iHustle.TV: Review – Volkswagen Scirocco
Now, I’ve never been a great fan of Volkswagens. If you reside in my part of London, you will see why. Black Golfs and Polos are just two of the most common cars you will ever find on our roads, along with black Vauxhall Corsas. You will see these ridiculously common cars parked on pretty much every road in the North West of London, and 9 out of 10 of them are guaranteed to have the darkest black tints installed. I’ve always seen them as the typical car bought by a young Asian male or a “Harrow boy” (gelled hair with a silly looking baseball hat placed on top, spotty forehead, and a way of talking which makes you think immediately……what a tw*t). However, my view may change for a short period of time. Only for as long as it takes until the “Harrow boys” replace their Golfs and Polos with this; the Volkswagen Scirocco.
VW took the liberty of re-launching the Scirocco after close to 16 years, and I think most would agree that it is indeed a very hot looking hatch. The fact that it is carries a price tag of less than 30grand makes it even more impressive. I layed eyes on one of these for the first time yesterday and, believe me, it looked so much better in real life than in the press release pictures. Now let’s take a closer look:
1. Looks
The design team at Volkswagen definitely got it right. It looks outstanding all the way from the angular styled front bumper to a very curvy rear end. To top it off, the standard 18-inch alloys go perfectly. The Scirocco is wider and generally a much better looking car than the Golf.
2. Interior
Some say that there’s not really alot happening inside the Scirocco. VW stuck to their original formula of easy to use dials and hard wearing dark plastic. Not too bad compared to my Hyundai Coupe interior which feels like something is going to break every time I press something.
The centre dash has an integrated touch screen sat-nav and head unit. The sat-nav is perfect for us men who don’t like asking for directions, and also women drivers who can somehow manage to get lost on motorways.
3. Practicality
Believe it or not, the Scirocco is actually a four seater car, so it will be quite a squeeze to get even your female friends in the back, especially now that the size of an average British woman is 16!
The boot space is very generous. Perfect for shopping bags, pushchairs and prams, bass boxes, numerous boxes of women’s shoes, or even a larger lady’s luggage.
Although the Scirocco looks like a beauty, from the driver’s perspective this may be its downfall. There are a huge number of blind spots due to its styling and this can become a problem when parking. The last thing you want is a woman trying to reverse/parallel park one of these because, guaranteed, you will be waiting for an eternity.
4. Ride and Handling
VW has given the Scirocco, what they are calling, the ACC (Adaptive Chassis Control). The purpose of this is to allow the driver to adjust the car’s braking, cornering and suspension firmness to normal, comfort or sport mode.
As seen in the Ferrari 599 and Audi TT, the ACC caters for all driving conditions, and it does come in handy when driving on our pothole riddled A roads. The brakes are sharp, giving plenty of grip ensuring no juddering or discomfort to the driver or passengers.
If you live in London, the council in your area will, no doubt, constantly try to justify the council tax by planting speed humps wherever there is a fresh stretch of road. So, to reduce the irritation of these, the normal or comfort mode will be best suited for you.
5. Performance
The 2-litre model gives a whooping 198bhp and charges from 0-60mph in about 7.2 seconds. Top Speed? 146mph. Other models in the range are the 2-litre Diesel at 139bhp and a 1.4-litre turbocharged model giving 159bhp. So it’s safe to say, it is quite a nippy little runner.
6. Running Costs
The 2-litre model claims 37.2mpg fuel consumption, however AutoTrader’s test proved otherwise; 30mpg after over 450miles of driving. It carbon emissions places it in tax band E, which means £170 a year in road tax. Insurance group 16 means high premiums for young drivers, which puts a smile on my face as it may still be a while until a few “Harrow boys” get their hands on this.
The diesel model will give you roughly 55.4mpg and a tax bill of £120 a year. Will save you a bit in your pocket and will keep the tree huggers happy (absolute morons).
7. Reliability
VWs are solidly built and the Scirocco is another an example. It has a lot of components seen in previous VW models such as the Eos and the Golf so there shouldn’t be too many problems, however if anything does go wrong, you’re covered by the normal three year warranty.
8. Safety
The Scirocco is well equipped here; anti-lock brakes, hydraulic brakes assists, electronic stability and traction control. It also has 6 airbags which is 5 more than that in my Coupe. So the average British person should feel safe knowing that they are surrounded by airbags in case their rolls of fat can’t save them.
9. Equipment
The Scirocco is very well equipped so any gadget freaks out there will be happy with it’s electric windows, heat insulating tinted glass, rain sensing wipers, heated door mirrors (which I’ve learnt recently, are very important), dual-zone climate control, 18-inch alloy wheels, alarm and immobiliser, leather interior, touch screen sat-nav with head unit, heated front seats, headlight washers and rear parking sensors. So it is packing quite a bit.
10. Overall
All in all, the German Car Manufacturer has done quite well. A stunning looking car combining components from previously successful VWs at a decent price. Nearly all reviewers of the Scirocco have said they would buy it for themselves so they can’t all be wrong.
I would buy one for myself, but not now. It may be down to where I am in life at the moment because at 23, I’d rather spend a portion of the same money on a faster car, such as a Mazda RX8.
