Corrado in Evo this month

[PhatVR6 0]

it's a classic case of "the clarkson effect"

 

i.e. a car is only any good if you can get it sideways a lot, and nothgin else matters,

[Mave 0]

Agree with you patvr6, too many people listen to him and think whatever he finds cool or good, they'll be "brainwashed" into thinking the same.

[Andy665 0]

The test did seem to be full of inconsistencies, would have been better to rank the cars by decades in which they were produced, also needed to split by genre - a 205GTI would never have been compared with a Rado when new / current, so why try and compare them a few years down the line.

 

Lets have some proper comparisons - Corrado vs 944 vs Celica etc

 

Have to disagree on the Renaults though, they are superbly balanced cars - crap quality and awful driving positions but great fun for short cross country blats

[Mave 0]

Lets have some proper comparisons - Corrado vs 944 vs Celica etc

 

Exactly! Like the magazine tests back in 94 or whichever!

[PhatVR6 0]

lest not forget that most of on here have our corrado blinkers firmly fitted....and they are nice and comfortable.

 

some of those cars do actually drive better than a corrado. is is a possibility you know, it's in the back of your mind there somewhere, you're just choosing to ignore it.

 

;-)

[Phil K 0]

Phaty has a point and tbh I don't thnik my C is the be all and end all as far as cars go but it's the joy of owning something we all know is a bit special!

 

My C is in there too btw - Surrey Rolling Road ad towards the back ;)

[DelMonty 0]

I think a Corrado is classier than a Integra, I do like Integras, and agree they most likely handle on a track better, but they are not meant to be as comfortable as a Corrado, and the interior and looks are not as nice IMO.

[Vmax 0]

I can guarantee they handle better on track :wink: The Recaros are also the best seats of any car I've tried...

[Andy665 0]

it was a shame that the Puma they tested was not an FRP, without a doubt the best handling FWD I have ever driven / owned, Integra included - great engine too, very peaky and you really had to work it but as a cross country car it was absolutely incredible and fantastic fun - much more so than the Corrado

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The test did seem to be full of inconsistencies, would have been better to rank the cars by decades in which they were produced, also needed to split by genre - a 205GTI would never have been compared with a Rado when new / current, so why try and compare them a few years down the line.

 

Yeah good idea, but I think the idea of their approach was to also demonstrate how far the FWD platform has evolved over the years.

 

Renault hit the nail on the head with the Clio 182 Trophy. Low kerb weight, punchy engine and very high quality dampers. Keep it simple, keep it light. It's a winning combination. It's precisely why the 60s Mini Cooper Ss were so successful and spawned a whole new genre.

 

Renault admitted with the 197 they had a tough job improving on the 182 and they failed. They should have stuck to the original ethos.

[corozin 0]

maybe you should offers yours up for a test feature, on tuned fwd cars?

 

Well since mine has a Quaife ATB and similar strut bracing to an ITR, maybe I should be the one to bitch slap it at Combe.

 

On a serious point the Integra is a quick car... until you add a passenger (or two, or three). Put two passengers in the car and even a stock VR6 will slap them about everywhere, as they have considerably more torque (and you don't have to rev the balls off an ITR to even get to what puny torque it does have)

 

John

p.s. Torque comment also applies to the VR6 vs Honda S2000, & VR6 vs Mazda RX8

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Ditto. The Quaife is one of the best things you can do to a VR6, and also make it less comfort orientated with stiffer suspension and get that tail working with a fat rear ARB. Oh and a shorter final drive. The standard 3.39 is too tall for hauling out of sharp bends quickly.

 

I've driven the newer shape Integ (forget it's model number) and it's a good car. The i-VTEC and short gearing providing the necessary low end urge but the top end kick is less aggressive than the earlier 1800 engine, so somewhat dissapointing. In fact, after driving it solo and getting a feel for it, I had a race with it in my VR across some nasty B roads and it was more than a match, the integ's lack of bottom end being very apparent exiting bends. I was having to wait for him to enter the VTEC zone before the party could proceed at any decent pace.

 

The integ has incredible steering as Honda chose not to fit the horrid electric assistance they put in the Civic. Brilliant seats too. It's one focused machine. Everything is designed to keep weight down, including the front woofers, which are the lightest I've seen!! Crap sound tho. Very well made too, much sturdier than the Civic.

 

I'd still have the Corrado though, you don't drive it, you wear it.

[Andy665 0]

Theres better handling, faster, lighter, more comfortable cars than the Corrado out there, but the Corrado as an all-rounder really does take some beating - I've never owned a German car with character before but the Corrado has it in spades

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Absolutely. I'm not trying to be blinkered here. The Corrado has numerous areas that need addressing to keep it competitive and once you explore the car's potential with some choice mods, it's a different car to what VW ever intended. Same applies with any car. You're right, the C does have an endearing character which inspires you to play with it. It may not have the minerals of some more exotic machinery but it's an amusing and fun car to drive, which is just as important as outright pace and ability imo.

[Andy665 0]

I'm guilty of just seeing my daily driver as a 15 year old Volkswagen and I'm genuinely surprised at the amount of attention it attracts, I actually find it embarassing because its in nothing like the condition bodily that I'd like it to be

[Kevin Bacon 5]

If you're referring to Nugget, looks plenty clean enough to me. To me that's half the appeal of a not quite minter. It's from the Escort era, which look tatty and rusty now, the C doesn't.

 

It's all part of the Corrado experience, you're getting the rewarding drive as well as the feeling you're driving something rarely seen on today's roads.

It's a classically handsome shape that has aged very well imo. I never had that feeling with my MK2 Golfs as there are millions of them. See one and you've seen them all.

[DelMonty 0]

I quite like what they say in the review section in the back of Evo:

"(+ points) Still to bettered from all-round ability and appeal (- points) Err"

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Yeah, which kind of doesn't correlate with what they said about in this test, LOL!

[DelMonty 0]

Yeah, I think the test was for the best handling FWD, not taking everything else into account, which I guess on that basis, a car that had poor reliabilty, looks, practicality etc... could have won, as long as it handled the best....

[Neil VR6 0]

I thought that Evo article was very interesting. It was biased, but only due to the nature of the magazine the feature was in. They focussed very little on the Corrado which I was a little disappointed by, only because I have proportionally more interest in them then any other car in the feature. The fact that a relatively heavy and old car like the C was included at all is testament to the integrity of its original design. Evo is all about “the thrill of driving” and when you’re pitching the C against frenetic and fizzy cars like the 182 and DC2 ITR; the C is going to come out lower in the pecking order. I’m sure if they did a long distance type Lands End to John O’Groats run they’d think twice about choosing a 9.5K RPM redline car with no sound deadening as their weapon of choice ;)

 

I can see similar posts on Puma, Clio and Pug forums. Everyone justifying why their cars should have been higher up the pecking order but when it does come down to the “thrill” you probably can’t beat being strapped into what is essentially a racing car with number plates and indicators!

[double-6s 0]

My C is in there too btw - Surrey Rolling Road ad towards the back ;)

 

 

Say it 3 times mate and someone might hear you! ;)

[Vmax 0]

Yeah, I think the test was for the best handling FWD, not taking everything else into account, which I guess on that basis, a car that had poor reliabilty, looks, practicality etc... could have won, as long as it handled the best....

 

Just as well it was a car with bulletproof reliability, great looks and a huge boot that won then :wink:

 

I drove from Edinburgh to the south coast (and back) last year in my Teg, bit noisy on the motorway, but perfectly comfortable, and you just turn the stereo up a bit anyway :lol: