đź“° Auto News Edmunds 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R First Drive

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2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R First Drive
Mediterranean Hot Stuff

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If we think about it really long and hard, we can maybe come up with a short list of lame reasons that Volkswagen of America might have for not bringing the third-generation VW Scirocco to these shores. Compounding our torture, the VW home office in Wolfsburg just had us over to Nice, France, to drive the on-fire 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R.

As we left for home after an inspiring drive through the mountains of Provence, we think we saw some German journalists in our rearview mirror, laughing it up and doing some sort of cruel neener-neener-neeener dance because they can buy this car today in Germany and we can't in America. That really knocked the stuffing out of us.

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Would bringing over a 207-horsepower VW Scirocco 2.0 GT and this 261-hp VW Scirocco R really pose a threat to Golf and GTI sales when VW plans to sell four times more cars here within a decade anyway? Would this insanely sexy hot coupe not provide some significant image building for VW? Sure, the VW Jetta TDI Cup has aroused some interest on racetracks in North America this year, but what about a version of the Scirocco Cup series that VW has in China, Germany, the U.K. and soon in Japan? In times of crisis, here's a golden chance to work outside the box.

After a dash through the mountains of southern France where the Rallye Automobile Monte-Carlo is run every year, the 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R brought tears to our eyes. All things considered, it's the best front-wheel-drive compact street racer on Earth. And it's sexier and gobs faster than any Mini John Cooper Works. Yes, exactly that good.

Makes Roads Sing
The D-roads of the Alpes-Maritimes in the Provence region of southern France are where any performance car needs to show up in order to make certain that it can live up to its own marketing hype. The back roads of California's Monterey County don't come close, and while the Nürburgring is a thrill, it can't stack up to the narrow tracks through the mountains above the Mediterranean that those loopy Provençals decided to pave all those decades ago. And there are no gendarmes in sight, never any radar traps that we've ever seen and rarely anything resembling traffic. It's the place where all who must drive the best in life must go.

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A 208-hp Mini John Cooper Works and 207-hp VW Golf GTI are excellent fun, and we have recently driven both like a bat out of hell on these same roads. While we had a legendary time doing it, the 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R simply beats the JCW and GTI in speed, cornering and overall dynamics. It's also beautifully put together and has honest room for four full-size thrill-seekers.

With 261 hp available between 5,100 and 6,000 rpm plus 258 pound-feet of torque between 2,500 and 5,000 rpm, this tightly engineered car feels fully alive, as it weighs just 3,007 pounds with the optional six-speed automated manual transmission (the standard six-speed manual transmission lightens the load by 44 pounds). Then there's the optional chassis control electronics to dial in the damping and the steering. And the standard brake-type limited-slip differential (introduced recently by the GTI version of the Golf Mk VI) does away with both torque steer and understeer.

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Pointing and getting to where we want to go — and with how much throttle — is a piece of cake. The Scirocco R does exactly what we have in mind through every hard-scrabble hairpin, uphill or down.

Little Notes
Before we totally spaz out on delightfulness, we'll admit that every car built has design gaffes, even this one. For the 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R, the "ESP Off" indicator actually means ESP Sport. In the most extreme setting, the stability control never goes off, but we can attest that in Sport mode the stability control intervenes extremely late and with a smoothness that helps rather than hinders the driving action.

Then there are two more minor items. There's the VW badge on the tailgate that looks like it should be the opening lever, only it isn't, so you cannot open the hatch by reaching for the hatch, which is definitely dopey no matter the explanation. And looking at the turbocharged direct-injection 2.0-liter EA113 inline-4 in the engine bay, we're sort of bummed that VW chose not to glam up the view with, say, red enameled "VW" and "TSI" lettering. Not to mention how nice it would be to lose altogether the drab-o-rama plastic cover that hides everything we'd want to see when an engine is at this level of tune.

