ACTIVE

THE SUPERB ROADS AND BREATHTAKING SCENERY OF THE LAKE DISTRICT ARE MADE FOR THE NEW CORSA VXR - A SETTING WHERE YOU CAN ENJOY BOTH THE SPECTACULAR VIEWS OF ONE OF BRITAIN'S GREAT BEAUTY SPOTS AND THE PERFORMANCE OF ONE OF VAUXHALL'S GREAT CARS…

It's mid morning, with crisp, clear air, a light breeze and a glint of sun on the alloys. The day is young and life is good. We've driven here at a quick gallop, and we're on top of the world.

The location is Kirkstone Pass - a pinnacle of the Cumbrian landscape in a wild and lonely vista slashed by ancient drystone walls - which is just what you need when you have a car with this much performance and driver focus.

It's without doubt the compact hot hatch of the moment - a car that will out-accelerate anything else in its class and go on to a higher top speed than any rival.

The New Corsa has already scooped What Car?'s Best Supermini title in its Car of the Year 2007 awards. The figures say it all: a feisty 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder 16-valve engine punches out a responsive 192PS, and an impressive torque peak of 260Nm when using the overboost facility. That's enough to give it a top speed of 140mph and a 0-60mph sprint of just 6.8 seconds.

And this is the sort of setting to bring out the best of its impressive abilities. The A592 from Windermere to Penrith flows through the Lake District National Park, with the Kirkstone Pass one landmark among many on it; it's the kind of road that when you glance in the rear view mirror, you catch a broad smile looking back at you.