Scirocco Central

I drove a UK GT for the first time yesterday,wanted to share my thoughts so here goes:

My first impression of the car was that it looks great and you couldn't fail to clock it instantly on arriving at the dealers,in rising blue it stands out a mile from the humdrum polos and golfs in the lot.It looks and feels like a real quality product inside and out as you'd expect,and everyone i've been with to see the car with has clearly been quite taken with it,it seems to attract a wide variety of people,male and female,young and old,from hothatch drivers to Audi/BMW etc owners,it seems to have a broader appeal than the GTi in that respect.

Anyway,to the important part-the driving:

The DCC really works well,comfort noticeably slows the rebound and so improves low speed ride,which is basically what i'd want a system like this to do on UK roads,reduces that 'bobble' significantly that all german performance cars seem to suffer from at low speeds.I think it will reduce fatigue for a lot of drivers.

On first impressions,the most noticeable effect of sport mode is the heavier steering,in normal the damping is already pretty quick and firm,i was able to ease the car into some pleasing drifts very easily,with the car staying very flat and unflustered in normal mode.The car was new,so i was very gentle with the car (out of respect for it's future owner) but i was able to tell that the car is nicely balanced and very controllable.Enjoyable,but will be very safe for less experienced drivers.

I couldn't say too much more about the chassis without driving it more aggressively,which i wasn't prepared to do on a brand new car that isn't mine.Quite how much rotation on turn-in and how much mid-corner adjustability is availble i won't know until i get my car (yes-i ordered one on returning from the test drive) ,but it will certainly tighten it's line and even oversteer controllably by shutting and re-applying the throttle.This is far from an ideal technique though(although most car journalists seem to think it's very important for some reason) and not necessary if the car is well balanced with good steering on and off thottle,but alone will be enough to entertain a lot of owners.I expect the ESC will be just as excellent as it is on the golf and A3 as it makes nice subtle interventions and goes largely unnoticed on the road.

My initial impression is that it's a nicely balanced though safely setup car and most of all i think it will flow nicley on our B-roads,with very good bump absorbtion and good suspension travel,and satisfyingly balanced gentle mid-corner drifts easy to achieve.The performance should be fun but easy to access.

My only critism of the car is that the brakes are very over-servoed,felt the same as all the VAG cars (A3s,GTIs,TT,S3 etc).It makes it very tricky (or near impossible) to heel-and-toe down the box,but admitedly this will only affect a small minority of buyers.I suppose you could always opt for DSG and have it done for you perfectly every time.It would have been nice to have less assistance and a more solid pedal on a sport model though.

The comfort and refinement i found to be excellent,with less cabin boom and wind noise than a golf or A3,closer to the TT in this regard,(the MK VI will apparently be improved in terms of noise).I went for the Dynaudio option because i thought the car was quiet enough to benefit from a nice sound system.We all found the cabin a very pleasant place to be,even in the back.The front seats are very good indeed,comfortable but supportive and they don't pinch you across the shoulders like the GTi and edition30 seats can do for some people.The thigh bolsters are squidgy so are comfortable to get in and out of but still manage to support you once in the seat.Coming from molded recaros,i actually found the Scirocco seats just as suppostive but much easier to hop in and out of,while much more accetable to passengers who don't expect to clamber into a rigid shell bucket seat when offered a lift.

Driving position is spot on-very adjustable.Rear visability really isn't that bad because the tailgate isn't stupidly high like a lot of hatchs, so you can actually see cars behind you when turn around and not just thier roofs.The wing mirrors are nice and big to compensate for the narrow rear window.

Visually the car looks so much better in the metal for some reason,basically it looks superb.It's more compact,squat and purposeful than the impression i got from pictures,i think it can look a bit bulky in photos until you get the impression of just how much lower than a typical hatch it is.Rising blue works well,a bit of an eyeful up close but the car looks stunning from any kind of distance.The only colour i've seen in person as most dealer demos seem to be in this colour.

Anyway,I can't wait to get my Scirocco,so hurry up VW and get mine built!

great review

Yes excellent thanks.

After I go for a look in the first week of sept I might see if I can get a drive later that week or the week after too.

i had a sit in one at a dealership to gauge practicalities, i loved the driving position and those front seats, note David's comments on these are spot on, you really sit in them, tried the back ones out, getting access appeared easier than my previous 3 door A3 and sliding mechanism works better, how easy in a parking space with those doors not so sure. The rears are very comfy given you see it them and feel held in, plenty of legroom, however, i am 5'11 and headroom for anyone taller is at a premium as you notice where the car tapers at the rear so tend to feel it on the side rather than top of your head, there are some little heated elements it would appear on the side windows so you can pear through the letterbox, boot too is reasonable despite the high lip

car was in the showroom (would appear most savy dealers are driving on trade plates as they are intending to 58 reg), rising blue and black leather seems a common theme, colour seems alot deeper than in some of the press shots, it certainly stands out and will gte you noticed, in the flesh the curves a lot more along the flanks and the roof taper to make it look lower at the rear

took the one above out for a 3 up test drive this weekend, most has been said before, my comments for what they are worth, the car is far more refined and should i say grown up than i was expecting the lack of wind noise (despite frameless windows) meant you do need to keep an eye on things (glad i've gone for cruise), the exhaust does have a nice raspy note when revved, the relative lightness compared to cousins can be notcied when accelerating

i was gentle given the newness put liked the gear shift of the manual and was amazed how smooth the clutch and throttle response was (maybe vag continue to improve the drive by wire electronics), the excellant route from the dealer allowed me to try the dcc and it does make a difference, why oh why audi never use the vw sports set up i do not know

inside driving poistion just felt right, always loved the gti wheel and its diameter, my other half said the rear seats were very comforatble and plenty of leg room, for me it ticks the boxes of is it did not feel tiring so ideal for our european driving trips on the continent but equally at home being thrashed around the lines, i know some people have criticised the refinement and i can see their point as every mk v gti i have driven i have wanted to take be the scruff of the neck, i forgave the eos dash and does like the dark interior, rear visabilty was a surprise and the taper towards the rear does also aid visability

public seem to like it as was attarcting a lot of interest in forecourt, i can vouch the rear heat resisting glass does work as i am still lauhging when other half touched it to peer into the rear and quickly removed our hands (this may deter kids with grubby fingers)

i've not cancelled my order