Last, the optional six-speed dual-clutch DSG automated manual is great, except that even in Manual mode and with the chassis mode set for Sport excitement, the transmission will shift itself up to the next gear just a flea's hair away from the redline at 7,000 rpm. This only occurred three times during our most extreme moments in driver's paradise with this model of the R-type, but it does squelch the festivities when it happens. We longed (even if only in these moments) for the six-speed manual that we know we love already, but all test cars on this day had DSG.

And the Whining Ceased
Whatever. The 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco in R trim — inspired by the 2009 Scirocco GT24 racers (five of them, no less) that dominated their class at this year's Nürburgring 24 Hours — just plain cranks, and you can hear it though the twin exhaust tips. These optional 19-by-8-inch versions of the Talladega-style wheel that's specific to the Scirocco R (18-inch examples are standard) carry Bridgestone Potenza tires, and the treads never once blew their chance to hook up as the turbo delivered its peak boost of 17.4 psi. Meanwhile, the R-type's brake package with 13.6-inch front rotors and 12.2-inch rear rotors plus black enameled calipers did a great job all day long, even under our rally-style hammering.

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Working with the chassis control option that actively monitors steering assistance, damper firmness and throttle response according to electronic chassis sensors, the Scirocco R works as advertised, even better when in Sport mode where the R's electric-assist steering offers the tightest feel of the Golf/Scirocco family. The center of gravity on a Scirocco is already low, with an overall height that is 3 inches less than a GTI (with wider front and rear tracks besides), yet the R setup takes this coupe a half inch lower still.

With input from Porsche Engineering at Porsche R&D in Weissach (all part of the same family now, remember), the Volkswagen engineers made the R-type springs 15 percent stiffer (yet not as stiff as in the new GTI) and then added slightly softer sway bars, resulting in a brilliant balance between cornering grip, chassis stability and ride compliance. With all of the opportunities to bottom out the dampers on these rally roads (even the mighty Col de Turini), we never once did so.

Fast-Lane Looks
Indulging in the higher revs, the R scoots to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.8 seconds with the dual-clutch DSG gearbox and the 3,200-rpm launch control, Volkswagen claims, and the exercise takes 6.0 seconds with the six-speed manual. Both estimates are conservative, we're willing to swear.

The 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R sits lower and gets you a front fascia with larger air intakes and an integrated front spoiler, black mirrors, extended rocker sills and a rear spoiler in body color, and a rear aero diffuser in black. You get bi-xenon headlights, smoked lenses for the taillights, chrome exhaust tips and the Talladega wheels.

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Within the cabin, the flat-bottom steering wheel comes from the GTI, the seats get sportier, there are brushed-aluminum accents, and R logos are a-bloom. Broad-shouldered ultimate motorsport seats as offered on the R32 and GTI go on the options list, too, come June 2010.

VW's Four-Cylinder Orgy
Though this turbocharged direct-injection 2.0-liter inline-4 is the EA113 motor and not the just-introduced EA888 engine, VW R&D spokesman Guido Sever says it's best suited to the pumped-up R-type Scirocco. While the newer EA888 family version of the 2.0 TSI can be found for now in a 208-hp Scirocco and the GTI, this EA113 is featured in the 261-hp Audi S3 and the upcoming 267-hp all-wheel-drive Golf R, presumably because it's a little stouter. (The Golf R will most likely be the car that will make its way over to North America and lay to rest all the sentimentality about the V6-powered R32, and we're also told its engine will not be hidden under plastic!)

There are some interesting economics at work here between Volkswagen and Audi, since in all of its markets the Scirocco R costs nearly 22 percent less than an Audi TTS Quattro that uses the same powertrain. Even the AWD Golf R is set to cost considerably less than the TTS while delivering more power and torque. If it were sold in the U.S. for what it's worth, the R would probably be a $36,000 car like a Mitsubishi Evo or Subaru STI, but it would probably be a $30,000 car because of marketing considerations.

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In the first two weeks of taking orders for the 2010 Volkswagen Scirocco R, more than 1,500 units were reserved and paid for. The take rate for the manual-transmission version has been 30 percent. But, then, we won't have this "problem" of choice over here, will we? Man, would it be a nice problem to have.

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