I decided to buy a new car in 2008 as a bit of a treat. Always a VW group fan, the choice came down to 2 cars. The new Scirroco or an Octavia VRS Estate. In the end I bought a Scirroco Tdi 140bhp. I had taken a test drive in a 2.0litre petrol with DSG and it was stunning. I was smitten. I ordered the diesel without DSG but a few nice options.

GOOD BITS

Superb road-holding

Tremendous engine, smooth and responsive.

Finish inside and out - high quality plastics etc etc. Lovely clunk on shutting the doors.

Three suspension settings - good fun in Sport mode

Fuel consumption - 60mpg easily achievable

Stereo system and excellent DAB radio system (an optional extra)

Seats supportive

Car at its best on curvy B class roads

NOT SO GOOD IN HINDSIGHT

Styling and red colour - liked it when first purchased, but for some reason it I actually started to go off it.

Lack of practicality started to irritate me - had a good boot but access not great

Rear seats - the back felt very dark and claustraphobic

While economy was great, I felt the car would have been better in the 1.4 supercharged form. Weight would have been shed and I think this would have been a major improvement for what is supposed to be a sports coupe. Fuel consumption would have still been good.

Everyone wanted to race me!

OVERALL

The Scirroco is a seriously good car, with a high quality feel. The quality of the interior is better than that offered by Skoda but I do not think the 140 diesel engine is the best choice for this particular car. Despite being a 4 seater with a reasonable boot, ownership proves it was not really such a practical car that I was perhaps kidding myself that it could be. I have a VRS Estate on order now with the 170bhp engine and DSG! Fingers crossed.

Good review,i'm trying to persuade my wife to buy 1 as her next car, maybe the 2.0 tdi 170 would be a better engine choice, performance and economy

It is a seriously good car but I think it excels as a performance/sports drive rather than a compromise between performance and economy. While I am a diesel fan, I do think the Scirroco is much more suited to petrol.Good luck!

Edited 22 October, 201015 yr by kevberlin

I do like these but only in white and blue, as you say the red and any other colour imo does nothing for it. Bit pricey though and not a real coupe for me.

+1 for the review!

Edited 22 October, 201015 yr by OllieH