speedtwelve

I'm one of those with both MKIII and Corrado VR6s. The Golf I use for commuting, Corrado for weekends. Afew comparisons: Performance: Can't really report, as the Golf is standard whereas my Corrado has the engine spec listed below. Obviously the Rado trashes the Golf in every gear, although in general terms the Golf has more than sufficient in-gear performance to 'make progress'. Overtakes in the Golf are rarely a problem. Handling/Ride: The Corrado is far superior in this respect. It is much better damped than the Golf, and isn't phased by bumpy, off-camber back-roads. Steering feel is better on the Corrado IMO, and the rack feels quicker (whether it actually is or not I don't know!). Outright grip is about the same (both cars run Toyo T1Rs). The passive rear-steer is very noticable on the Corrado; it is much livelier turning-in than the Golf. Build: I agree with previous posters that my Golf seems to be slightly better screwed together. 10 years old, no rattles or broken trim at all. The Rado does squeak a little. Economy: With the same 'driving style' I get 28 mpg average in the Corrado, 27 in the Golf on the MFA. Nothing in it, then. I prefer the looks, driving position, handling and overall feel of the Corrado. I only have the MkIII as well due to me inheriting one. Don't think you'll regret upgrading to a good Corrado VR6!

I own/have owned Corrado VR6, Golf Mk3 VR6 & an 8v Golf Mk2 GTI. The Mk2 GTI was built like a brick $hithouse and I found it to be a reliable car with relatively simple systems (I had an '87 with K-Jetronic mechanical fuel injection). Parts are pretty cheap. It's torquey, and goes pretty well being a light car. Good steering feedback (I prefer the non-PAS Mk2), quite a chuckable and adjustable chassis. My Mk3 VR6 would waste my Mk2 GTI in any gear, has masses of torque, but isn't particularly fun on a back road. Damping is poor, it hates potholes, bumps and cambers... The Corrado VR6, IMO, is so much better than the Golf VR6 it's hard to come to terms with. Ride, damping, turn-in, steering feedback, adjustability, it has it all. It's great, and the only cars I've driven that were purer handlers had Lotus or Porsche badges on the back. Only problem is, I've got a FSH with my Rado, and it's cost the national debt of a small African country to maintain in top nick over the years. Panels and body parts are expensive if you shunt it as well. TBH I'd go for a solid rust-free Mk2 GTI with sound, unworn suspension as a daily driver!

I've found the same ! Nobody bats an eyelid when I'm out in the Corrado, but every boy-racer and his dog seems to fall over themselves with excitement when I drive by in the Golf VR6. Thing is, it's a standard 5-door with original BBS wheels, although it has been lowered slightly, but the local chavs seem to think it's some kind of automotive Holy Grail. I've had them run out in the street beside it clapping FFS! Incidentally, when I used to own Sciroccos everyone seemed to think they were Audi coupes for some reason (other than the silver one I had, which was 'the DeLorean from Back to the Future' apparently...). Nobody seems to have a clue what the Corrado is at all.

Sounds like a plan for me! Quick blast up the M40... Other places to see Grp B cars running live, incidentally, are at Goodwood Festival of Speed & Castle Combe Rally Day (22 Sep).

Work colleague a few years ago had an FSO Polonez. Remembered Clarkson driving one and saying it was one of the worst cars ever offered for sale to the general public; I just had to have a go... The steering wheel was simply somewhere to rest your hands; it didn't actually control where the car went. We ended up having a drag race on a 'private test track' near work. From a standing start to a fixed point 1/3 of a mile or so away the FSO managed 58 mph terminal speed. My Lancia Delta HF Turbo reached 110 mph over the same distance! Had a 1.0 litre Fiat Cinquecento as a hire car once. Chucked 3 mates on board and went for a refreshing drive in the country. No rev limiter, but when the valves started bouncing it wouldn't rev any higher anyway. Despite having only 5000 miles or so on the clock it proceeded to drop all its coolant for some reason.

AFAIK T1-S no longer made, T1-R was the replacement. I rate the Toyos as a good wet & dry all-rounder. Used to have F1s on my old Mk2 GTI and they were the best road tyre I've ever had, but I don't reckon the performance increase over the Toyos justifies the extra cost. Used to commute to work in my Scirocco hillclimb/sprint car with Yokohama Advan cut-slicks on.... :lol:

Yeah, sounds like a HG leak allowing cylinder hot gas leak to pressurise your coolant, particularly if the coolant is bubbling/boiling in the expansion tank and coming out of the overflow when hot. Get hold of a CO tester and 'sniff test' the expansion tank with the cap off and engine running. The above HG problem will cause an increase in CO level due to exhaust gas blowing in the coolant.

Just found this thread. Always reckoned the RR figures for my C were a little on the low side as well. It'd been dyno'd by the previous owner using Stealth's RR, and returned 215 bhp @ fly and 203 lbft with spec as listed below in the signature. The car was on 150k miles at this point, however! What bothers me was that when the engine was orginally modded it dyno'd at 240 lbft! This sounds a little optimistic to me, but if true I seem to have lost nearly 40 lbft over the years! The rpm trigger for the VGI has been changed/altered at some point, but the engine is otherwise healthy, having been given a complete rebuild at 70k and top-end rebuild at 120k. Are the Schrick cam lobes likely to have worn significantly with 150k+ miles on them? I hope not at £1k a set... :shock:

Have Schrick 268 cams and the car idles smooth as a baby's bum... Can't recommend the 268 cam/VGI/remap/TB option enough. Chunkloads of flat torque smoothly-ish becoming podloads of power at the top end. Wish I could afford to supercharge it as well... Incidentally, I used to have a road-legal hillclimb/sprint Scirocco GT-S which ran a 280 degree cam. It idled like Bernard Manning farting.

