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I was at my VW dealer's today and one of the guys said: "Hey Robin, we've got the new Scirocco coming in next week, do you want a drive?"....Does The Pope sh!t in the woods!? (I think that should read "Bears"). DSG 2.0T version in silver.
I said "You do know I'm not going to be buying one?" and he said "Yes, but I want to know what you think of it".
We'll wait for a sunny day.
Watch this space..................
So here is the promised review : -
On arrival at my dealers VW Loders Dorchester, the silver Scirocco was in the showroom. My immediate reaction on seeing one 'in the flesh' from the front for the first time was just one word: Elegant! I think this car is colour sensitive in that not every colour will suit her, but silver definitely suits it well and it's very smart with the dark leather interior. The quality is up a notch from the Golf. I've seen photos of it in white and black and it looks awful in my opinion - I don't quite know exactly why without making a fairly anal aesthetic analysis! The other strong impression made was how low and broad she looks. Time to take her outside for some action.
James, who had invited me to test drive the car suddenly wasn't able to come so Steve, their delivery driver and general gopher didn't have to be back by any time so he rode shotgun with the trade plates. The fuel cap flap is touch operated but only when the car is unlocked.
Getting into the car isn't quite as easy as the Golf mainly due to a lower roofline. Once sat inside I immediately felt that the seats were excellent both in comfort and quality of finish. I was also impressed that the interior trim felt slightly better quality than the GTI. The instruments are better except that the speedo's kmh numerals are virtual illegible - Utterly useless for European travel. Everything felt familiar about the DSG controls and steering wheel and in spite of a virtually black interior she doesn't feel claustrophobic in the front and visibility is excellent apart from the rear view mirror. But fortunately the wing mirrors are especially good - They need to be! - and I had no problem at all reversing into a parking slot later even without sensor beeps. This Scirocco didn't have the glass roof option. The doors are huge but easily managed but the B-pillar is waaaay back and I almost couldn't reach the safety belt.
So, apart from letting the engine warm up and noticing she had only 38 miles on the clock, my next task was to assess my passenger's comfort with my driving and gain his confidence so I could then feel free to drive and make progress as I felt appropriate. Without doing anything extreme or dangerous my intention was to put her through her paces and see how she reacted and if she would be any fun.
I was very curious and eager to try out the different damper settings of Comfort / Normal / Sport but until we came to a fast long mile straight with a very uneven surface, it was too difficult to tell the subtle differences. Sport is by no stretch of the imagination harsh, so I question the point and think it's more of a sales gimmick. I can't see myself ever using the Comfort button - It's located next to the ESP and I didn't notice any tyre pressure monitor button unless VW have relocated it.
I was very impressed by the cornering and how stable she was even pushing her on. Also I couldn't get her to wheelspin. Power is very linear and I was disappointed not to feel any turbo sensation. You don't hear any exhaust unless you raise the revs but what you do hear is very nice. I did become quite aware of monotonous road noise and realised I was missing my GTI with Milltek exhaust music. My criticism was that she is too smooth and quiet but that's a criticism of most modern cars - They lack any raw and tactile qualities, the main ingredients of driving pleasure in my book - Not enough feedback. And the same with the brakes - Very effective but no direct pedal feel.
I quite like the quality of finish and details but still don't like the rear from some angles. I don't think the relationship between the rear side windows and the rear window has been resolved - In fact they look as if they were designed separately and put together without any further consideration. Full-on, the rear looks quite good but not exceptional.
Absolutely side-on, she looks very elegant indeed. I had purposely taken a twisty coastal B-road and we found a spot to park and take photos. This next photo below particularly shows how strange and uncoordinated I think the rear styling is. And then it's followed by a series of detail shots.
The alloys look fabulous and I noticed that the brake calipers matched in silver. The Mk5 R32 should have had these wheels and I'm glad they're not diamond-cut and lacqueured and therefore prone to the white worm corrosion. But I can't understand why there is so much space above the tyres in the wheel arches - My whole fist of about 3 inches. As we were parked, I decided to check out the rear seats, the boot, and under the bonnet. The rear seats are very tricky to access but are very luxurious when you get there. However, side window vison is very severely limited and my head was only half an inch from the roof and I'm only 6ft - Quite average. I wouldn't fancy a long journey in the rear without lots of stops. The boot opens initially from a button in the driver's door - Cool feature; Or from the remote key fob. The boot itself is quite generous but the aperture is very limited and access tricky for anything heavy which would need lifting over a very high rear bumper. Folding the rear seats results in a high step and steeply sloping seat back - This is not a proper hatchback in my opinion but more of a coupe with a good boot and comfy rear seats for children.
Now for under the bonnet. No problem finding the release catch but then..............WTF!? The bonnet isn't rising and it's very heavy indeed! VW have not fitted a gas-strut to the bonnet! How much does a new Scirocco cost? Well, I don't actually know but it costs enough to warrant having a gas-strut! I know my bonnet is featherlight carbonfibre and has a gas-strut, but this is a very bad feature, or rather a lack of one. Once I had eventually got over that, I had a look at the engine and immediately noticed how convoluted the air intake seems to be. A diesel engine version is definitely being offered - It's already on the diagnostics network.
After driving about 30 miles I found that I began to get bored. She responds and accelerates well and also is very comfortable and corners well, but she's far too smooth and quiet unless you drive her hard and then, like the standard Mk5 R32, you find you are into potential licence losing country. So I went to find some fast A-roads where I found I was again impressed by her stable handling while hopping traffic trains.
Being the brand new Scirocco, I expected much more attention and looks from other drivers but even when we saw a lot of other VW's going to a fest, none waved or acknowledged and that isn't the case with my GTI. The new Scirocco doesn't have what my Indian friends call "zat!"
When we got back to the dealer's, the display showed I had done 26.7 mpg. I was greeted by friend Elliott saying he had prepared the order form and he was pleased I had chosen a rather strange lime green and "truffle" interior! Of course everybody was asking me what I thought.
In summary, very stable and very linear, quiet and smooth, but I much prefer a car which is more tactile and feels fun at any speed - In other words I won't be swopping mine! Have you ever been out with a girl who is elegant but a bit dull, rather than exciting and stimulating? She's called Scirocco. But don't get me wrong, it's horses for courses and she a very good and safe car and feels good quality - Watch out Audi!
Finally I've included two comparison shots which show how more sporty the Scirocco looks than the GTI, but the fact is that the GTI is still the better allrounder. Doubtless a modded GT version of the Scirocco would be more exciting but, as ever, it all depends on what you as an individual seek from a car. She's superbly smooth to drive and handles well.
:cool:
With Special Thanks to VW Loders of Dorchester for putting up with my continual interfering with their staff's efforts to get some work done, for their generosity, and being a VW dealership second to none!
