the same amount of money.

There are slightly bigger cars that offer the same fuel economy and are cheap to tax. The trunk is also too small for some weekly shopping items, not to mention luggage. But the worst problem of all is that Vauxhall has revealed a brand new car that's inferior to rivals that have been around for some years. We are talking about the Volkswagen triplets, of which the Skoda Citigo is the cheapest. But the true champion of the segment has to be the Hyundai i10, which is more refined to drive, has a better interior and a trunk almost as large as the Ford Fiesta's.

Keeping all these things in mind, we're pretty sure Vauxhall has built a lemon. The money could have been more wisely used on creating an all-new Corsa instead of doing a major refresh.