Volkswagen Scirocco R 2015 review

Empty-nesters and unmarried professionals are slowly finding a path to the Volkswagen Scirocco R's twin doors.

This sports car has more poke than a Golf GTI and looks to match. As a four-seater it loses a little in practicality: enough to deter families, but not enough to dissuade those with only an occasional need for the back seats.

As a relatively cheap sports car — it's $45,990 before on-roads — the Scirocco is a league above the likes of Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 for performance if not challenging the Golf R for outright family honours.

Design

The Scirocco picks up the front-end styling cues seen in the Golf R, from the restyled grille to the big air intakes. The chrome-finished door mirrors are a love-it-or-hate-it proposition but the new black chrome diffuser at the rear looks the business.

Inside are standard cloth and Alcantara seats with all the bolstering needed to offset lateral G-forces, matched to an R-embossed steering wheel with a multitude of infotainment buttons.

The driving position is natural and there's decent legroom for two adults in the back, along with acceptable headroom for those under 180cm. Extricating yourself from those rear pews requires some dexterity though.

About town

Set the adaptive dampers to sport and the Scirocco is a civilised sports car. The ride is expectedly firm, but the adaptive dampers in comfort mode take the initial sharp hit off potholes and speed humps.

There's still some pitching as the suspension reluctantly compresses for a minor obstacle but it's far more composed than an SUV in the same circumstances.

The absence of rear vision is up there with supercars, making it a good thing the Scirocco is equipped with front and rear sensors and a reversing camera.

The 11m turning circle is OK and the 312L boot will fit a couple of mid-sized suitcases.

The Scirocco is the car to own for weekend jaunts down old country roads

On the road

Assuming you've strapped the picnic basket down well enough, the Scirocco is the car to own for weekend jaunts down old country roads. Set the suspension to Normal (Race is too hard for anything but billiard tables), twist the wheel and you discover the speed and lock-sensitive steering is tailored for a series of slaloms. Ultimately the front end gives plenty of warning before turn-in angles or pace overwhelms the sticky rubber.

Underneath the swoopy body sits the mechanical package of the last-generation Golf, rather than the MQB platform the Mk7 Golf rides on. It would have saved some weight and added rigidity but only experts will find cause for complaint with the Scirocco's handling.

The surprise factor is how well the power is delivered

Performance

It doesn't take much provocation to light up the front wheels, either off the line or shifting from first to second. With 188kW/330Nm from the turbocharged 1.8-litre four, it shouldn't be any surprise.

The surprise factor is how well the power is delivered after that. The outputs may be down on the Golf R but the fun isn't, especially given the Scirocco is propelled by the front wheels against the pacier but less playful all-paw grip on the Golf.

Just as sporty is the Scirocco's exhaust, with a rorty snarl that reaches a crescendo on the red-line. It's not overpowering but it sure sounds purposeful.

The revised Scirocco a standout performer worthy of the budget sports car tag

The speedo spins up in sympathy with that music to the point where it is all too easy to better the speed limit in second gear.

VW quotes fuel use of 8.1L/100km; CarsGuide clocked 9.9L/100km in a mix of city, highway and focused driving.