Trimmed in £1535 worth of optional leather upholstery, the Scirocco’s cabin is an inviting place to sit.
We would argue that it’s too indistinct from the cockpits of both the Golf and Passat, and too conservative for such an apparently sporting car.
The deeply sculpted seats cradle your body perfectly; you sit quite low (not always the case with coupés derived from hatchbacks), and with the thick-rimmed, leather-bound steering wheel, the scene is promisingly set.
That high waistline and those slim windows make seeing out of the Scirocco harder than either your children or you will like. All-round visibility is further compromised by notably thick A-pillars.
As you’d expect of any VW, the minor controls have been set out with much thought for their position and clarity, a work ethic that extends to the optional navigation and information screen that’s a paragon of simplicity to understand and operate.
Evidence of further clear thinking can be found in the back, a place too often left as an afterthought in cars such as this. The boot is less than 20 per cent smaller than a Golf’s and the seats still fold.
Of course, the rear cabin is nothing like as spacious as that of a BMW 3-series coupé but these are still very usable seats, unlike those of, say, the Audi TT.
We think living with a Scirocco may be even more satisfying than driving one. It’s excellent value, likely to prove extremely strong residually and even requires a tax disc £30 cheaper than that of a Golf GTI.
Those wanting ultimate fuel economy will need to wait until the diesels arrive next year, although we think the 28.6mpg we achieved is a more than fair price to pay for the performance on offer.
VW has reduced the Golf’s already small fuel tank, so you can now squeeze only 50 litres into the Scirocco, meaning no more than 300 miles per tank.
