Yes, we had a go in the Volkswagen Scirocco and came away mightily impressed. It's such an all-rounder, the 2.0 litre petrol engine well cultured as you pootle yet serves up seamless acceleration when you're at it with a heavy right foot. We began journey behind the Roc's wheel driving through a narrow back-alley with a road riddled with pot-holes with its suspension set in "Comfort" mode. Although the ride could have been better when the wheels met the potholes, the car seemed completely indifferent towards irregular road surfaces and cracks. Leaving back-alleys behind, we finally hit the main roads where the tarmac is smooth and covers three lanes. Immediately the 'Roc feels right at home, overtaking cars as if it was born to do that and that alone!
The DSG transmission is brilliant, those precise gearchanges, excellent manual override with a choice of paddle-clicking with your fingers or gear-lever-shifting with your left hand and the superb exhaust note during those excellent downshifts, although it does jerk a split second before driving away from a stationary state. This reminds us that Volkswagen pioneered the road-car application of the twin-clutch gearbox. The brakes are over-servoed though, too grabby even with the softest prod of your foot against the pedal, providing no feel whatsoever... very very synthetic. I needed some getting used to when applying the brakes, only the seat belt restraining me and my head from getting acquainted with the face of the steering wheel, physically, painfully.
Back to the drive now. As i said earlier, the car was absolutely zippy and would take on any hot hatch currently in the market and would probably have the latter wincing after its done with it! A corner approached and i did NOT want to brake (I told you the brakes were lifeless and too grabby) so what did i do? Ease off the throttle a bit, shift down to third and throttle all the way through the corner, that's exactly what I did and my oh my what grip! The 'Roc not only would eat up most of the mundane cars found driving on Malaysian roads, it gobbles down corners for dessert right after and aims for its next main course of family sedans and even some hot hatches.The steering’s weighty and accurate, though as with most hatch-derived coupes hardly brimming with genuine feel, and the car corners flat and neutral.
After more pedal-to-the-metal action, we finally came to a rest at a traffic light. It was then I began to take in the interior of the car, plastics with excellent feel and the finish of every surface was simply superb. But, yes there's always a but isn't there, it had no sense of occasion, nothing to imply that I was sitting in an absolute stunner of a car. If i were to be blindfolded, shoved into the 'Roc, had my sight back right after and was asked to guess what car I was in, I'd have gone "Oh I think it's the Passat, or the Passat CC. Right?". The Scirocco would've never across my mind for a split second. Black leather seats with red stitching anyone? I'd be first in line to tick that in the options list if only it were listed. Although the interior definitely doesn't look the part, the 'Roc does come with electronically adjustable driver's seat, in-dash 6-disc CD changer, MEDIA-IN multimedia interface for iPod, USB drive and AUX-in, RCD 510 touch screen radio and vienna leather upholstery (available in black or truffle).
Having scared half the motorists in Kuala Lumpur with our deep-black test unit we finally parked the car and got off after having to bend and twist, not an exceptionally easy car to get out of if you are 6-feet and above or maybe we were just feeling a bit stiff that morning. It's after the drive I realized how perfectly formed this car was, the best looking hot hatch ever to roll out of any factory, period! The 'Roc sits low and looks ever so poised for action, ready to pounce at the next corner its aimed at especially with those wider rear tracks, making it look extra stable. The lines on this beauty are clean and smooth, the flow of the lines reminding one of silent streams of clear water. I took a while to take in this car from the outside, it's everything the interior isn't.
If you are in the market for a 2-door coupe/ hot hatch, don't think twice, get the 'Roc. All VWs handle well, and the Volkswagen Scirocco is no exception. All models have a hill control function, plus an ESP package that includes driver steering recommendation, brake assist, Electronic Differential Lock (EDL), Anti-Slip Regulator (ASR) and ABS brakes. It does the century sprint in just 7.1 seconds and would keep going until it reaches a top speed of 233kph. It all looks good on paper, it feels spectacular in the flesh or more accurately in this case, in the metal. VW should give the brakes and the steering more feel if there's going to be a mid-life face lift (which I doubt) in the near future. All-in-all, the 'Roc is definitely a winner.
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