Vauxhall Corsa D few questions

I think these came in around 2007. Before my Golf MK4 i had a Corsa C 1.2. It was nice enough but had a few niggly issues which resulted in me getting rid of it for the Golf.

* The front passenger footwell was a swimming pool.
Apparently a common issue on the Corsa C range & the fault lays with the seal of is it the master cylinder? I can't remember for 100% but it was some kind of seal. It perishes and leaks water in badly.
Once you wade through the 5 minute fix opinions you eventually get to the solution which involves the dash out and properly sealing up. Not a 5 minute job at all.

* It had a cam chain & was like a tractor.
Now i'm not sure if this is common of any car with a chain (as opposed to a timing belt) or whether it's just bad with the 1.2 Corsa C. I know it's a common issue. I had the chain & everything with it replaced because of this & within 2 weeks it was back to making the noise again. I kept the car for a further 5 years or so IIRC. My car hadn't been looked after before me - the garage said it looked like it had never had an oil change & they had to scoop so much crap out of there with the engine cover off.

* Ghost needles
This appears to be hit and miss as to whether it's common issue or not. It's a bit of a design flaw where the speed clocks sort of just rest on to their connector - male/female, whereas with the Astra G the clock is actually 'locked' in to place.
Basically i would be driving along & the needles (temp, revs, speed, fuel) would just die. I could indicate but would hear nothing inside. No lights (inside). The car would still run obviously & the indicators would show outside but the clock would just show nothing. This had the annoyance of if it happened BEFORE you started your car, the car wouldn't start so you'd have to keep trying to push the clocks in while trying to start it.


At the moment i'm looking at the 1.2 or 1.4 Corsa D. I believe the 1.3 CDTI has a DPF filter so that rules that out. Not sure about the 1.7. If it has a DPF then i don't want it, otherwise i'd entertain it.

Just wondering if they have carried these issues over from the Corsa C as i know nothing about the D.

Also does any version of Corsa D (aside from maybe VXR) come with cruise control as standard? If so then which trim level should i be looking at for that? I remember my mother in law having a Corsa D as a courtesy car probably not long after they came out & that had cruise control.