RE: Volkswagen Corrado VR6: PH Heroes

[kambites]

Hmm, my old nugget yellow 16v seems to be SORNed now. It was on the road last time I checked.

ETA: Mind you it's on 200k miles now so it's not had a bad innings even if it never sees the road again.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 2nd March 20:12

[cerb4.5lee]

shrs2000 said:

I've got one! A Mystic Blue Storm & it never fails to please me. Still a great looking car, rare, & an absolute delight to drive for a twenty odd year old car. I can't ever see me selling it as there's nothing to replace it IMO!

I've lusted after one for as long as I can remember, that's lovely.

[aka_kerrly]

Confession time, I am a Corrado addict & probably know enough about them to go on Mastermind

I currently have a G60 & a couple of VR6s, the remains of a 16v parts car and a garage full of spare parts for them.

I'll be accused of all sorts of bias but having had my fair share of FWD cars from the 80s/90s and driven what most people would consider the best I firmly believe the Corrado deserves it's reputation for excellent handling and a genuinely fun driving experience. There are always those who waffle about a VR not making enough power , people only buying them for the noise , then you get those who argue that G60s are horrifically unreliable an will explode & those who say a Corrado can't be a sports cars but you get that sort of rubbish with every car - honda have no torque etc etc.

Drive one - a GOOD one, not some worn out wreck with mismatched tyres/20 year old suspension.

[s m]

aka_kerrly said:

Confession time, I am a Corrado addict & probably know enough about them to go on Mastermind

I currently have a G60 & a couple of VR6s, the remains of a 16v parts car and a garage full of spare parts for them.

I'll be accused of all sorts of bias but having had my fair share of FWD cars from the 80s/90s and driven what most people would consider the best I firmly believe the Corrado deserves it's reputation for excellent handling and a genuinely fun driving experience. There are always those who waffle about a VR not making enough power , people only buying them for the noise , then you get those who argue that G60s are horrifically unreliable an will explode & those who say a Corrado can't be a sports cars but you get that sort of rubbish with every car - honda have no torque etc etc.

Drive one - a GOOD one, not some worn out wreck with mismatched tyres/20 year old suspension.

I think it's the simple matter of age with a lot of these 80s/90s cars - some of them are getting on for 30 years old now and unlike more expensive or rare cars the majority of them may well have tired bushes, shocks, springs, steering racks, engines etc..... They might have big or overly wide wheels/non standard offsets/cheap or non high performance tyres ( small wheels fashionable back then on high performance cars may have a very limited tyre range these days )

Granted, many of them may have been sympathetically brought up to scratch at some point recently or have been carefully nurtured from new like a manufacturer's Heritage collection car....... But there is the flip side of the 10 owner used and abused bargain pages refugee with minimal mot scrape through spend. Some people, if they didn't get to drive a new one, are naturally going to base their impressions of a car on such an example. That's when you can get a massive variance in opinion
It happens even on new cars to tell the truth as one journo's meat is another one's murder

I remember the Corrado getting excellent reviews for handling when new - I think Autocar said in 93 you couldn't buy a better fwd chassis, EVO gave the VR6 five stars, Performance Car said it was one of the best handling fwd cars ever and the CAR Giant test with the 944 above speaks for itself re the handling

[Harris_I]

I had one in the 90s. Storm grey I think was the colour, beautiful deep lustre to it, looked great in twilight and under street lamps.

Interested to hear the comments about the G60 on here: I recall test driving one just before I bought the VR6 and thinking it felt gutless.

The VR6 felt like a proper exotic engine - OK it wasn't Ferrari quick, but it certainly sounded and felt a million dollars and 6 seconds to 60 wasn't too shabby back then (still isn't).

Also interested to hear some think the interior was cheap - I found it really solidly put together (albeit a bit 80s bland) and the seats and driving position were first class. Miss that car.

[aka_kerrly]

s m said:

Said: lots that I agree with

I remember the Corrado getting excellent reviews for handling when new - I think Autocar said in 93 you couldn't buy a better fwd chassis, EVO gave the VR6 five stars, Performance Car said it was one of the best handling fwd cars ever and the CAR Giant test with the 944 above speaks for itself re the handling

I've gathered a good selection of Corrado associated dealer/press/magazine features from when they were launched in America plus most of the UK car magazines from the 89-92 period & the manufacture brochures for 1989 G60 & 1994 VR6. Nearly all the press/test cars seem to be Nugget yellow examples like my own which adds to the appeal. I haven't scanned that many of them, another project for a rainy day! I also have a selection of period dealer pictures

[b4bby]

I've a friend that's had a lot of problem's with replacing the abs pump on his corrado vr6, does anyone know of any good second hand ones or an alternative he could use?

