Months ago, when the Vauxhall Corsa VXR was still a work in progress, I drove a prototype on condition I wouldn’t write about it. Vauxhall was just interested to hear what I thought.

So I took it away, and soon wished that I hadn’t. Even allowing for its unfinished condition it was horrible: explosively quick but trickier to drive fast than any hatchback should be. I was told not to worry and that by the time it reached full production it would be much improved.

And it is. The Corsa VXR is still very fast but no longer malevolent. It’s a car you can drive swiftly without worrying about what the front end is doing under acceleration, or what the back end might do if you lift off the gas. The performance remains but the treachery has been removed, and considering the time frame, that’s some achievement. Problem is, I still don’t like the car.

For some reason current small hot hatches possess talents in inverse proportion to the cars upon which they are based. For instance, the best of them, the Clio Renaultsport 197, is based on perhaps the most boring of all standard hatches. Likewise, the normal Peugeot 207 is really very dull but, as Nick Rufford reported last weekend, the GTi version is a hoot.

The Corsa applies the same thinking, but in reverse: the basic car is a delight and reminds you with every mile that you don’t need to go fast to have fun, while this sexed-up VXR model insists you drive it hard and then when you do annoys you so much you wish you hadn’t.

Part of the problem is the use of a small turbocharged engine instead of a bigger naturally aspirated one: it has just 1.6 litres but is asked to deliver 192bhp. The smaller the engine relative to its power, the more turbo boost is required to achieve it, and the more turbo lag results.

To be fair, the Corsa does not suffer dreadful lag, but there is a discernible pause between the application of throttle and the arrival of shove, while in the Clio the response is instantaneous. And while the engine delivers strong performance across a reasonable rev range, its sound is dull at low revs and strained at high.

Point it at some corners and at first you’ll be impressed. It has so much grip you’ll wonder if someone slipped racing tyres onto the rims when you weren’t looking. But soon you’ll realise the steering is too light and lacking in feel to provide the kind of profound driving experience the car’s looks so clearly promise. And you still have the usual disadvantages of hot hatchery — the unsettled ride quality, the huge Recaro seats that decimate rear legroom, and the lack of refinement at speed.

Still, I don’t doubt they’ll fly out of the showrooms. The body kit, with its vast front chin, side skirts, rear wing, diffuser, triangular central exhaust and even little gills behind the rear wheels, may be aimed directly at the more chavish sectors of society, but I cannot hide a sneaking admiration for it. The car I drove was black, and twice I caught myself looking back at it after I’d parked up and walked away, trying to forget what a disappointment it had been to drive.

Even inside, where you find drilled pedals, a sawn-off steering wheel and VXR badging galore, you may struggle — as I did — to be entirely dismissive. The quality of the materials is impressive in a car costing just £15,595, and the cabin has a brash cheerfulness that is not without charm.

So if all you want to do is look the part, there’s probably not much this side of a Mini Cooper that will suit you better than this Corsa. Youngsters will love it because they’ll look cool in it and they’ll impress their mates as it hits 60mph from rest in less than 7sec and goes on to do twice the motorway speed limit. They just have to be able to pay for group 16 insurance.

Indeed, if you have no great level of expectation as a driver, or you don’t research what else is available for similar money, the Corsa VXR might yet amuse more than it irritates. I found myself unable to sit in it, though, without being reminded of the Clio 197, a car that seems a very close competitor on paper but in the real world offers the kind of driving pleasure this Corsa could never rival.

The Corsa might be just as quick, and is some £400 cheaper, but if you want to drive a car that makes you feel like an integral part of the action, rather than merely a mildly amused bystander, it really is the Renault, rather than the Vauxhall, that you should choose.

Vital statistics

Model Vauxhall Corsa VXR

Engine type 1598cc, four cylinders

Power/Torque 192bhp @ 5800rpm /192 lb ft @ 2200rpm

Transmission Six-speed manual

Fuel/CO2 35.8mpg (combined cycle)/190g/km

Performance Price 0-60mph: 6.8sec/Top speed: 140mph

Verdict Looks better than it goes, not for serious drivers

Rating Three stars (out of five)

Date of release Out now

The opposition

Model Clio Renaultsport 197 £15,995

For Looks great, powerful, responsive, superb engine Against A bit too noisy on the motorway, quite costly

Model Ford Fiesta ST £13,595

For Terrific fun to drive, excellent value for money Against Stiff ride, not very refined, ageing interior