VW has tried very hard to make the car stand head and shoulders above the rest of its lineup, even though much of the car’s mechanicals borrow heavily from the rest of the family.

The 200bhp turbocharged engine comes straight from the Golf GTI and here it launches the car from 0 to 100km/h in 7.2 seconds with the help of the six-speed Direct Shift Gearbox, also lifted from the Golf GTI.

The Scirocco is not as communicative as some of the more purposeful sports cars out there, but the car’s wide stance makes it feel very stable through fast, sweeping corners, where the well-sorted suspension system keeps it very level with little body roll.

The electric, adjustable suspension dampers fitted to the Scirocco is best left in the default, ‘Adaptive’ mode is where it keeps everything nicely balanced. On the smoothest roads or on a race track, the ‘Sport’ mode sharpens handling considerably at the expense of ride comfort. Every bump will be magnified as the The ‘Comfort’ mode does exactly what it says, and gives the car a soft, well-cushioned ride that is best left for long, straight stretches of road. A button on the centre console lets you toggle between the modes on the fly.

There will be some who will wonder why the 200bhp Scirocco is not getting VW’s new seven-speed dual-clutch semi-automatic gearbox but instead retains the same six-speed DSG unit. The fact is, the seven-speed DSG unit is actually designed as an economical, easy-to-use gearbox for lower powered cars and was not designed to work with powerful engines like the one used here.

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