Although closely based on the platform and running gear used by the Golf GTi, it would be both simplistic and inaccurate to describe the Scirocco as a Golf GTi in a cocktail dress.
It shares the same wheelbase but it’s 40mm longer, a significant 51mm wider and a massive 97mm lower. Most important, its track is wider by 35mm at the front and 59mm at the rear.
As a result, the Scirocco is not only lighter than the Golf, with a lower centre of gravity, but it also has a broader stance, which accounts in no small part for the way it conducts itself on the road.
In addition, it comes with bespoke settings for its springs, dampers and anti-roll bars (see Under the Skin) and a quartet of very purposeful-looking 235/40 tyres riding on fat 18in rims.
In other respects, however, it follows both class convention and the Golf’s lead. Front suspension is a simple strut located by a lower wishbone, while that at the rear is a four-link arrangement.
Anti-roll bars are fitted front and rear. Braking is by front ventilated discs and solid rear discs.
The driveline is similarly predictable. VW’s ubiquitous turbo 2.0-litre motor is installed in 197bhp tune, just as it in the Golf GTi (although it has survived 72 hours of non-stop simulated qualifying laps of the old Nürburgring at 325bhp without the smallest problem), complete with a six-speed manual gearbox or, for an extra £1330, a six-speed double-clutch DSG transmission.
VW’s dry-clutch, seven-speed DSG will make its debut on the 1.4-litre TSI engine when it comes to market next spring.
