If you have something of a miserly reputation from which you want to break free, here’s a piece of advice.
Rather than be Scrooge- like and wait until Christmas to break free of your chains do it now in a display of self indulgence. Everyone who knows you will think the world has stood on its head.
The way to do it is to buy a Volkswagen Scirocco, an extremely stylish coupe that will reveal a whole new you. But, to ease the pain of your new lifestyle, the good news is that diesel will still give 55 mpg.
There are many other reasons to love this car than merely its frugality though, particularly that the 138 bhp, 2.0 turbodiesel makes this car very enjoyable to drive. It will never disappoint you.
It’s also refreshing that VW only charges a premium of £705 for the diesel over the cheapest Scirocco, the 1.4 TSI petrol, so the diesel is the bargain of the range to my mind. Much of that small premium will return at resale and the rest will be covered by better running costs, a situation not applying to many diesels because the premium is so much higher.
One of the problems the Scirocco faces is that you can buy a five door Golf GTI TD for the £19,815 you pay for a three door Scirocco while a three door Golf GTI TD is only £19,230. I have seen some reviewers suggest that the Scirocco is therefore a waste of money but that surely misses the whole point of the car.
I also thought when the car first came out last summer with only one high spec model that I didn’t want to drive (the diesel’s arrival this year immediately made it appeal, though) that the car looked too much like the Kia C’eed three door. That’s certainly the impression I gained from looking at some of the Scirocco pictures.
But see it in the metal and its form will win you over. If you hanker after a coupe, and there are precious few cars around that truly fit the description, then the Scirocco must be at the top of your list, or very near it.
There are only two hard colours for the Scirocco, red or white, and for any other hue you have to stump up £395 for metallic paint. The Rising Blue metallic of the test car looked very appealing but I have to say this is a car that would look great in white, especially if you spent a few extra quid on having the more heavily tinted rear side glass that’s an option on non-GT models.
A big shame is that the car doesn’t bring a pillar-less body as I always like them in a coupe. It’s true that they can compromise body stiffness but with such a stylish car I think it’s worth the effort.
As a person with practical leanings (they do not extend to DIY, though, as I have just given away my power drill) I much prefer estate cars to anything else but this Scirocco is sensible enough, despite its sporting ambitions, to win me over.
The back panel is home to a tailgate of decent proportions while the boot, too, can swallow a fair amount of gear. I’m not suggesting that it’s the type of thing for a trip to IKEA but then again my life is not consumed by the need to hump heavy flat packs around so I don’t really care.
If two of you are off for a weekend away, or even a week or two, the Scirocco would probably manage to carry all that you need. The luggage capacity is 312 litres as a four seater and although VW doesn’t quote a higher amount for when the seats are folded the fact that they do (with a 50/50 split) means you could be fairly liberal with your packing.
While the diesel may not quite deliver on the “exhilaration at your fingertips” line in VW’s Scirocco brochure, it does promise plenty of opportunity to “run from the mundane” and “escape the ordinary”. And that, let’s face it, is what these cars are all about.
Maurice Hardy
While no-one could accuse the Volkswagen Scirocco of being an out and out sports car it does make a nod in the right direction with its flat-bottomed steering wheel, an idea borrowed from sister marques Lamborghini and Audi, the latter in the R10 supercar and lesser models such as the A5 and TT.
Although the A5 is a very stylish car, it’s bigger than many people will want in a coupe and also far pricier than the Scirocco, even when you compare the cheapest Audi with a top flight Scirocco.
Compare them on quality and the Scirocco comes out pretty well, too. The VW badge may not have the cachet of the Audi people still recognise its quality.
VW lets the Scirocco have such features as selectable suspension settings and while enthusiastic drivers might welcome this I don’t actually see this car as one for enthusiasts (by this I mean those who smoke their tyres on corners and have been through a few hedgerows backwards), at least not in diesel form. So it’s a bit of kit that’s largely redundant as the car travels very well on its basic setting, both in terms of handling and comfort.
Where comfort’s concerned, the very adjustable manual front seats make getting a great driving position straightforward. The rear seats also have a passable amount of space and access is as easy as you might hope it to be. But as ever with a big two door car, the doors themselves are heavy and difficult to use in tight spots.
Annette Hardy
Car: Volkswagen Scirocco 2.0 TDI
Does it fit your ego?...
0-62 mph: 9.3 secs
Top speed: 129 mph
Bhp: 138 @ 4200 rpm
Torque: 236 lb ft @ 1750 - 2500 rpm
...and your wallet?...
Price: £19,815
Urban: 42.8 mpg
Extra urban: 67.3 mpg
Combined: 55.4 mpg
CO2 emissions: 134 g/km
Insurance Group: 12
Best bits: stylish; frugal; desirable.
