Volkswagen Scirocco Review and Prices

The Volkswagen Scirocco is a sporty three-door coupe that rivals the Kia Pro Ceed GT hatch’, pricier Audi TT and BMW 2 Series coupes.

Buy or lease the Volkswagen Scirocco at a price you’ll love
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RRP £21,755 - £31,495
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Used
£10,995
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wowscore
6/10
This score is awarded by our team of expert reviewers after extensive testing of the car

What's good

  • Good styling
  • Decent value
  • Fun to drive

What's not so good

  • Interior a let-down
  • Small boot
  • Back is claustrophobic

Find out more about the Volkswagen Scirocco

Is the Volkswagen Scirocco a good car?

If you’re in the market for a well-built, practical coupe, then the Scirocco with its no-nonsense cabin and decently spacious boot is ideal. Admittedly, inside it’s a bit bland for a sports car, but a few years down the line everything should work and feel just like as it did the day it came out the factory.

The engine selection is strong too, with punchy petrols and frugal diesels to choose from. All of them return competitive fuel consumption figures and are a joy to use. VW also offers the Scirocco with its quick-shifting DSG gearbox.

Where the age of the Scirocco starts to show is in the handling department. Unfortunately, it uses an older Golf platform, meaning it’s quite dull to drive and the ride quality, compared to a Mk7 Golf isn’t that great either. There isn’t a four-wheel-drive option, like in the Audi and BMW, but there’s plenty of grip from the capable chassis and the stability control really knows what it’s doing.

Equipment levels aren’t great, because entry level models don’t get cruise control, let alone sat-nav.

A practical sporty coupe with secure handling

Mat Watson
Mat Watson
Carwow expert

There really is a lot going for the Scirocco – well-built interior, practical boot, safe handling and modern engines. However, most of its rivals are a lot newer as models and you can really feel that age gap. The Audi and BMW come with much more advanced technology, while the Kia represents better value than the VW for a similar product.

For more detailed information about the Scirocco, look through the interior, practicality, driving and specifications sections of our review over the following pages.

How much is the Volkswagen Scirocco?

The Volkswagen Scirocco has a RRP range of £21,755 to £31,495. The price of a used Volkswagen Scirocco on Carwow starts at £10,995.

How practical is it?

The Volkswagen Scirocco is as big as a Golf in the front, but as you would expect, it’s more cramped in the back. The boot isn’t too bad, either, although there’s a big lip to lift things over

You might think there's no such thing as a practical coupe, but the Scirocco proves that it's perfectly possible to combine the two in one car

Mat Watson
Mat Watson
Carwow expert
Boot (seats up)
312 litres
Boot (seats down)
1,006 litres

Visibility is a bit poor, due to the thick A-pillars, high waistline and narrow rear window. Rear head, leg and shoulder room isn’t great either, though the rear seats are still usable – largely as there’s only two of them. Things are much better in the front where there’s just as much space as in a Golf and plenty of adjustment for the driver’s seat and steering wheel.

This is a sporty two-door, yet VW’s dedication to practicality is apparent by the numerous storage areas. In honesty, it’s near identical to an older Golf so all your nick nacks are well catered.

The boot is only 20% down on the Golf’s – at 312 litres in capacity. Fold the seats and the resulting 1,200-litre capacity is decent for what in reality is a sporty coupe. However, there are some little drawbacks that plague the Scirocco’s excellent practicality – namely a huge lip to carry luggage over and the rear seats that don’t fold flat on the floor.

What's it like to drive?

Smooth and spritely petrols, economical but pacey diesels

All the controls feel positioned exactly where they should be

Mat Watson
Mat Watson
Carwow expert

For the Scirocco, Volkswagen offers a range of petrol engines but just one diesel. With petrol, you get a choice of 1.4 or 2.0-litres, with diesel it’s a 2.0-litre or nothing. All engines come with a six-speed manual that isn’t bad, but for £1,500 you can specify VW’s excellent DSG dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The lowest power petrol – a 123hp version of the 1.4-litre TSI – won’t be breaking any land speed records, but it still cracks 60mph in less than 10 seconds and offers a decent 52mpg combined fuel economy. The 178hp 2.0-litre TSI is more about refinement and smoothness rather than performance, but still provides the Scirocco with a turn of speed to match the attractive exterior.

With 148hp and 181hp versions of the 2.0 TDI, the diesels, naturally, get the best fuel economy and aren’t short on pace, but they’re perhaps a little grumbly compared to the smooth petrols. We’d go for the 148hp version because it’s decently quick and a fair few quid cheaper to buy than the 181hp, which isn’t that much faster.

In 2016 Volkswagen introduced the Scirocco GTS special edition. As well as adding black wheels and racing stripes it also brings the 2.0-litre, 217hp petrol engine to the range. It’ll get from 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds while returning 46.3mpg with the manual gearbox and 44.1mpg with the DSG. Top speeds for the GTS are 153mph and 152mph for the manual and automatic respectively.

The Scirocco gets universal praise for its prowess on the road, but this should come as no surprise as this car is based on the previous Golf – a car with no handling issues whatsoever. It doesn’t quite go like one, though, offering a sportier driving experience to match the looks. If you’re fond of threading your way down rat runs, you’ll find the Scirocco most rewarding.

That doesn’t come at the expense of ride comfort, though. You’ll find that the all-new Golf’s ride is a little better if you drive the two back-to-back, but the Scirocco is never uncomfortable, even if it’s somewhat firmer. Larger wheels can make the ride a little unpleasant, though.

What's it like inside?

Although most find little fault with the rest of the car, the interior is one place which doesn’t receive such high praise.

Volkswagen Scirocco colours

Solid - Flash red
Free
Solid - Urano grey
Free
Special solid - Pure white
From £260
Signature solid - Flash red
From £335
Metallic - Aztec
From £540
Metallic - Dark Oak brown
From £540
Metallic - Indium grey
From £540
Metallic - Night blue
From £540
Metallic - Reflex silver
From £540
Metallic - Rising blue
From £540
Metallic - Ultra violet
From £540
Metallic - Viper green
From £540
Pearl - Deep black
From £540
Metallic - Atlantic blue
From £570
Metallic - Aztec gold
From £570
Metallic - White silver
From £570
Signature metallic - Rising blue
From £635
Signature metallic - Ultra violet
From £635
Premium paint - Oryx white
From £955
Next Read full interior review
Buy or lease the Volkswagen Scirocco at a price you’ll love
We take the hassle and haggle out of car buying by finding you great deals from local and national dealers
RRP £21,755 - £31,495
Carwow price from
Used
£10,995
Ready to see prices tailored to you?
Compare used deals