3CorsaMeal
Member
Registered: 11th Apr 02
User status: Offline
|
98 VOLKSWAGEN CORRADO VR6
By bunging a massaged version of the wonderful 2.8 V6 from the Golf VR6 into the prettier, lighter Corrado coupe, VW created an instant, Porsche 944-eating, classic. There was something about the shape and size, a leanness that hinted at keen responses and exceptional performance. It was no illusion. The Corrado flew to 60mph in 6.4sec and handled more engagingly than many rear-drive rivals.
|
Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
|
Gay. Mines cheaper and i dont leave the country unannounced to live the champagne lifestyle
|
mwg
Member
Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
User status: Offline
|
What about the old top gear video where Tiff throws it around sideways at high speed
http://youtu.be/R3QuH7z1Z1o
|
3CorsaMeal
Member
Registered: 11th Apr 02
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by mwg
What about the old top gear video where Tiff throws it around sideways at high speed
sounds a bit like meatspin to me
|
Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
|
I remember when a tesco delivery driver called my puma a girls car. Did make me laugh. Pikey cunt.
|
Steve
Premium Member
Registered: 30th Mar 02
Location: Worcestershire Drives: Defender
User status: Offline
|
anything about the corsa b 
|
3CorsaMeal
Member
Registered: 11th Apr 02
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by Steve
anything about the corsa b
1994 Vauxhall Corsa LS 1.2 from UK and Ireland
Summary:
Rolling death machine
Faults:
Brakes feel like there is nothing there. The pedal almost goes down as far as the clutch, yet there is no problem with the brake pads or discs.
The steering wheel has so much play in it; it's like driving a car from an American movie.
All the trim pieces inside rattle.
The stalks to control the wing mirrors broke. And the wing mirrors shake like mad when the engine is on idle.
The steering wheel shakes at 30mph, even through it has had the wheels balanced too many times.
The gearbox will not work unless it is warm, and changing gear when it is cold is so hard; you have to almost jump on the gear stick to put it into gear.
The outside temperature gauge has never worked from new.
The spark plugs need replacing regularly, and on the H.T leads the rubber has rotted away.
General Comments:
The suspension is so soft, even though it has new shock and springs, it's like riding a pogo stick.
Trying to stop is scary; you get brake fade from stopping from 30mph.
The seats, well you might as well sit on a piece of wood, it's that bad.
It's so slow from 0-60mph, I think I could push it faster.
Fifth gear has now become 3RD gear, so every time you change up to fifth, you hit 3rd and rev the crap out of it.
Press the horn for the first time in the day; it sounds like an old man farting. Press it again and it sounds like a choir boy.
The car has no rust and no damage, it's not been treated badly, it's just terrible.
Please buy it off me someone, I'm looking for £300 for it.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
|
pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
User status: Offline
|
FLOL, the only problem I ever had from that list is the outside temp sensor.
Shall we start on the Seat Ibiza TDI Sport Mk4 which SEAT say the dashboard is a 'servicable item like an oil filter'
|
mwg
Member
Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by pow
Shall we start on the Seat Ibiza TDI Sport Mk4 which SEAT say the dashboard is a 'servicable item like an oil filter'
excuse me? what? 
|
Steve
Premium Member
Registered: 30th Mar 02
Location: Worcestershire Drives: Defender
User status: Offline
|
fpmsl did you make that all up 3cm?
|
3CorsaMeal
Member
Registered: 11th Apr 02
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by Steve
fpmsl did you make that all up 3cm?
nah, mine was a 1.4 
|
3CorsaMeal
Member
Registered: 11th Apr 02
User status: Offline
|
SPORT
|
pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by mwg
quote:
Originally posted by pow
Shall we start on the Seat Ibiza TDI Sport Mk4 which SEAT say the dashboard is a 'servicable item like an oil filter'
excuse me? what?
