Test drive Volkswagen Corrado 1989 - 1995 hatchback

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Volkswagen Corrado: For individual income
 
Now in the Volkswagen lineup there is no real compartment. And it’s a pity, because before they were. So, the VW Corrado, produced from 1989 to 1995, had many fans among lovers of sports cars. They appreciated quite good handling, powerful engines and, most importantly, the affordable cost of both the machine itself and its maintenance.
 
However, you need to immediately refute the rooted opinion that the cost of operating VW Corrado is absolutely the same as, for example, the second generation VW Golf or the old Passat. Indeed, Corrado is based on the elements of the chassis from these machines, and their engines are often exactly the same. At the same time, the compartment has a number of unique details that are produced only in the original performance. Naturally, their cost is very, very high - for some figure that for Golf II can be bought at a disassembly (where, by the way, Corrado is a rarity) for 100 rubles, in car shops they ask for $ 100 or more. In addition, it is worth noting the fact that VW Corrado in good condition in the secondary market can cost very decently - some owners want to get, say, 10 -year -old cars $ 15,000, or even all $ 20,000! They explain this by the fact that soon decent Corrado will become a museum rarity, all over the world of such machines once or twice and has been expected. However, such a high price for Corrado, no matter how ideal it may be, is an overkill. It is probably much easier to buy a car in a slightly worst technical condition, and then restore it with your own hands. It will take less money, and the confidence that Corrado is in order will be much more.
 
You can find Corrado now, which has never got into an accident, you can probably only in the Volkswagen Museum. Still, this car was created for fast driving and bought for the same purposes, and therefore there are practically no unstable specimens. The most important thing is to find out the current Corrado state and check its geometry. If something is wrong with her, it is better to immediately go to search for another option: there is no point in driving in a sports car with defects.
 
All body details and optics for Volkswagen Corrado cost very much money, especially compared to old Golf and Passat. And do not believe when the seller of a slightly broken car will say that he will get any part without problems for $ 20 at the first disassembly that came across. Will not get it! It is better to try to throw off about $ 150-200 from a price for a broken headlight, for example, or take into account costs of $ 500, which you will have to give for a front bumper or hood. Therefore, many car owners, after accidents, prefer to install tuning parts - bumers and headlights are in greatest demand (the latter, by the way, by now on most cars shine quite poorly and they themselves suggest for replacement). Moreover, tuning elements are usually cheaper than original, and besides, they allow you to transform the appearance of the car.
 
Masters note that to date, on many Corrado, in the electric drive system, a six -heter can clog the gears or just break off a plastic latch. In order for these details to serve longer, it is recommended to remove the door upholstery and lubricate the mechanism at least once every two years. An electric group of contacts may also break (in this case, wires are usually re -laid), the central lock, etc. But the repair of the electrician will not require too much money. Hose, bank and spiral
 
What is the difference between a sports compartment from ordinary hatchbacks or sedans? Is it only a body? Of course not! The compartment is simply obliged to have powerful engines that allow the driver to feel like a king on the road. In the Russian market, Corrado with a 1.8 liter motor is most often found. Very rarely, it has simply atmospheric execution (90 hp). The vast majority of cars are equipped with a motor under the G60 code. It received such a name due to the presence of a spiral, or the so-called G-shaped mechanical supercharger, which using two spirals supplies a large amount of air into the engine (the width of the injection chamber is 60 mm-hence the name of the motor). One of the advantages of the G -shaped supercharger is that it works directly from the crankshaft, and not from exhaust gases, as in the case of turbocharged. That is, there is practically no turboyam, so characteristic of the latest designs. Thanks to the supercharger, the power of the 1.8-liter engine is 160 hp, and the torque is 225 nm. As a result, Corrado G60 accelerates to 225 km/h, and a set of 100 km/h - 8.3 s.
 
Alas, it is the G60 motor that is considered one of the most problematic and expensive to maintain. Indeed, due to a fairly high power, its resource is usually slightly lower than that of simple atmospheric analogues. But the most important thing is that to date, the superchargers do not work on many Corrado G60. The motor can be tried to repair, but this does not always solve the problem. And the new element is very expensive - about $ 2000! Buying used superchargers (they are brought from Europe) is a cat in a bag. No one will guarantee that he is not at death. So there is nothing surprising that there are a lot of Corrado with the G60 motor, but with a non -working supercharger.
 
