Scirocco Central

Hi,

I'm putting together a buying guide on the 2.0 TSI and R for evo magazine - some of you may have noticed a similar post in the 'other place'!

I'd love people here to add their thoughts too so that it can be as accurate and informative as possible and generally spread the word about the Scirocco and the community that's grown up around it.

I'm told that RW1 is something of an oracle, so it would be great to hear from you, RW.

The sort of thing we need is a brief evolution of the model with the key changes, what are the best options to look out for, anything to avoid - that sort of thing. The biggest chunk of the guide will be the Checkpoints, which we usually break down into Engine, Transmission, Chassis (suspension, steering and brakes), and Interior/electrics. Basically what you'd tell your best mate to look out for if they were considering a TSI or an R.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me with this. I'm very happy to promote the community by way of a thank you.

If anyone would like to email me directly, it's petertomalin@me.com

best wishes,

Peter

Hi Peter, yes RW1 (aka Chris) is a tome of knowledge. I'm sure the guys and girls over on Net have already given you some great information and hopefully we can flesh that out a bit for you as well.

For options, I think parking sensors are a must due to the letterbox sized rear window and wide haunches. Leather is desirable as it bundles in heated seats as well. Xenons look really nice but early models are unlikely to have them as VW had supply issues for the first 8-10 months or so. Personally I love DSG on my 2.0TSI but that's a bit marmite for a lot of owners. I think it's like driving 2 different cars. The D mode will potter about just fine in regular traffic but then when you want to play a bit you can use the paddles and the car really comes alive. The rest of the options are probably just personal preference.

Problems seem to be relatively scarce so far. The front fogs get broken quite easily and are around £50 for a new unit but are easily to replace yourself. I've had a dodgy airbag sensor replaced under warranty.

The frameless doors can be a pain in the winter. The windows freeze to the rubber seals and don't drop so you have to be careful about either melting the ice at the join or some silicon sprays can make it easier to open the door.

Tyres seem to last around 15-20k miles and are expensive. A good brand, like your EVO tyre test winners from the last couple of years (Conti sport3 and eagle F1 if I remember rightly) are around the £170 a corner mark.

There's a model year changelog here
http://www.sciroccocentral.co.uk/roccop ... el_Changes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Recalls here
http://www.sciroccocentral.co.uk/roccop ... le=Recalls" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Welcome along Peter, glad you got my e-mail. I'm sure Chris (RW1) will be along shortly - what he doesn't know about the scirocco really isn't worth knowing!

I can't chip in anything about the 2.0 or the R but if you would like any info for the guide on the 1.4 160 hp I'll be happy to help!

One thing I would comment for all models really is that good quality lowering springs and a remap are a very popular couple of modifications.

Hi Peter

Having owned a R from when they first arrived in the UK I will send you my views on what it's been like to live with one!

Been a long time EVO subscriber too so glad to be of help in anyway. Not far from EVO towers either so if you need a car for pics etc then I can help that too!