I had to have a new set of clocks on my Ibiza, the immobilizer packed up which is part of the clocks. When trying to fight SEAT telling them the immobilizer shouldn't give up, they told me (in writing) 'the dashboard is a servicable part of the car, like an oil filter'. Cost me over £500 and the work could only be done at a main dealer.
|
sand-eel
Member
Registered: 15th Mar 07
Location: carluke/braidwood--IRNBRULAND
User status: Offline
|
BMW E36 323i
Autocar - "fucking insane"
RWD monthly - "just pissed myself"
Nigel Mansell - "best chassis ever made"
Jeremy clarkson - "bmw shite"
Tiff sewing needle - "did a poo"
Fernando Alonso - "tapas wipes off seats easily"
Stirling Moss - "got a hard-on for the first time in 30 years"
|
John
Member
Registered: 30th Jun 03
User status: Offline
|
Should have been able to change the dash yourself with vagcom Pow.
|
Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
|
That Tiff video was one of the reasons I got one.
|
Adam_B
Member
Registered: 13th Dec 00
Location: Lancashire
User status: Offline
|
Slotting a gutsy, 2-litre turbocharged engine into the nimble VX220 has created a desirable, affordable sports car of formidable ability By Richard Meadon/Gus GregoryMarch 2003 If there’s a downside to the motor industry’s current fixation with power outputs, it’s that once you’ve experienced the punch of a 250bhp hot hatch or 300bhp rally-spawned slingshot, opening the taps in a low-powered, lightweight sports car such as the Vauxhall VX220 or Lotus Elise is, frankly, a bit underwhelming. Heresy, I know, for on a lightly trafficked country road such finely honed sports cars deliver a rarefied, cerebral driving experience. But when a raft of equally tempting and no doubt more practical sub-΂£30K alternatives vie for your attention with vivid slugs of instant accelerative gratification, dynamic dumbing-down has never been so tempting.
Fortunately for those of us who are easily corrupted, salvation is at hand in the form of Vauxhall’s VX220 Turbo. Combining the deft agility of a pure-bred mid-engined sports car with the honest-to-goodness wallop of the best part of 200 turbocharged brake horsepower and 184lb ft of torque, the VXT now has the potential to provide as much stimulation between the corners as it does through them, hitting 60mph in 4.7sec, 100mph in 12sec and a top speed of more than 150mph, according to Vauxhall. As a certain John Simister of this parish might put it, cake is both possessed and consumed.
Despite the fact the VX now has the power-to-weight ratio of a 911, I’ve got reservations about a turbocharged engine in a car that was originally the product of a minimalist, less-is-more mindset. Total immediacy characterises cars like this, an all-pervading urgency that courses through their control surfaces as though oiled with adrenaline. Power alone isn’t the issue. That’s why small(ish), normally-aspirated four-cylinder engines are perfectly suited to the application, being light, compact and responsive. Turbocharged engines are softer in their delivery and, despite huge engineering advances, inevitably blighted by some lag, which would seem the antithesis of such an intrinsically alert package. The upside, of course, is a 35 per cent power boost, which delivers vastly increased performance. Whether the delicate dynamics are swamped by such a torrent of power and torque is what we’ve come to find out.
Thoughtfully, Vauxhall has structured the VXT’s launch by splitting it into two distinct halves: an afternoon’s lappery at the Circuit de Catalunya, followed by a morning spent exploring the mountain roads that form sections of the Catalunya Rally. Both elements are vital to get a complete picture of the VXT, for few showroom-standard road cars promise to strike a more effective balance between the polarised demands of road and track use.
Unfortunately for us, the rain in Spain is falling mainly on the race track, and the temperature is more reminiscent of Birmingham than Barcelona. All of which means the circuit is more slippery than Tony Blair at prime minister’s question time. Even Vauxhall’s BTCC ace Yvan Muller – a genius ice racer, don’t forget – reckons the track conditions are treacherous. Consequently there’s little hope of learning anything meaningful, but with a phalanx of fuelled VXTs filling the pitlane and the call of a near-empty racetrack, it seems rude not to slither around for a few laps.
It’s been a while since I’ve driven a VX220, or adopted the necessary bodily contortions required to drop the generously-padded Meaden posterior into the thinly-cushioned driver’s seat. Despite an attempt at providing a few creature comforts, the VXT’s bare aluminium interior is about as welcoming as a prison cell. The miserable weather isn’t helping, but it’s a timely reminder that you’d need serious commitment to treat one as a year-round proposition. In pure driving position terms though, it’s spot-on.