A 2-liter 16-valve unit with a capacity of 136 hp was also placed under the hood of Corrado. (less often than 150 hp). Well, at the top of the model range there are cars with 6-cylinder VR engines. Typically, such an engine has a volume of 2.9 liters and a power of 190 hp, although sometimes you can find cars with a 2.8-liter unit (174 hp). VR6 engines are good for everyone, because they are not only reliable with proper maintenance, but also very powerful. They say that at Golf and Passat such engines sometimes go 500 and even 700 thousand km. But due to the sports nature of Corrado, the VR6 resource is usually smaller. In addition, when buying a car with VR6, you need to know that parts for it are much more expensive than for 4-cylinder units.
 
You can often hear that powerful VW Corrado when driving around the city consume only 8-10 liters of gasoline per 100 km. This is not true. Practice shows that the real consumption is about 15 liters, and the testimony of the on -board computer (they are on many cars) often turn out to be incorrect - this is to blame for incorrectly working sensors that no one usually changes. By the way, the most common Corrado breakdown is the failure of temperature sensors (two of them), but this is not worth it, because new ones can be bought for $ 10-12.
 
And the broken lambda-zond also does not lead to serious spending. In general, masters from Volkswagen company services claim that the deceased lambda-zond must definitely be changed to new ($ 150-200), but in fact it is not necessary-usually lambda-zond is repaired or knocked out (in the latter case, fuel consumption increases by about a liter) . With a run of more than 100-150 thousand km, hydraulic compensators can start tapping, but their replacement in the usual service using non-original high-quality parts will cost $ 150-200.
 
But do not think that Corrado engines require only minimal costs. There are seemingly nonsense details that simply touch their cost. For example, cooling hoses. It would seem that it could be easier - a rubber tube, and that’s all. However, on old machines they are often already in a fairly dilapidated state. And from Golf or Passat hoses are not suitable! Therefore, Corrado owners are forced to go to the store and buy original nozzles there, a set of which costs $ 430! And the price of only one upper radiator hose is $ 100! Experienced in this case is advised not to take original details, but by tuning Italian (they are red and blue). Such products differ in Teflon coating and other bells and whistles, are very reliable and serve almost forever. And besides, they are cheaper than German - $ 360 per set. The product system is no less dangerous. Its wear is able to ruin the owner, because, for example, only the original back of the muffler costs about $ 700! And here, tuning companies offer cheaper details (the same back bank will cost $ 300-500).
 
Available and a lot
 
The VW Corrado mechanical gearbox should not cause much trouble. Well, firstly, it is very reliable, and secondly, this is a regular transmission Passat. So, there should be no problems with the search for spare parts. Perhaps the only drawback of a manual gearbox on cars with high mileage is a fuzzy inclusion of the first speed, which, especially from the habit, is difficult. The clutch service life depends very much on the driving style - in some it becomes unusable after 40 thousand km, others calmly go and 150 thousand km (clutch replacement costs about $ 200). By the way, in addition to the Corrado handle, it also had an automatic transmission, intended mainly for the American market. According to the masters, buying a compartment with the automatic transmission is now risky now - for sure the machine is in strongly worn out (do not forget that Corrado was created all the same for speed, and not for leisurely movement in space). Repair of the machine can cost more than $ 1000-1500, which is a very large amount for many buyers of used Corrado.
 
Volkswagen Corrado suspension is rightfully considered a strong place of this car. And not only because it is quite reliable, but also because of the cheapness and accessibility of spare parts. Of the more or less often purchased parts, only shock absorbers and springs here are their own, original, but they are not too expensive. Some owners of Corrado, if it is necessary to replace shock absorbers and springs, decide to buy tuning parts, which are usually cheaper than branded ones. But here you need to be very careful - the Corrado suspension is already tough enough, and sports racks and springs only exacerbate the picture.
 
All elements of the suspension can be changed separately, which significantly reduces the reduction of the repair. For example, with the wear of the silent blocks of the front or rear suspension, it is enough to buy only directly ($ 15-20 for a couple of non-original ones). True, the work here is more expensive ($ 25-40). Crarado spurs, like Passat, serve about 200-250 thousand km, after which they can fall apart even with whole anthers. But again, there will be no tragedy in this. You can buy a new bar for $ 50-70 (although all $ 400 can take on branded one hundred Volkswagen).
 
Text: Denis Smolyanov
 

Source: Mkobil magazine [16.05.2005]