R disappointment

[wigit]

got to be honest i'm not bowled over by the R, had a look through the piccies in autocar today and interior is a let down and ain't that special imho, quite disappointed given the like price and the 2wd and a bit underwhelmed, curious if a few more are feeling similar, don't think my GT will be replaced by one of these imho, my dealer is far from convnced either

[Salu]

got to be honest i'm not bowled over by the R, had a look through the piccies in autocar today and interior is a let down and ain't that special imho, quite disappointed given the like price and the 2wd and a bit underwhelmed, curious if a few more are feeling similar, don't think my GT will be replaced by one of these imho, my dealer is far from convnced either

Yup, I feel the same way. I was so hoping for AWD, but FWD... seriously VW, shame on you.

[gc76]

I have to disagree. I think the R looks that little bit more special than the GT.

I know that if I had the GT I would be trying to convince myself that the R isn't that much of a big deal. Exactly the same thing that I did with my GTI when the ED30 came out. But for someone who is going to purchase a Scirocco then the R is an excellent choice

[sir_rocco]

When I bought my 2006 MKV GTi, I convinced myself that it was a far superior purchase than then Focus ST or Astra VXR and that would show at resale time. Well, tell you what, that was a slightly misguided thought as when I traded up to the roc, I looked at residuals of the other two and over the 2 and a half years I owned the GTi, it depreciated by a similar amount to the ST and VXR. I am still happy that I had the golf though, a brilliant car, but my point is this....

You can have a brand new RS with pretty much everything standard for about 25K, the R20 roc fully kitted will be nearer 29-30k. Unless this DXc or whatever it is has ironed out the understeer when going for it then I think the R20 will get embarrassed by the RS (yeah I know a lot of us would get the R20 remapped to give it 320-330 BHP) but as a standard package I think its too expensive.

On the looks front, well yes its an improvement over the standard roc, I am still not convinced of it from some angles, front on especially but then the RS will definitely become a max power essex boy car within a year or two. Its all down to personal choice and what you use the car for at the end of the day. But for what its worth, if the R20 comes in at around 30k well i will not buy one, why ? because you can get an 18 month old E92 M3 for around 35-36k, in my mind there.....no contest.

[pat15312]

I think the R20 will get embarrassed by the RS (yeah I know a lot of us would get the R20 remapped to give it 320-330 BHP) but as a standard package I think its too expensive.

I don't care how trick this new front differential is going to be, there is no way you will want to be driving a front wheel drive car with 330 BHP.
VW says they have ditched the 4 wheel drive to save weight; it's blatantly obvious that its to save money.
On the plus side, the bodykit looks much better than standard, but still not amazing.
The interior is lazy. VW have basically just painted some plastic trim piano black

[siony1974]

Surely the whole point of an R version is to make it obvious to anyone on the road that IT IS AN R VERSION.
If you see an RS4, its obvious that there is something different from a normal A4.
I don't want to see anything stupid but a bit of imagination would have been nice.
What happened to some of the interior from Studie R?
I think that most of the modded Rocs on here look far better than what VW have produced. Maybe they should have looked here first for ideas.
I really wanted this to be special so I could convince myself that swapping my GT made sense. I will hold off until I can see a full spec and options list for it but I get the feeling I will be leaving the dealer with my money firmly still in my pocket.

Remapped Roc R 320+bhp + standing water + front wheel = HEARSE
This car will aim itself at the nearest large solid object and attempt to kill you, that will probably be the differentials last trick.

[pat15312]

I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be a hotter version of the scirocco using the audi TTRS/RS3 engine. 4 wheel drive will be an absolute necessity on this car.
I belive the car will probably be called the scirocco RS and i would expect we will most likely start to hear rumours about it 6 months after the R has started being delivered, so around april to may 2010 time.

[Evil Derboy]

Surely the whole point of an R version is to make it obvious to anyone on the road that IT IS AN R VERSION.

