ACTIVE
THE HILLS ARE ALIVE 
The steep climb, sharpening to one-in-four in places, is a magnet for walkers and hikers, and with the VXR's quick, communicative steering, its slick, short gearchange and astonishing acceleration, it's huge fun. The VXR is a true driver's car, a practical, compact hatch with grin-inducing performance, plus enough style to catch the eye even in these stunning surroundings.
The last section of road that climbs southward to the top of Kirkstone is known locally as The Struggle - a name that dates back to the seventeenth century, when the Pass was an unpaved track on which horse-drawn carriages came down from Penrith.
For traditional horsepower, it may indeed have been a struggle to make the punishing climb from Brothers Water, but for the Corsa VXR it's one more place to show exceptional abilities and composure.
For starters, the Corsa VXR's cabin is a great place to be - with enough design highlights to leave you in no doubt about the car's sporty character. It blends cool, modern good taste with a surprising degree of refinement for a car with such a dynamic focus. It wraps around you, securely and reassuringly compact, while the sportily ergonomic Recaro seats hold you firmly but comfortably - even when you begin to explore the outer reaches of the car's tenacious grip and fine handling balance.
But this is power and pace with a lot of supporting sophistication. With its lowered and uprated chassis and Vauxhall's ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) it feels fast and fluent, beautifully balanced, well-behaved and protective, even over this twisty Lakeland challenge.
The VXR is the quickest Corsa ever, but it's far from being some wild-child with more pace than grace. It's simply the perfect example of a cleverly-honed supermini with the driver-friendly poise to match its performance - an enticing combination of dazzling speed with impeccable manners.
And beyond its impressive 192PS, one of this superb engine's defining characteristics is its broad spread of torque, with more than 220Nm all the way from below 2000rpm to near 6000rpm. Even beyond that, there's the intriguing overboost facility - a clever feature that on full throttle gives an even stronger torque surge, up to a peak of 260Nm for a few seconds at a time - for safer overtaking, or just for getting from A to B more enthusiastically. It sums up the Corsa VXR's character perfectly.
It's all there if you plant your foot on the perforated accelerator pedal and explore the car's sure-footed grip through the swooping turns to Kirkstone's summit, its endlessly changing curves and cambers diving between mossy walls and through the shade of overhanging trees.