VW Scirocco

The Scirocco has become VW's small hero car.... the Golf GTi based hot hatch a stylish head turner in the company's range.
Under hard acceleration the 188 kw... 330 nm, two litre turbo engine from the Golf R, fairly rockets you down the road with a 0 to 100 time of only six seconds or so.

It is a mighty powerplant and a thrill every time you give it a bootfull.

And it sounds good too,snap crackle and pop from the exhaust under acceleration and on overrun makes the driving experience even more complete.

Grip in corners at speed is unbelievable..point and squirt motoring at it's very best.

However driven enthusiastically can see fuel consumption skyrocket.

With a roof line lower than the Golf it's based on, the Scirocco can be squeezy in the rear seat, and with a small back window, rearward vision could be better.Disappointingly there's no reversing camera.

Nonetheless it is a car for the times and its styling is right on the money.
Seat comfort is typically Germanic..firm, but supportive.

Ride comfort is on par with others in the hot hatch class, again it's quite stiff but not intrusive over rough bitumen.

Nineteen inch wheels look great and the low profile tyre ride can be improved further by selecting the Comfort suspension setting..

Using Sport, the whole thing firms up markedly for sure, flat cornering.

Being 140 kgs lighter thath the Golf it derives from also improves economy and performance.

The steering is very well weighted, and there's no "dead" feel at the straight ahead as you might find in less capable hatches.

A niche car to be sure, but one VW has high hopes for in the marketplace.

At around 48 thousand dollars for the six speed manual, and just under 50k for the DSG autobox, it should definitely be on your shopping list.

Peter Sellen