[ClockworkCupcake]

b4bby said:

I've a friend that's had a lot of problem's with replacing the abs pump on his corrado vr6, does anyone know of any good second hand ones or an alternative he could use?

Are you sure it is the ABS pump and not the control unit? Both are expensive though. I had an intermitted ABS failure on mine and was quoted something eye-watering like £895 + labour + VAT to get it fixed (and this would have been 10 tears ago too, so probably more now) so I just lived with it, being used to not having ABS on my TVRs, but MoT time was always a bit of a worry. I subsequently learned that it is legal to have the ABS system completely removed and then the ABS is not tested as part of the MoT. I don't know how viable that is?

When Wheeler Dealers did a show on the Corrado, they got the control unit rebuilt by a firm but I don't recall who or where.

Edited by ClockworkCupcake on Thursday 2nd March 22:57

[powerhungry]

I had two a 16v and vr6 my vr6 I still think about a lot storm grey L reg they just get under your skin . Always hoped vw would make a modern one but we have the scirocco which is in the spirit of them . I'm sure I have a vr6 abs control module in the garage . Some times the abs light goes due to brake pedal position sensor worth checking first if anyone is having problems . LONG LIVE THE CORRADO

[bloomen]

Do these drive in any way similarly to Mk3 Golf VR6s? Possibly the worst car I've ever driven, even more so when it purports to be a performance car. It felt like jelly on stilts.

[white_goodman]

bloomen said:

Do these drive in any way similarly to Mk3 Golf VR6s? Possibly the worst car I've ever driven, even more so when it purports to be a performance car. It felt like jelly on stilts.

No, nothing like the Golf VR6 and it's a 2.9 rather than a 2.8 engine too with an extra 20bhp. What's a VSR?

I owned a mystic blue VR6 back in 2006/2007 but it wasn't the nicest example, so sadly, I think that L190YDX may have gone to the great scrap heap in the sky but the "190" still lives on in my email address!

My relatively short ownership was a mixed one. Back when I was a teenager, I lusted after a VR6 until the Fiat Coupe 20v turbo came along but when I got my VR6, I never even considered the Fiat. It followed a couple of RWDers, an MX5 and an E30 BMW 325i Cabriolet. The MX5 was fine but a bit slow and the BMW lovely but a bit more of a cruiser and a massive handful in wet/icy weather. I wanted something quicker that I could also drive hard with confidence. On my shortlist was a classic Saab 900 Turbo, Audi S2 Coupe, E36 M3, Porsche 944 S2 and the VR6. I was working 6 days per week at the time at a VW dealership and developed a bit of an affinity for the brand plus when I occasionally drove to work in my BMW, my manager would get a bit funny with me (I also ran a company Golf TDI), so it just seemed easier to get a VW!

I paid 3.5k for it and it had done 114k but felt a little tired. When I test drove it the power steering pump had gone, so the steering was very heavy, the sunroof didn't work, it had no stereo and I later found out the heater was jammed on maximum temperature. The aftermarket immobiliser was also a little temperamental.

In many ways though, it was my perfect car. I loved the looks and the rising spoiler and all my male friends thought it was cool too. However, my mum and most of my female friends thought it was ugly, although that didn't stop my girlfriend from driving it at any opportunity. It also sounded fantastic, had a great handling/ride balance (almost as sharp as my 205 GTi but less edgy and a less harsh ride) and amazing traction even in the wet. It could also seat four adults and had a decent boot with hatchback too, so fairly practical. Fuel economy was impressive too and definitely an improvement on the 325i. On a clear run up to Manchester on the M6, I once averaged 40mpg on the trip computer! A friend had previously owned a red VR6 with some engine work, which sadly got written-off but he had put 17" Santa Monica wheels on his (a factory-fit option on mk4 Golfs), which i thought looked cool on his, so I also fitted them on mine!

On the negative side, I never found the seats that comfortable and the interior felt pretty creaky compared to the BMW and in my opinion wasn't as attractive as the interior in the mk2 Golf (was it from the contemporary Passat)? I enjoyed driving it but sadly didn't have any time to do some road trips in it, as I had done in my BMW and I have to admit that sometimes I drove my Golf company car in favour of it, as it was a bit more effortless to drive quickly and had climate control (the Corrado could get pretty hot on a hot day what with the dark interior, broken heater and sunroof)!

I also had more niggles and spent more money on it in 9 months than I did on my older BMW in 18 months, which was 100% reliable and even getting a discount on parts working at a VW dealer, most of those parts were still specific to the Corrado and quite expensive. I put in a new clutch after it stuck in reverse and wouldn't come out but it felt kind of weird afterwards and it developed an intermittent misfire that I never did get to the bottom of despite changing all the plugs and the HT leads. The rear arches also started to rust, the tailgate had a leak and the ABS warning light came on intermittently.

In the end, I left the company to go back to college and retrain, so traded it in for 1800 pounds against a newer, more reliable, more practical, more economical and cheaper to insure mk4 Golf GTi (yes the crappy 2 litre one), as I thought the VR6 might get stolen in Manchester! It turned out that other than being more practical and cheaper to insure, the Golf was worse on fuel and less reliable, so I kind of wished that I had kept the VR6, as I was slowly turning it into the car that I had always wanted it to be!

Would I have another? Yes, as a second car but one with leather and air, no rust and where everything works but I fear that car would be more expensive than I wanted it to be and it lacks passive safety features for my kids. It's still the coolest car (but not the best) car that I have owned I think and arguably, VW haven't made anything as desirable since, apart from perhaps the Golf R32s. The Golf R may be very practical, quick and good value but it's just a very fast, more anonymous-looking GTI in my opinion and just lacks a little soul. They're still desirable modern classics but I think that I would prefer something faster and RWD as my 2nd (fun) car, like an E46 M3.

Sorry about the quality but it's a pre-digital picture of a picture on my phone of my Corrado on the 17" Santa Monica wheels. Looking back now, such a good-looking car!

Edited by white_goodman on Friday 3rd March 05:47

Edited by white_goodman on Friday 3rd March 14:07

[ClockworkCupcake]

white_goodman said:

bloomen said:

Do these drive in any way similarly to Mk3 Golf VR6s? Possibly the worst car I've ever driven, even more so when it purports to be a performance car. It felt like jelly on stilts.

No, nothing like the Golf VR6 and it's a 2.9 rather than a 2.8 engine too with an extra 20bhp.

Not just 100cc more displacement, but also a larger throttle body.

Also, vastly superior handling. The two cars really are chalk and cheese.

It was a shame that VW put the VR6 into the Golf. Not only did it directly steal sales away from the Corrado VR6, but its crapness tarred the Corrado with the same brush in some peoples' eyes (bloomen being an example of one).

[molineux1980]

I've always wanted one of these. Prices are rising out of my current reach unfortunately.

[martin-6nlh2]

Joe M said:

Loved mine, best mod I done was definately the quaife differential. Also had koni coilovers, eibach arb's, schrick vgi and 268 cams. Used to be all over evo's and sti's round the corners at knockhill. Supercharger would have been nice but they seemed a bit underdeveloped at the time with many issues. The brakes were also seriously lacking even with the later golf vr6 brake upgrade.
Sold it for £1000 back in 2009

And I still have it mate, currently in bits at the moment as various bits needed sorting and I got kind of caught up with other projects(more corrado's) . I assume you removed the quaife before I got it ? Only asking as I wouldn't know if it was on it or not ? 😃

[MattxSam]

I had one for 6 years and loved it, but they're money pits. Usually one major failure a year (coil pack, heat exchanger, clutch, ABS etc) and a new electrical failure every week... good luck finding a decent one.

[RAD856]

Now on my second Corrado. Bought one of the first G60s available here in Canada in 1990, loved the car but didn't keep it too long. About 4 years ago I found this 1993 VR6 (which is way better).

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

RAD856 said:

Now on my second Corrado. Bought one of the first G60s available here in Canada in 1990, loved the car but didn't keep it too long. About 4 years ago I found this 1993 VR6 (which is way better).

Did you get the 2.8 or the 2.9 in Canada? (We had the 2.9 in the UK, but 2.8 in most of Europe)

[irish boy]

Beautiful one just went up for sale beside me......


http://www.authenticautos.co.uk/used-cars/volkswag...

[ClockworkCupcake]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

Did you get the 2.8 or the 2.9 in Canada? (We had the 2.9 in the UK, but 2.8 in most of Europe)

I know that America got the Corrado SLC which was the 2.8L engine from the Golf with the Golf's far more restrictive throttle body. A common upgrade was to fit the UK throttle body.

[gforceg]

MattxSam said:

I had one for 6 years and loved it, but they're money pits. Usually one major failure a year (coil pack, heat exchanger, clutch, ABS etc) and a new electrical failure every week... good luck finding a decent one.

Not all doom and gloom, then, eh?

I've had mine since 2009 and none of those problems. And I commit the cardinal sin of hardly using mine at all. The only problem is the sunroof motor but that was easily disconnected to allow head in the sand motoring.

I guess you just bought a duffer.