Volkswagen has returned to an idea it last tried out more than ten years ago and created a coupé version of the Golf. The Mk3-based Corrado was on sale from 1989 to 1996, but the more iconic model was the 1974-1993 Scirocco, and it is that car whose name has been used for the first such vehicle of the 21st century.I always thought that both versions of the old Scirocco looked better than the Corrado did, but neither of them has quite the sense of purpose conveyed in the design of the latest car. And that's quite appropriate, since no previous Golf coupé has ever had quite as much power as this one.There are at present only two kinds of Scirocco, and the difference is limited to the choice between a six-speed manual gearbox and the semi-automatic twin-clutch DSG transmission fitted to the car tested here. Whichever method of gearchanging you pick, you'll still find under the bonnet a turbocharged two-litre TSI petrol engine (a 158bhp super/turbocharged 1.4 and a 138bhp 2.0 diesel will be along in 2009).In its current form the Scirocco has the same 198bhp maximum power output as the standard petrol Golf GTI. Performance is almost exactly the same, and fuel economy is slightly better thanks to the Scirocco's superior aerodynamics and lower weight. The Golf is a wonderful car to drive, and you might expect the Scirocco to be at least as good, if not slightly better, but on the basis of this test - a short one, admittedly, to be followed by a more extensive drive in a manual version - it just isn't.My impression so far is that the Scirocco doesn't deal with 198bhp quite as well as the Golf does. On several occasions I found it scrabbling for grip when I really didn't think that grip would be a problem, and I doubted that the Golf would have had the same difficulty. It may be that the Scirocco's suspensions set-up isn't as adventurous, and that would certainly explain why the ride quality is better; in any case, it definitely seems that the Scirocco is less of a driver's car than the Golf is.(Supplementary note: In response to a reader's comment, I should say here - as I ought to have done in the first place - that the Scirocco has a button which you press if you want to increase the sportiness of the suspension. I experimented with this and found that the Comfort setting was the best available; in Sport mode, the ride is markedly worse, but there are no handling benefits to speak of. Admittedly, I was driving on country roads with constant rises, falls and camber changes, and perhaps Sport mode would be better on smoother surfaces. But I've driven the Golf GTI on similar roads and it coped with them far more impressively.)But then the appeal of the Scirocco is largely in its styling. No matter how dramatic a Golf may be, it's still a Golf, and it's difficult to escape the idea that it might otherwise have been a Focus or an Astra. When you see a Scirocco drive past you can be in no doubt that its owner wanted something special and had the means to acquire it.I have to say here that I think the Scirocco looks wonderful, but you pay for that appearance in several ways. Those rear side windows are so tiny that they barely function as windows at all, so that it's advisable to have a friend guiding you through a reverse parking manoeuvre.And although Volkswagen describes the car as a four-seater, you'd have to be on the petite side to be able to fit in the back, especially if someone like me is driving.On the plus side, access to the rear is pretty good, since the front seats move forward usefully far when you fold them. The rear seats are foldable too, and if you make use of that fact you can increase the luggage capacity from 292 to 755 litres (respectively 10 litres less and 145 more than the equivalent figures for the Alfa Romeo Brera).Oh, and the DSG gearbox remains one of the finest of its type, even though other manufacturers have started to catch up with similar systems. Volkswagen does not claim any difference in fuel economy and CO2 figures compared with the manual gearbox, but the super-fast gearchanges knock a tenth of a second off the 0-62mph time even though the transmission makes the car slightly more sluggish in the first few yards of a full-bore standing start. Engine 1984 cc, 4 cylinders Power 200 bhp @5100 rpm Torque 207 ib/ft @1700 rpm Transmission 6 speed semi-auto Fuel/CO2 37.2 mpg / 179 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 7.1sec Top speed 145 mph Price From £23012.00 approx Release date 01/09/2008
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