Fresh from a mid-cycle update, the VW Scirocco is something of a survivor. While a few new entries such as the Veloster have appeared in its segment, most former rivals have now vanished as buyers continue to switch to crossovers and premium brand coupes.
The very fact that the Scirocco continues to sell modestly well underlines that Volkswagen is thought of by most British people as a cut above brands such as Vauxhall, Ford, Renault and so on. By way of comparison, a GTC is not in Opel’s plans for the next Astra family, which is a shame. Especially for Vauxhall, as the three-door car has done well here but there just isn’t enough volume Europe-wide.
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Will there be another Peugeot RCZ? We don’t yet know. We do know that TMC and Subaru’s (GT)86, BRZ and FR-S had a strong start but combined sales of all three have tailed off this year. Things might improve in 2015 after each has a scheduled facelift but like the Scirocco and RCZ, there won’t ever be a roadster of any of these, despite concepts having been displayed. These kinds of cars just don’t have the global appeal that they once did.
PSA killed off the three-door versions of the 308 and C4 the last time each was replaced and the same happened when the Civic had a model changeover. The hatchback versions of the Focus, Auris, Pulsar, Mazda3 and Subaru Impreza are all five doors only too – have I forgotten any? The Scirocco being fairly pricey, you could probably make a case for buyers also checking out the 1 Series three-door and the A3 but there’s no three-door A-Class or V40. I can’t see Nissan having authorised the development of a three-door Infiniti Q30 either: this car is due out in 2015 as a five-door only.
All of the above means that VW, along with a handful of rivals, has much of this segment to itself. Those sort-of competitors are the Mégane Coupé, Hyundai Veloster and León SC, plus the Kia Pro_cee’d and its Hyundai i30 twin. Not overlooking the three-door Golf, but that’s your lot. The global cabrio market is in deep decline too, due to China and India having just about zero demand for them, and few countries aside from England having the ideal climate for convertibles. Thanks to it being favoured by quite a few British, French and German buyers, the Renault Mégane Coupé will be replaced, (codename: DFB; SoP: November 2016) but not the Coupé-Cabriolet.
Set against that backdrop, you do begin to wonder if Volkswagen has authorised a follow-up to the Scirocco. It would help if the next car could be sold in the US but that’s unlikely to happen due its segment having more or less disappeared. The Veloster has been available there for a few years now, and with just 24,617 sold for the year to the end of October, it does OK. Trouble is, for the month of October, its sales total was over 500 cars down on the same month in 2013. There should be an uptick in 2015 thanks to a scheduled mid-life facelift but there is by no means an iron-clad business case for a next generation model.
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By GlobalDataFor a car that’s based on the fifth generation Golf, the latest Scirocco feels pretty up to date. It also still looks sexy, especially in certain of the latest, edgy shades, though some of the more sudden colours might not be to everyone’s taste. It’s been with us since 2008, though it looks quite a but like the R concept from the 2003 Frankfurt show. Unlike the design study, the Scirocco is of course front-engined and front-wheel drive.
The high performance R, an additional variant, was announced in May 2009. It went on sale in Europe in early 2010 and was at that time powered by a 265PS turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. Among its main competitors are the Opel Astra OPC & Vauxhall Astra VXR.
A facelifted Scirocoo had its world premiere at the Geneva motor show in March 2014. As part of the raft of revisions, the R gained a 280PS version of the Volkswagen Group’s EA288 2.0-litre engine. That remains the top-spec car, with all other variants powered by 1.4-litre and 2.0-litre TSI petrol and 2.0-litre TDI diesel engines, so an all-turbo, four-cylinder line-up. Power outputs vary from 125PS (1.4 TSI), 150PS and 184PS (2.0 TDI) or 180PS, 220PS and 280PS (2.0 TSI and R).
The car I tried out costs GBP26,805, had the 150 horsepower engine and came with a Direkt-Schalt-Getriebe or Direct-Shift Gearbox. As I have observed previously, these dual clutch transmissions are loved by OEMs as they weigh much less than torque converter autos, which helps with CO2. They can also be quite fun to use, though you do get the occasional strange clunk when reverse parking or else a delayed surge off the mark.
I was surprised by how much torque this low-power unit has: 340Nm. As noted in my V60 Polestar review, compared to the all-wheel drive Volvo, the Scirocco had a couple of dicey moments when the front tyres spun violently on an uphill corner covered in damp leaves. But the electronics soon kicked in and all was well.
The 2.0-litre TDI 150PS six-speed DSG gets to 62mph in a claimed 8.6 seconds, has a top speed of 132mph (134 for the six-speed manual) and has Combined economy of 67.3mpg with CO2 of 119g/km (109 for the manual). I saw 36.5mpg over a week’s driving.
The Scirocco’s cabin is meant to remind you of the first generation model from 1974. That’s taken care of by a three-dial instrument cluster atop the centre of the dashboard. This consists of displays for a chronometer, plus a boost gauge and a read-out for the oil temperature. There was no turbo Scirocco 40 years ago, nor would a diesel one have been imaginable. But these are nice touches and part of the well-done update which premiered at this year’s Geneva show, exactly four decades on from the model name’s debut.
Things that Volkswagen is very good at include this car’s felt-lined glovebox and door pockets, big triangular door pulls, an intuitive infotainment system, and, like the Polo and Golf, a general feeling of solidity. Happily missing from the spec are a starter button, electronic handbrake and powered seats – you don’t want the latter when trying to let passengers in and out of the back.
The stop-start system could do with a revision: if you come off the left pedal while at a standstill and instead apply the handbrake, the engine fires up. The 2.0-litre diesel can be a tad rattly at idle but it does improve as it warms up and has a redline of 5,600rpm. Certain Porsche diesel models have theirs set way lower.
Some things I would prefer that the test car would have had include electrically folding mirrors, a bit more headroom in the back (it would be better without the sunroof of the press loaner), a stronger signal for the digital radio and perhaps some heated seats. I will not take exception to any of the exterior details as I reckon Volkswagen has got everything right. Buyers in Britain seem to agree, with 5,029 cars sold in 2013, making the UK second only to China. The model’s sales peak was in 2010 when 8,323 were registered in these islands.
Don’t think of this an out and out sports car. It’s not. But, like the Peugeot RCZ, it’s not a long way off being one. Despite its age, the looks and interior style are still convincingly current. The Portuguese plant which makes it needs the volume, now that Eos production has ceased, and the Sharan and Alhambra twins are in mid-cycle with no sign of a facelift for each.
Autoeuropa, the Volkswagen Group’s factory in Setúbal (also known as Palmela due to it being in that municipality) has a capacity of 180,000 units per annum and is obviously building cars at a daily rate nowhere near that level. So it could certainly do with a fresh round of future products. Sharan and Alhambra are due to stay in production until 2017/2018, and should then move on to an evolution of the MQB architecture.
A major investment is therefore certainly going to have to be announced in 2015 or 2016 if there are plans for Autoeuropa to manufacture the latest modules matrix, replacing its current PQ35 vehicles. You never know: there might just be another Scirocco after all, and segments do come in and out of fashion. So don’t bet on this necessarily being the last of the line.
