Volkswagen Scirocco

1 month ago 10th Oct 15:26

The hit series Ashes to Ashes may have used the Audi Quattro to represent the car of the eighties. For many viewers including myself it would have been iconic Volkswagen Scirocco. The nation was divided -one either belonged to the VW Golf GTI or the Scirocco gang and never the twain should meet. Sadly, VW stopped production just after two generations back in 1993 not, however over gangland rivalry as the sixties saw between rockers and skinheads. Well the good news is that the Scirocco is back and the even better news is that this car is more outstanding than ever.

This two door, four seat sports coupe, front engine and front wheel drive comes with one trim level the GT, mated to the top-of-the-range 2.0 litre TSI with 200 PS and costs £20,940. Now I drive many different cars each week but never have I had a car where so many people stopped to stare and ask ‘ Wow! What is that car?’

The exterior looks are simply stunning and very radical, based on the original Iroc concept shown at The Paris Motorshow in 2006. The new Scirocco is not only wider and longer than the Golf but also lower by 10 centimetres emphasising its sporty characteristics. Deep front air dams, thin grille with black inserts and chrome backed headlight units gives the Scirocco a purposeful stance and ready to roar into action. The wide arches covering 18-inch alloy wheels, body coloured door handles, bumpers and mirrors that not only are electrically adjustable plus heated but also have integrated indicators, further accentuate this. No Scirocco would be complete without the twin chrome exhaust pipes and roof spoiler. Oh what a throwback!

My test car came with the optional electric and tilting panoramic sunroof that simply flooded the cabin with light. The roof design used to be sloping but has been replaced by a steep hatch flowing into the vertical tailgate. Not only does this look fabulous it means that the upright rear and short overhangs gives the Scirocco the space to accommodate two-rear passenger with luggage. So now the whole family can enjoy the attributes of this sports coupe. It also came in Candy White paint and whist not being a great fan of this new ‘in’ colour, hand on heart, it looked absolutely gorgeous.

The new Scirocco is also a practical family car with lashings of storage space including a cooled lockable glovebox, a 12-volt socket in the spacious luggage area, front centre armrest with storage and cup holders while the rear seat backs split 50:50 for bulkier loads. Keeping everyone cool is the 2Zone electronic climate control that was well appreciated in arguments over what music to play thanks to the RCD radio/dash mounted MP3 compatible six discs CD autochanger. Luckily the problem was solved by the prefect timing of McFly’ s new album being released. My test car had the optional DVD touch screen satellite navigation on a colour screen, 30 GB hard drive, SD card reader, MP3, WMA and DVD video data files compatibility oh, and an AUX in socket for connection to external multimedia source. Makes my little I-pod at home blend into insignificance.

The three-spoke leather steering wheel is height adjustable and mutli purpose so home to many controls. Another optional extra on this test car was leather upholstery which also came with heated front sports seats, electrically adjustable drivers seat lumber support and front passenger lumber support.

To squeals of delight from the children this Scirocco raced to 62mph in just 7.2 seconds and claims a top speed of 146 mph, which incidentally, I did not test with my children on board! The 2.0 litre petrol engine may be very, very fast but it is also economical with a combined mpg figure of 37.2 while CO2 emissions are a respectable 179g/km This is largely due to the Scirocco boasting Volkswagen’s Direct Shift Gearbox that combines the comfort of an automatic with the performance and economy of a manual unit and boy oh boy was this car fun to drive racing through the gears you could almost see the power whipping around the cars body.

More about Volkswagen Scirocco on page 2