Volkswagen Scirocco R
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- Written by Rory White
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IT'S DANGEROUSLY EASY to be a naïve fool with regards to the Volkswagen Scirocco R. You already know it’s a fantastically well sculpted car because you’ve seen it standing out in the supermarket car park. And you know performance Volkswagens sporting acronyms like ‘GTI’ have huge pedigree. So a car that VW has decided must leapfrog the GTI badge in favour of an all-new ‘R’ tracksuit, has to be special.
• From £29,505
• 261bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol
• 258lb ft torque
• 6-speed manual
• Claimed MPG: 34.9mpg
• Our MPG: 22.6mpg
• 0-60mph: 5.8 secs
• Top Speed: 155mph electronically limited
• Weight: 1419kg
The problem, and subsequent damn-fool naivety, starts as soon as you open the brochure and read the collection of numbers within. The Scirocco’s weight is the first frown. At 1419kg, it’s around 30kg more than the 2.0-litre diesel equivalent Scirocco. But take a look at Dwain Chambers. He’s a big boy. Haile Selassie isn’t. He’s lighter, more efficient, and I’d wager not as much fun at the dinner table.
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So, the power then. This must be where the R cleans up. In the Selassie, there’s a maximum of 170bhp available from the turbocharged diesel engine. Not much as a number, but the 258lb.ft of torque on offer from 1750rpm in the diesel is solid smiley-face territory. Choose the Dwain, though, and surely you’ll be looking at a three-figure number large enough to send Lewis Hamilton waddling into the pit lane facilities. On paper, yes and no.
The R’s 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot petrol engine is the same used in the Audi S3 and Volkswagen Golf R. But somewhere between being lifted out of the Golf and slotted into the Scirocco, it has had better pistons, higher-pressure injectors and a bigger intercooler and turbocharger bolted on. As a result, the Scirocco R is delivered to your house with 261bhp, two large exhausts set wide apart and a bulging body kit delivering to-die-for looks. Yet, there’s something wrong.
You have to remember that the R badge marks the car out as the top of the tree. The pinnacle. The absolute, ultimate example of the range. And quite frankly, 261bhp just doesn't feel Dwain Chambers considering that the VW group are putting diesel engines in its new Audi A6 with more power. People are going to look at this car, laid out before them on glossy paper, and probably feel underwhelmed.
And what a damn-fool you’d be to draw such a conclusion from the brochure. Because, and I promise you this, a single drive of this car is enough to have you convinced this is almost a complete package. Almost, for reasons I’ll come to later.
It starts with the interioir. You step inside the Scirocco R expecting the usual VW plastics. Plastics varying in their shade of grey. Plastics varying in softness and varying in their degree of drab. Instead you’re met with a perfect blend of comfort, style and practicality. The pleasingly different triangular interior door handles, the beautifully weighted gear stick and the satnav surround are all covered in a quality, shiny black plastic. In your hands is a leather-bound, flat-bottom steering wheel. Through it you can feel all 261 horses being sent to the tarmac, and with it, you’ll be guiding two 18 inch wheels (or 19 inch at a £515 premium) with encouraging precision.
It continues when you turn the key. From beneath the rear seats comes a rumble totally different to the noise conjured beforehand in the drivers head, considering the engine sat a foot in front. The twin exhausts do a great job of making you feel special. On the overrun especially, that sound will confirm that the £29,505 you’re parting with is worth each and every monthly finance payment.
And by the time you have thrown the Scirocco R in to its first proper bend, you’re all but won over. The sound up until the turn is a growl from within the cabin and a howl from outside it. 0-60mph takes just 5.8 seconds, and you’ll be riding a constant wave of torque thanks to the turbocharger’s state of tune until you need to apply the anchors. The brakes are a tad sharp around town, but then the R isn’t a town car, and when entering corners you’ll be thankful they are.
Mid way around the bend is the one and only point at which you might question the completeness of this Volkswagen package. Despite the R having a lower centre of gravity, wider stance and advanced sports suspension made better with a flick of the ‘sport’ button, the front wheel drive setup more than keeps you on your toes. Many wouldn’t be happy with the way this car handles when really pushed and would suggest four-wheel drive, like that found on the hot Audi S3, would make it faultless. Yet, there’s something truly spectacular about the way the car demands alertness. You need to be part of the process of a corner, you need to be awake and feeling it. There isn’t a hint of torque-steer when cracking on, but in the corners, the experience is one of greater on-the-edge-of-your comfortable-Recaro-seat-enjoyment.
The Scirocco R is a beautiful thing to behold and to listen to. It doesn’t come with a silly price tag and in the real world, provides more than enough power and excitement. The Audi S3 will handle better thanks to that four wheel drive, but the Scirocco R is better looking, £3000 cheaper, quicker than its Golf R sibling and just as practical when you need it to be.
