And the sun is shining down on the blossoms in the avenue….
There’s a buzzing fly hanging around the bluebells and the daisies…
And there’s a lot more loving left in this world….”
The lyrics of ‘Don’t Go’ by the Dublin-based Hothouse Flowers summed up the laid-back atmosphere of the 80s but there was one line which always stuck with me.
It was the one about the warm Mediterranean wind that comes from the Sahara and can sometimes reach hurricane speed in North Africa and Southern Europe.
“There’s a blue scirocco blowing warm into my face…….”
The line came flooding back to me as I enjoyed myself behind the wheel of what I believe is one of the most enjoyable yet under-rated cars on the market today.
Far from blue, this was a stunning Viper Green metallic Scirocco from VW and the colour wasn’t the only thing that made this car stand out.
This was the range-topping R version with a turbocharged 2 litre TSI petrol unit producing brilliant 280PS of power through the front wheels along with very useful 258 Nm of torque. Put all that together and it throws the machine from standstill to 62mph in just 5.7 seconds and up to a potential regulated 155 mph.
Far from what the Hothouse Flowers wished for, this piece of kit, with its distinctively quirky S100CCO numberplate, certainly DID go….at quite a rate.
Which isn’t surprising. It’s got virtually the same engine as the one in the stunning Golf R but the Scirocco is about 50 kgs lighter. The cylinder head has a fully integrated water-cooled exhaust gas circulation loop to the turbo which makes a big contribution to economy of around 35 mpg and CO2 of 187 g/km.
On the road, its broad footprint, dynamic chassis control and 10 mm lower sports suspension help make the car feel superbly well-balanced and its get-up-and-go stance give it a fabulous athletic look.
This flagship fourth generation model made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 2014, forty years after the original first appeared. It’s changed considerably in that time and the latest version has had only subtle tweaks to its styling to be more refined. The R test car came with new bi-xenon headlights with built-in LED daytime running lights and the redesigned tail lights are also LEDs.
The R has its own styling kit with chromed door mirror caps and 19 inch five-spoke alloys. Bumpers at the front have been redesigned with aerodynamic blades in the outer section with integrated indicators and foglights. At the back end, the bumper has been reshaped to appear lower and as on the Golf, the VW badge on the bootlid now doubles as the release handle.
On the inside, everything still looks very VW-ish and much like the rest of the range but it has been updated with refreshed dials and a sporty-looking additional instrument cluster above the centre console with a chronometer, charge pressure and oil temperature gauges – a tribute to the original 1974 model. Every version has a colour touchscreen infotainment system with DAB radio, Bluetooth and USB connections as standard and on the R there’s also a colour multifunction trip computer.
The sports seats aren’t just comfortable – they keep you firmly in place no matter how enthusiastically you put the car through its paces. It may be only a two-door coupe but I managed to squeeze a large adult into the back and he didn’t complain too much.
The car is built at VW’s Autoeuropa plant in Portugal alongside the Eos and Sharan and surprisingly, the UK is the second-biggest market for the model worldwide after China and the largest in Europe with more than 5,000 taking to our roads in each of recent years.
As they say, it’s an ill wind that blows nobody good. This Scirocco is a refreshing breeze.
CAR: VW Scirocco R 2.0 litre TSI 280PS 6 spd manual
PRICE: £32,580 (£35,195 as tested)
POWER: 2.0 litre transverse-mounted TSI direct injection 4 cyl 280 PS
TORQUE: 350 Nm
PERFORMANCE: Top speed 155 mph 0-62 mph 5.7 secs
MPG: 35 mpg combined
CO2 EMISSIONS: 187 g/km
TT Rating:
