Instantly recognisable and with its own unique tail end party-piece, the Corrado is an impressive coupé alternative to the Golf’s established hot hatch formula. CHRIS HOPE covers all you’ll need to know

Driving
As the spiritual successor to the Scirocco, readers are right to expect big things from the Corrado. The fact that VW’s coupé straddles the production runs of both the Mk2 and Mk3 Golf is apparent as it boasts the hallmarks of both – these cars are comfortable, without being too heavy or too soft, and are renowned for their surprisingly responsive handling.
The engine decides the car’s personality. Four-pot versions make great daily drivers, with tons of traffic-beating bottom end torque. The VR6 undoubtedly offers the most excitement, but it’ll punish your enthusiasm at the pumps. Then there’s the G60, which can be tuned to over 200bhp (need we say more?)

Engine & Gearbox
In the Corrado, the 2.0-litre 8v isn’t desperately impressive in terms of performance, but it’s a hardy lump that’s built to last. The 16v cars are equally dependable, just beware that if the idle won’t settle you’ll probably need to dip into your wallet a new idle stabilisation valve.

The screw supercharger on the G60 has something of a reputation for breaking. It also requires regular maintenance to stay on top form, which shouldn’t be cheap if it’s been done properly. The fact that VW never bothered to specify an official service schedule for this G-lader unit doesn’t help matters either...

The VR6 though (which replaced the G60) is by far and away the one that readers should be hot for. High milers should have had their chains and tensioners changed. If these let go then it’s a Vee-plant out job. As long as you’re not buying from a chimp though this should be a given. Same goes for piston ring wear – it’s only the neglected ones that tend to suffer.

Manual gearboxes will take plenty of abuse, but beware of any cog crunches, especially when going into second. If it jumps out of gear it’s a sure-fire sign a rebuild isn’t far off. Don’t bother with the autos. Not only do they hamper performance, but changes feel sluggish too.

To read the rest of this buying guide see the December 2011 issue of Golf+.

Back issues available here.