5:36 pm, June 20, 2008
VOLKSWAGEN dealers will from today (Friday 20 June) be taking orders for the maker’s all-new hatch coupe.
Prices have also been announced for the Scirocco, which goes on sale on September 1st. It opens at £20,940 for the 2.0 TSI 200 GT.
It’s swift, alright. 0-62mph takes 7.2secs, and it can hit 146mph. The economy figures are also impressive; it averages 37.2mpg, which is better than the Golf GTI that donates the powertrain, while the CO2 figure is a decent 179g/km.
The front-wheel drive model even has Adaptive Chassis Control, or ACC. That’s VW-speak for electronically adjustable dampers; the electronic ‘brain’ alters the set-up of them, plus the steering and throttle response, to provide either adaptive, Sport or Comfort profiles. This is real high-tech for this segment (and price) of car. Naturally, there’s a choice of six-speed manual or DSG dual-clutch gearboxes.
GT trim is the posh launch one, and has climate control, 18-inch alloys, touchscreen CD autochanger and six airbags. Alongside this, there sits a standard model, simply called ‘Scirocco’.
There’s more to come as well. In early 2009, the 1.4 TSI 160 arrives, as does the 2.0 TDI 140 that will do 52mpg on the combined cycle.
Volkswagen reckons it will sell 3350 Sciroccos in the UK this year, rising to 9000 in 2009, the first full year with a full line-up of models. Apparently, over 11,000 people have already signed up to the dedicated website, accessed via the company’s UK site, which provides regular updates on the new car.
