Corrado 2.0 16v

Oh boy, what a car to dream about. Having fond memories of the Mk1 Golf Gti and Mk2 Scirocco, I really wanted a Corrado. Considering my budget there wasn’t much else out there to buy. Now obviously it would’ve been nice to buy the VR6 Storm, special edition, but only being in my 20’s and with an insurance group of 19, meant I couldn’t afford to run one. Instead, with limited funds, I bought my 2.0 16v for a bargain. It certainly met my criteria of: good looking with handling to match, on a budget.

The car is a deep metallic purple and certainly caught my eye. It came with 17” aftermarket alloy wheels and cheap lowered suspension; the ride was harsh but oh boy did I love it. Later on I realised the car handled extremely well in this guise but more compliant on standard suspension. All the electrics worked on the car, including the active spoiler and sunroof, which would be expensive to fix.

The 2.0L came out fairly late in the series of Corrado, as the emission laws (1992) meant the car needed a catalytic converter, so VW dropped in a 2.0L lump instead of the 1.8 version. The performance isn’t that high for a 2.0l, only producing about 130bhp or less, but being a 16v it drives all the way up to the redline nicely. It’s about on par with the old Ford Fiesta Si for performance, but streets ahead for style. The handling was awesome on the stiffer setup, like a Go-kart, but with the shocks bleeding oil, I decided to put the standard springs back on when I installed my Bilstien shocks. At the same time I also went to the standard 15” sized wheel, with some BBS alloys that look similar to that of the G60, which suits it well. However, these massive changes meant for a big change in handling and there is much more body roll.

The car has not been cheap to run so far with a full tank of fuel (£55) getting me about 400 mile; that I expected, however some parts have gone too. Other than the shocks going, the aftermarket exhaust went too, so I replaced it as far as the CAT (incl), which wasn’t cheap. Other than this there hasn’t been much cost, although I can foresee a couple more jobs that need doing – touch wood.

What is it like inside? Well its got firm seats with cloth covering. The drivers seat has lost the lumbar support and gives me back ache; the other seats are like new. The floor mats are not standard and slide all over the place, I must buy some different ones. The dashboard is all black, standing out against the light grey interior. The clocks are black and simple to read. The fan only works on certain settings which is a common problem and a job I should get round to doing, but it still does the job; touch wood again, as the car never seems to mist up. The car features a little computer (MAF), which lets you read all sorts of things about the car, such as oil temperature, outside temp, time, distance travelled and mpg. The MFA has two settings, the first that resets every time you go out, whereas you choose when to reset the second trip; very useful for recording the miles. The front seats also have height adjustment whereby it pivots at the front; this with the steering wheel height adjustment means I can get well placed to drive.

I must say that I’m still proud of my little Corrado and often see people admiring the car, especially lads in VW Golfs. It started out as a car that I must own at least once, if only for a short while, but the deep burble of the exhaust puts a smile on my face every day and means that I hope to keep it for a while longer. It’s not a car to be raced, but one to be appreciated; the novel little spoiler pops up once you’re well under way (55mph). Cracking back the sunroof on a summers day is what its all about for me. Enjoy cars? – enjoy a Corrado
 

Stats:
Engine: 2.0 16v
Performance: 131bhp
Time owned: 2 years
Bought and sold for: roughly £3k
Mileage owned: 15,000
Parts/Servicing costs: depends
Insurance: group 17; £800 and less each year (about £350 now).