Blair

I test-drove an MX-5 with a view to replacing the G60. Then I walked home from the pub and spent 5 minutes standing in the street drooling over my own car again and realised I'd never feel the same way about an MX-5. Or anything else made in the last 10 years, for that matter.

Well mine was the one Buddha drove on the path to true enlightenment. Naturally he found a limited-edition Karmann-interior version when he got there.

Damnit damnit damnit. This always happens. Every time I think I've made my mind up to get something new, I stroll home and end up standing in the street drooling over my own car. Someone suggested getting a Ford turdo diesel for work and keeping the Corrado. I'm starting to think my heart won't let me do anything else!

This reminds me - when I was having my car repainted, the bodyshop took the paint right back and found VW Motorsport blue (on the sections they took right back) and asked me if it had been a press car or something. Anyone know? It's bizarre - the underbonnet paint is all factory. Well, either that or someone replaced every single clip under there - James Renshaw had a look when I went to pick up a cat from him and immediately said it had clearly never been in a smash because of all the original clips etc. The painter was wondering if it had been treated to a special paintjob for promotion purposes before being re-painted in the factory moonlight blue pearl for supply. Doesn't sound likely to me, but I saw the paint he was referring to and it was identical to the blue they used on the Rallyes when they were competing. Unless it's simply that one of the layers of primer underneath Moonlight Blue pearl happens to be the same colour as the VW Motorsport blue :)

Kev, have you fitted bezels round your indicators and fog lamps? I don't know what you've done but it sharpens things up nicely.

Did your dad have anyone else in the car?!?! Or did he fill the footwell with gear as well? Still thinking about it though...it was a very nice car...

Exactly. And at their prices, 5 litres of Synta isn't exactly cheap...

OK, thanks - so they I wasn't going mad and they were taking the piss. Both times (in fact the first time they had clearly just kept the rest to top up another customer's car - he probably got charged for an extra litre as well - because when I asked for it they just gave me a sealed 1 litre bottle - w*nkers!)

Right - just back. I liked it - a lot! Lots of plus points - nice and solid, tight handling, nice and low, no roof (naturally!), metallic black, under 6K miles on an 04 plate and a fiver under 12 grand. Performance was OK - about as slow as I'd be willing to go to be honest, but still quick enough to be fun. I expected it to be closer to the G60, being lighter and only giving away 15bhp, but the G60 just feels so much quicker. Not really a problem though. Fine on the motorway too (as it's going to be my company car it has to be, I warned them before the test & they were fine). Down 1 junction with the roof down (superb visibility!) and back with the roof up (poor visibility!), was surprised how refined it is at 80 - I mean 70 - with the roof up. Impressive. Apart from my hair brushing on the roof lining!! :( Only two bad points: 1. Tiny boot. For some reason I thought it might be a bit bigger. I didn't expect anything like the Corrado, but I was still a bit surprised. Fine for a weekend bag, laptop bag etc. but not much else! 2. Steering wheel - no adjustment :( The wheel was brushing my legs for the entire test drive. I just don't know if I could live with that :(

Test drive booked, 11am :)

I'd love one Furki - can you lend me the extra 6 grand please? ;) And yeah Kev - I was reading about the supercharged one in the latest Evo. OK, so it wasn't up in the top of their road'n'track car list (a short list it has to be said) but the fact that it was even included speaks volumes. They also seemed to really rather like it...:) OK, you've all convinced me - I'll get a test drive. It'll keep the g/f quiet too (I mentioned I was going to sort out a test drive, she said "I like the sound of that!". Mind you, given that I sort of twisted her arm into getting the TDI130 Ibiza instead of the snail version, I suppose that's fair enough ;) )

About 11K I think

Thanks guys...will book a test drive I think :) With my ugly mug and being 6'3" and 15 stone that would be one hell of an achievement ;) But point taken :)

Just picked up my G60 from the dealers today, just had its service (a month late :oops: ). When I used to use BRM they always gave me back a 5 litre can with about a litre left in it after the service. The last two times my local stealer has charged me for 5 litres...and I've had to actually ASK for the rest. Now, does it actually only take 4 litres? Or have I just claimed back a litre of Synta I didn't actually pay for? More to the point, has this happened to anyone else?

Starting a new thread for this one, rather than indulging my recently all-too-frequent bad habit of going O/T on other people's "for sale" threads... :oops: Now, I've never driven one - they always seemed (on paper) to be a bit slow. But at the moment I'm considering a new car AND the g/f wants us to go halves on a ragtop golf for the summer. Maybe the best idea is just get a recent MX5 and kill 2 birds with one stone? Not that I want to literally kill my bird, you understand!!! RWD, rag top, Jap engineering - so good so far. But does anyone know what they're like to live with? My local dealer has one, I think it's 2 years old, with 9K miles for £12 grand...and I'm tempted.

Sh*t, that's serious. I can't believe anyone survived that one...

I've seen a few of these comments - do people really find their Corrado's unreliable? Mine's been an absolute peach to own - only thing to have let me down was a seized clutch, the rest has been wear and tear (tyres, brakes, suspension and bearings). It cost me less to run over the 6.5 years I've had it than my Mk1 cost over 3 of the 6 years I had that! :)

Might have to bet my budget all on black. Then win. Then put it all back on black. Then win again. Then I might be OK ;)

Do they build anything bigger? :)

Like checking your wallet to make sure you've enough cash to fill up at the next petrol station :)

Yeah, but through a slushbox ;)

Nice :)

Thanks Andy - same engine as the Leon Cupra then! I drove my mate's Cupra and thought it was a lovely car, the performance felt about the same as my G60. I suppose I might need something a bit quicker - might have to sacrifice the mpg for the gpm (grins per mile :) ) 330d...might have to test one. I just don't like the image though...could I live with being a 3-series driver?

Yeah, a Golf TDI 150 was one thought - drove one back-to-back with the V6 and the performance felt pretty similar, although the V6 sounded just SO much better :) Got no driveway though, so 2 cars is a no-no right now :(

No, the company are not paying out for insurance - I get a set amount every month that covers everything bar the fuel! Jim, yeah, had been thinking about that too :) I've got a made in the trade who might be able to get one at trade price for me, so I may well make enquiries...! Disappointed to hear the Cupra R struggled to maintain 28mpg even on a run... The reason I'm planning on replacing the Corrado is the same reason I'd not consider the Fiat to be honest - I don't really want to pile the miles on an old car as it can start to bring all the niggles out of the woodwork and I need something that's going to be reliable. Also, with the Corrado, I dunno - I just feel bad about stacking loads of business miles on it when it's at 111K; at the moment that's a reasonably low mileage for a '92 car and it could make a great buy for someone to run as a cherished motor rather than a workhorse. Having said that, it IS tempting just to keep it for the time being at least...!!! What's the engine in the Octavia vRS? 1.8T? 225bhp?