Written by: Martin Ward
Wednesday, August 27, 2008 

The first time we drove the all new Scirocco was a few weeks ago on the international press launch in Lisbon with 30 degrees and clear blue skies. There we thought it was a great looking car with exceptional styling and it gleamed in the sun, but does it look as good on a cold, wet, windy August day in Bedfordshire? The answer is simple, yes it did. It is one of those cars that shines wherever the place or whatever the weather.

 

Volkswagen are launching the Scirocco with one engine, a 2.0 litre TSI 200ps petrol and one trim level, the fully loaded GT priced at £20,940. Two other economical engines will be available early in 2009, a 1.4 litre TSI developing 160ps and a 2.0 litre TDI common rail diesel 140ps. This latest Scirocco is the third generation. The first was built in 1974 up until 1982, the second was in 1982 until 1993, with a slight facelift in 1984. A total of 77,460 were sold in the UK over the two generations. Volkswagen expects to sell around 9,000 new Scirocco models per year. The competition for the Scirocco is fairy small as there are very few C sector Coupes on the market. These include the Vauxhall Astra Sports Coupe, Alfa Romeo GT, Volvo C30 and even the Mazda RX-8.

 

The advantage of the Scirocco, like its competitors, is that it is a useable two door Coupe and easily accommodates four adults in relative comfort. Its two rear seats are sculptured and when VW say it is a four seater, they mean it. The Scirocco has tiny side windows and it can feel a bit claustrophobic when sitting in the rear, this is something that some people may not be able to get on with and it could make it an unpleasant journey for rear passengers.

 

However, it is the driver’s seat that is the best place to sit. The car is a dream to drive and it is so easy and light. It has plenty of power, great road holding ability with good handling and the brakes are as good as you would expect on a car at this price. The GT has adaptive chassis control as standard which you can feel when you alter the setting but in reality it is unnecessary. It does give the driver the choice though and after fiddling about with it, I decided that the comfort setting suited me best.

 

The Scirocco is built at Volkswagens Autoeuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal alongside the Eos and Sharan. The Portuguese have proved over the past couple of years that the quality they can produce is as good, if not better than the Germans. The Scirocco is no exception as the interior is superb with fit and finish excellent and it way exceeds the current Golf. With the new Golf 6 just a few months away it will be interesting to see if the German built car can improve on the cars built in Portugal, a statement that would have been unheard of a few years ago.  

 

This new Coupe is really a Golf GTi in different clothes and there is nothing wrong with that but the Scirocco is longer, wider and shorter, making it all look in proportion and very stylish. The Scirocco name refers to a hot wind that blows from the Sahara desert to the Mediterranean.

 

CAP Monitor predicts a future value in 36m/60,000 of £10,275 or 50% of cost new for the 2.0 TSI GT model.

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