Volkswagen dealers present the return of an icon
Volkswagen dealers must be feeling quite nostalgic this year with the return of their prodigal son, the Scirocco. There is something special about the return of an icon that touches the heartstrings of the human race. As a child, I remember watching my beloved Manchester United tear teams apart in an era when football had become big business at the dawn of the English Premiership. At this point I remember seeing Eric Cantona lash out at an opposing ‘fan’ with a kung fu kick that amounted to a nine-month suspension. Despite all the buzz, media backlash and preaching, his comeback against Liverpool was a modern resurrection.
When a band reforms for a tour, you know that 99 percent of the time it’s because someone’s money has been spent on private jets and glamorous models and a new tour will keep them in heaven for a few more years. Regardless of this fact, we are all clamoring to see true greatness one ‘last’ time, so we go crazy at the prospect of seeing the Police, Sex Pistols and, um, the Spice Girls and we pray for a glimpse of their former glory. .
The Scirocco was a legend in his own life before pausing. These days, an affordable sports coupe comes with front-wheel drive, it’s an accepted fact. In the late 70s, when the Scirocco was born, this was seen as a bit light and fickle. At first the car was underpowered and unattractive, but pretty, so it was impossible for his teammates to take any man seriously. However, shortly after its launch, the Scirocco was equipped with the same 1.6-liter engine found in the Golf GTi, and suddenly the nice car had balls of steel.
Thus he became a legend. Women loved her beauty and men loved telling women they had one. In many ways, he was the most successful “bird extractor” in history. Unfortunately, I do not have the exact statistics to back up this claim. It didn’t drive particularly well, but it looked good on arrival and that in a sports coupe is priority one.
As I’ve already established, true icons have a second coming and Volkswagen dealers will reintroduce the new Scirocco into the wild 34 years after the original. History has repeated itself as the new car shares the same platform as the Gold GTi, underneath its sleek exterior. I’m a huge fan of the latest GTi, which is a welcome return to form after the disappointing Mk3 and 4 variants, but looks like an old lady next to the Scirocco.
Designed by Giorgetto Guigiaro, the Scirocco is longer, wider and lower than the Golf, giving it an aggressive stance while avoiding comparisons to kid riders. The Volkswagen brand is built on bulletproof reliability and practicality. The Scirocco takes these items and wraps them in the best cashmere coat and all of a sudden everyone stops and stares. The Volkswagen badge is positioned on the hood, allowing the narrower grille to give the hood a scowl that matches the headlights perfectly.
The doors have no pillars and are gigantic, which means that the side of the VW looks like a beautiful sheet of glass. The driving position is low and comfortable thanks to the large wide seats. All this style and comfort is predictable to the detriment of rear passenger space and visibility. My rematch would be that if you buy a Scirocco for these two functions, you shouldn’t be allowed out in polite society anyway.
Currently, Volkswagen dealers offer the car with a 2.0-liter, 197-bhp turbocharged engine. Early 2009 will see the arrival of 1.4-liter petrol engines and 2.0-liter diesel engines, all with the option of Volkswagen’s DSG dual-clutch automatic gearbox with F1-style paddle shifters. As seems to be the way these days, the car has different modes depending on the driving conditions, in this case ‘Sport’ and ‘Comfort’. More importantly, the Scirocco has a lower center of gravity than the Golf GTi thanks to a wider track and, as a result, it is a car very capable of traversing the winding roads. The steering felt a bit sanitized even though the car was beautifully balanced and handled corners with ease, but this is a personal preference and not a major issue, particularly when switching to ‘Sport’.
With a price tag starting at £ 22,000, he’s not going to be retiring from the Golf GTi, but he should happily race alongside his brother in the Volkswagen family. The best thing about the latest Scirocco is that it retains the most important feature of the original model. It doesn’t matter how you got to your destination, in sports mode or not, what counts is how you look when you get there. I don’t have my stat book handy, but I think the Scirocco will have men telling women everywhere to have one.
