Volkswagen Scirocco R Wolfsburg quick spin review

1. What is it?

The send-off for Volkswagen's Scirocco R. In trademark car industry fashion the three-door hot hatch gets a limited edition model to help push these final 150 examples out the showroom door.

The Wolfsburg edition (named for VW's hometown) gets some new bling, including 19-inch black alloy wheels, black side mirror covers, racing-style sports seats, a colour infotainment display and an individually numbered plaque.

Despite Volkswagen's claims that the Scirocco is an 'aspirational' car, designed to position it above the five-door Golf R, the reality is this 'coupe' was always a niche offering that was destined for a shorter lifespan than the more popular and practical Golf.

2. How much does it cost and what do you get?

In addition to the above mentioned extras, the Scirocco's standard gear includes cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, bi-Xenon headlights, Bluetooth, App-Connect with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a USB port and a leather-wrapped flat-bottom sports steering wheel.

The Scirocco R is covered by Volkswagen's three-year capped price servicing plan. With annual or 15,000km servicing intervals it will cost $1677 to maintain the car in that initial period.

3. What's under the bonnet?

The Scirocco R may be positioned above the Golf R in VW's pecking order but it isn't a mechanical match for its mainstream sibling.

While the two cars share a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, the Scirocco's is tuned for 188kW of power and 330Nm of torque; compared to 206kW and 380Nm for the Golf R.

Part of the reason for that deficit is because the Scirocco sends all of its power to the front wheels, instead of having all-wheel drive like the Golf R, so it needs to keep things under control.

To help manage that performance it uses a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and VW's Extended electronic differential lock (XDL) to try and tame torque-steer.

It does a commendable job most of the time but when you really push the Scirocco R to its limits the power can overwhelm the front tyres and you do get the dreaded tugging of the steering wheel.

But once it is moving cleanly, the engine offers excellent performance, with strong pulling power from low in the rev range, that makes this feel like a proper performance car to match its dramatic looks.

Fuel economy isn't too flash though, using 8.0-litres per 100km on the combined cycle, almost a full litre more than the Golf R.

4. What's it like to drive?

The occasional front-wheel drive quirk aside, the Scirocco R is a fun and engaging hot hatch to drive that still feels sharp despite coming to the end of its life.

It comes equipped with VW's Adaptive Chassis Control (adjustable drive modes) as standard, which allows you to alter the firmness of the suspension and the response of the steering between Normal, Comfort and Sport depending on the situation.

For a hot hatch, the Normal and Comfort settings are good, offering reasonable compliance for what is naturally a firm-riding car. Selecting Sport brings a noticeable difference with better response but at the cost of a sharper ride. Having said that, even when left in the other two settings the Scirocco R feels agile and responsive.

The steering is nice most of the time but at the limit it lacks the kind of precision and feel that the best hot hatches manage.

5. What's it like inside?

When you consider the Scirocco first went on sale in 2008 it is remarkable how well it has aged. The interior still looks contemporary with plenty of familiar VW switchgear and the new infotainment screen adds both fresh style and better functionality.

The new racing-style sports seats are excellent new additions, looking good but also offering good lateral support.

Rear space is at a premium with only enough space for small children.

The boot is relatively compact too, measuring 312-litres, and has a small hatch opening, making getting larger items in a bit trickier than a more conventional hatch.

6. Is it safe?

The new motorsport-inspired seats are nice but on the downside they don't have room for the side airbags. That means there are only four airbags (driver and passenger front and curtains for front and rear passengers).

7. Would you buy it?

While it is sad to see a car as unique and different as the Scirocco R head to the great car park in the sky, ultimately it's not a great loss because there are better hot hatch examples out there - including the faster, more powerful and all-wheel drive Golf R.

But if you want a three-door hot hatch with head-turning style and respectable performance then you should try and snap up one of these Wolfsburg run-out specials.

8. What else should I consider?

The glaringly obvious one is the Golf R, which offers more performance, more traction and more space for similar money (from $52,990).

Drive's Best Performance Car Under $60,000 is the Ford Focus RS and it offers up significantly more performance and driving dynamics than the Scirocco R, and also comes in a more practical five-door body.

But if a three-door hatch is your preference then you're running out of options. Renault's Megane RS is the last of its kind and is also in run-out mode ahead of the all-new five-door hitting Australia later in 2017.

2016 Volkswagen Scirocco R Wolfsburg pricing and specifications

Price: From $51,990 plus on-road costs

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol

Power: 188kW at 6000rpm

Torque: 330Nm at 2400-5200rpm

Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch automatic, front-wheel drive

Fuel use: 8.0L/100km

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