As we’d been warned, the corners are unbelievably greasy. With so much torque available at so few revs, the merest tickle of throttle gets the rear wheels slewing, even in third gear, and the masking effect of the turbo disguises the swell of motive force so effectively that the tail is often sliding before you register a loss of traction. Extreme caution is the watchword, at least until you’ve got a feel for modulating the power and applying some pre-emptive steering correction. Exercise some self-control, treat it with respect and the VXT proves to be surprisingly benign given its mid-engined layout. However, any thoughts of genuinely pressing-on are soon abandoned, for the conditions are scarily unforgiving. One ill-timed sneeze and you’d be in the barriers for sure.
The next day dawns dull but dry, which is great as we want to pitch the VXT against some of the toughest tarmac in Europe. After surviving a hair-raising chase through the Barcelona rush hour, we are soon amongst the pine trees, switchback bends and graffiti-scrawled armco of the Catalunya Rally stages. Scrolling away before us in true PlayStation 2 style, the road jinks and swoops like a ground-hugging rollercoaster, following every contour like a second skin. We’re high enough to feel the bite of frost in the air, and the road bears the scars of repeated hard winters. We’re only an hour from the racetrack but these gnarly roads are a million miles from the silky, manicured asphalt of the circuit.
As you’d expect, the compact, nimble VXT is in its element, slicing through corners like a surgeon’s scalpel. The unassisted steering is perfectly weighted, the gearshift pleasingly notchy and mechanical (not to mention more positive than the Elise’s stringy, disconnected shift), and the ABS-equipped brakes bite hard in the first few centimetres of pedal travel. The spring and damper rates have been increased front and rear, but there’s still enough body-roll to tell you when you’ve got the car working, and enough pliancy for the car to soak up bumps and lateral ridges. There’s less transmission of road noise and vibration through the car’s structure too, which adds to the sense of intimacy with what matters and isolation from what doesn’t. It’s a class act.
The front-end generates enormous amounts of grip, which fills you with confidence to attack every turn. The tail matches it for adhesive quality, and the balance feels wonderfully neutral and adjustable. You immediately know when you’re nudging the limit of the front Bridgestones and instinctively sense how much you need to come off the throttle and the amount of lock to unwind to get things precisely back on line. Precision is the key word here, for you drive this car in a heightened state of awareness, interpreting the constant stream of information from the steering through your fingertips as though the car is feeding you Braille pace notes.
While this is also true of the basic VX220, the VXT’s increased muscularity serves only to make it feel more alive, speeding its metabolic rate. Where the normally-aspirated car’s chassis revels under the loading generated in the committed charge from turn-in to apex, only to fade as the modest power on tap fails to replace neck-straining lateral g with the kidney-squeezing longitudinal forces of acceleration, the VXT combines that precision and delicacy with sheer grunt, enabling you to maintain the chassis loading for longer as you capitalise on entry speed by firing it from the mid-point to the exit.
The VX220 Turbo is a uniquely exciting experience: an inspired union of sports car agility and exploitability spliced with quasi-supercar shove. All it lacks is the soundtrack to match, but that’s just nit-picking. Put simply, you won’t find another new ΂£25K car to touch it.
|
Hammer
Member
Registered: 11th Feb 04
User status: Offline
|
Ford Puma's are shit.
|
sand-eel
Member
Registered: 15th Mar 07
Location: carluke/braidwood--IRNBRULAND
User status: Offline
|
|
Jambo
Member
Registered: 8th Sep 01
Location: Maidenhead, Drives: VXR Arctic
User status: Offline
|
Tiff spanks a Z3m in that vid too
|
adiohead
Member
Registered: 28th Sep 01
User status: Offline
|
I have some old z-s reviews
|
Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
|
quote:
Originally posted by Hammer
Ford Puma's are shit.
i wouldn't say they are shit, but they do look really gay if you are a man.
drive a stripped out one down the back roads and you'll change your mind though.
|
Eck
Premium Member
Registered: 17th Apr 06
Location: Lundin Links, Fife
User status: Offline
|
I've never liked the Puma and I don't think I ever will. Steve trying to force it upon everyone doesn't help. I'm sure it's a cracking car and the reviews are good, but I'll pass.
|
Steve
Premium Member
Registered: 30th Mar 02
Location: Worcestershire Drives: Defender
User status: Offline
|
Ok m8 no beef
|
Eck
Premium Member
Registered: 17th Apr 06
Location: Lundin Links, Fife
User status: Offline
|
Glad you feel that way Steven. What is the initial J short for?
|