Mine had new Konis and new standard VW springs fitted just before I bought it. It now looks like it's jacked-up on forest-stage suspension! I could almost get my head between the tyre and rear arch :( . Some subtle lowering is on the cards for the new year. Thankfully my Golf VR has been pre-dropped by a considerate previous owner.

My VR is on 167k. Bought it from a mate who had owned it for 8 years before me. The engine was completely rebuilt at 70k, new pistons, the works :shock: . Head off againg at 120k for head gasket, and it now pulls like a train; saw a GPS verified 150 mph on a private test-track recently. Mate kindly spent £3k on it in the past year, though, with the car completely rebushed with new Konis and springs. With a bit of luck it should see me through 200k+ as I'm planning to keep it for years. Should get its first trip to the Nurburgring in the summer.

Mate had the same problem recently, finding a replacement for the Schrick-modified Corrado VR6 he had owned for 8 years. He test-drove, and discounted, Mk5 Golf GTI, Impreza WRX, S2000, EVO 8. Only the EVO really appealed, but he wasn't sure about long-term running costs. The others he felt either lacked the steering feedback of the Corrado or were too gutless off-cam/boost. He ended up with a 2004 BMW 330Ci MSport. He's had it a few months and reckons it's a worthy-enough successor, but still reckons it lacks the performance and handling edge of his old VR6...

I currently own both Corrado and Golf VR6s so can compare them back to back. The Corrado is my fun/weekend/track car, whereas I have the Golf for commuting as I consider a 2800cc V6 in a smallish hatch just about adequate for daily use... The Golf is completely standard bar lowering springs. The Rado has the whole Schrick VGI/cams/TB/remap shebang with Koni adjustable suspension. I do reckon the Mk3 is marginally better screwed together; there are no rattles or squeaks, unlike my C, although both cars are the same age. Difficult to compare engines, as my C has 40 bhp more than the Golf. Sufficient to say that my C feels like it has wads more torque and top-end power than my Mk3 (obviously), but in the real-world the Mk3 will still trounce most road-cars on the dual-carriageway anyway. 30 - 70 in-gear times for the Golf are around the same as an E36 BMW 328i so it's not exactly slow. A standard Corrado VR6, incidentally, will outdrag an early 90s BMW M5 over the 30-70 increment... The Mk3 feels underdamped; it is fine on A-roads, but once on the twisties it tends not to like camber changes and undulating surfaces. The Corrado chassis is fabulous in comparison, I couldn't believe how much better it was when I first drove it. There is no comparison here, I can't emphasise that enough! The steering ratio feels different, the Corrado turns-in sharper and will tuck-in nicely in corners with a throttle-lift (or go completely sideways if you're abrupt enough). The Mk3 is more benign and neutral initially, tending more towards understeer at the limit. I definately notice the effect of the passive rear-steer geometry on the Corrado after driving the Golf. MPG-wise they are pretty similar, although my Corrado is slightly better despite the engine mods. 28-ish mpg versus 27 or so for the Golf on dual carriageways driven fairly swiftly. I run both cars on SUL fuel. Low 20s if you kick the $hit out of them on a b-road. As a fun performance car I'd recommend the Corrado over the Mk3 Golf in every area. For what it's worth my old Mk2 GTI 8v was much more fun to drive hard than my Mk3, but not up with the Corrado. If you can't stretch to a Rado VR I would go back and get a nice late-model Mk2 16v rather than a Mk3 VR personally!

Seriously considered a 944 S2 or turbo when I was getting the Corrado. I had a drive in a new 996 Carrera 4S on an airfield a few years ago and it was fantastic. An absolute rocket-propelled Panzer, and I do fancy owning a (more affordable) 911 of some type in the future. A 964 or early 993 might be a plan. Also fancy a 968CS, but don't think it's enough of a leap over a modified Corrado VR6 to justify the cost. TBH when I replace my C in a few years an Elise/VX220T/RV8-engined TVR will probably be the main items on the list.

Old git of 38. I'm a mere beginner in the VW stakes compared to some on here! VW's Owned --------------- 85C Scirocco GTX Champagne Silver 86C Scirocco GTS Black (race-prepared sprint & hillclimb car) 87E Golf GTI 8v Silver 96N Golf VR6 Dragon Green 95M Corrado VR6 Classic Green (Schrick VGI, 268 cams, AMD TB & remap) Non-VW's ------------ 89G Toyota Carina 1.6 16v (Sorry, really needed a cheap car...) 85C SAAB 900iS 87D Ford Fiesta XR2 Black (Sorry again, it was cheap...) 88E Peugeot 309 GTi 1.9 88E Lancia Delta HF Turbo 89G Nissan S13 200SX 92J Toyota MR2 Turbo GT 98 Biz JKII twin-engined Prokart Still have the Golf VR6, just got the Corrado, have to sell the MR2T. My record for keeping the same car is 2 1/2 years. Hope to beat that with the VR6s. The Corrado was going to be an Elise S1, but I didn't think the extra outlay translated into twice as much fun!