The Golf owners have got to be worried, or so I thought. Clearly if you are considering a 3 door Golf, you’ll try the Scirocco. After that, well, why would you buy a Golf?
It’s the same engineering, but the look is more stylish and distinctive. The Scirocco is lower, wider and longer than Golf, so it has more presence and is clearly a Coupe, not a small family hatchback. The interior too, even though it’s only really the head rests and steering wheel which are distinct, feels more exciting to own. So Golf prices will surely slip?
Take any slip road, corner or roundabout with just a little urgency and the driving experience seduces you. The steering wheel - with its racing car flattened bottom shape – helps, as does the smooth, soft-leather trim. But the key sensation is that there is just the right amount of power, grip and suspension tuning to allow you to point this car anywhere at late notice and have total confidence that it will go straight to your chosen apex. It is instant, but not in a surprising or unpleasant, lively sense. It is instant in a supremely competent manner.
This calm, but “driver’s driving experience” was only achieved with the baby 1.4 TSI engine (1.6 litre in old money) and ‘normal’ mode. Put the car into sport mode and it adjust the suspension, steering and accelerator responses to give you something even more tingly. Or, flick it the other way into comfort, and it will make the motorway run that bit smoother. But I didn’t bother because this car is a treat to drive on a motorway. Two hours just saunter by. It’s not so much ‘are we there yet,’ but ‘we’re there so soon?’
I got out of a new ‘premium’ brand car that is coming to the UK, planning to take on Lexus, and as soon as I touched the gear lever of the Scirocco I realised that I was sitting in one of the best-built cars ever made. The seats have VW’s Kevlar-like material trim and hold the torso, much as I like to hold a woman. With a confident firmness, rather than a desperate clamp.
As with the Audi A3, four full-grown adults can ride in the Sciroco comfortably. The front seats slide out of the way to give easy access and the back seats are almost as comfortable and large as the front.
So the 3 door A3 is surely destined for the slippery depreciation slop, along with the Golf, because everyone will want one of these.
I was musing about this when I asked the delivery driver what he thought of the test car and he sheepishly responded, “I think they are a marmite car. I’d rather have a Golf.”
“Yes, they’re brilliant these Sciro… Sorry, pardon?”
“Well, I just think it’s really a Golf pretending to be something else. I don’t like the styling. So I would rather have the Golf.”
Now the Scirocco had sold over 1,000 units before it was even out of the factory, so it seems that Volkswagen know a lot more about car buyers that I do. They make all these cars because they know that some of us want this, and some of us want that. Which is why there isn’t going to be a depreciation bonanza.
What’s the market like?
Surprisingly for Volkswagen, and even more surprisingly for a hot hatch/coupe, there are a relatively large number of nearly new examples on the market and at attractive prices too. A 6 month old model identical to the 6,000 mile test car can be found with less than 5,000 miles, on the market for £19,000. That’s only £2,000 less than the new list price, but it’s as good as a scrappage discount and you have your part exchange money on top. One year old cars are going to be more than £15,000 for some time yet too, but by the end of 2010 prices will soften a bit more.
What else does this budget buy?
Some will take the view that a Scirocco is just a Golf with a different face and as such, not worth the extra £6-£7,000 that it commands on the used market (when comparing like for like engines). These buyers will also look at the Audi A3, and find it to be priced between the two. Having gone that far, it would seem silly not to see what £12,000 - £19,000 buys in terms of nearly new BMWs.
The answer is, that the entry-level specifications are fetching prices very similar to the Scirocco.
But actually there is nothing quite like the Scirocco on the market.
Summary
Stylish, perfectly built, a pleasure to drive, a pleasure to cruise in. The only reason to buy a 3-door Golf once you’ve tested this is that it’s a bit cheaper.
By: Matthew Tumbridge