I think they started to move away from that with the last Golf R32. Look at the difference between a MkIV Golf GTi and R32 and its pretty obvious. Do the same comparison with the MkVs and it's less apparent. Personally I really like it. Think they good have done a bit more with the seats. But love the exterior and if this car comes in around £25-26k and I hadn't just got a GT then this would have been the Roc I would go for.

[true]

I like the looks of the car, but the biggest disappointment for me is still the lack of 4wd. The bodykit and extra power isn't worth the price hike in my mind. I haven't driven the new GTI with it's trick diff, but at the end of the day it still has half the contact area scrabbling for grip vs a 4wd car - trying to put that power down in a straight line is going to have your dash lighting up like a christmas tree. I'd put money on the fact it will still understeer through a bend, it just won't spin the inside wheel so readily. If I could get one for £26k fully loaded I'd be tempted to upgrade but given I already have a GT I doubt I will. If I want to spend £30k on something faster I'll get a second hand B7 RS4 or B8 S4

[albertz33]

Me too, cant understand why VW would release something so long after the development of the RS that cant even touch its 0-60 time.

[albertz33]

I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be a hotter version of the scirocco using the audi TTRS/RS3 engine. 4 wheel drive will be an absolute necessity on this car.
I belive the car will probably be called the scirocco RS and i would expect we will most likely start to hear rumours about it 6 months after the R has started being delivered, so around april to may 2010 time.

Have VW done this before? i cant think of a model that has,..( but i could be wrong ) that would make a choice of 4 variants on the same model, cant see them setting a precedent now, and unlikely i would have thought in this climate, in the autocar report, it mentioned that VW was moving away from what it calls socially unacceptable cars, is this why the R is no RS?

[pat15312]

I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be a hotter version of the scirocco using the audi TTRS/RS3 engine. 4 wheel drive will be an absolute necessity on this car.
I belive the car will probably be called the scirocco RS and i would expect we will most likely start to hear rumours about it 6 months after the R has started being delivered, so around april to may 2010 time.

Have VW done this before? i cant think of a model that has,..( but i could be wrong ) that would make a choice of 4 variants on the same model, cant see them setting a precedent now, and unlikely i would have thought in this climate, in the autocar report, it mentioned that VW was moving away from what it calls socially unacceptable cars, is this why the R is no RS?

As far as AWD goes, they always have the option to add it. The floorplan and chassis are setup for it. Hell if you wanted, you could grab the drivetrain out of an R32 and it would fit. Wether or not VW will make a factory car with AWD, sharper look and more power is yet to be seen...
However i just can't see that VW would just sit there and let the focus RS take the hot hatch crown.
IMHO, vw are using the R as a stopgap between the GT and there true focus RS beater. they are doing this to bide some time and reel in some money because nobody (well none of us at least) would go out and buy a brand new R if we new that in a years time it will have been made obselete by a hotter model.

If you think about it, the clues are already laid out. you only have to look to audi to see where the powerplant is coming from, the drivetrain is already available in the R32 and lets be honest, there is still plenty of room for improvement as far as the interior goes.

One thing is for sure, the scirocco RS would be an AWESOME car and would be knocking on the door of evo and impreza performance.
I dearly hope that I am proved right, because I would expect the final edition (like a 35 year anniversary edition or a collectors model of some sort) of the scirocco RS to be available in 3-4 years time, about the same time i'm looking to sell up my current 'rocco and start again

[JMcQueen]

I think youre being very optimisic. Any attempt to make an even more powerfull scirocco would start to tread on Audi's toes both interms of price and performance. And it would never becalled the RS for the same reason.

The model range for vw has always tended to be 1.bog standard models 2. GTI/Performance versions 3. Limited range of 'R' cars or similar. This has been the case all the way back to the mk2 golf whereby there was the GTI and then the Rallye sitting above it.

The Scirocco R isnt a dissapointment because I didnt expect anything more from it. Would I buy one over the standard car? Probably not, it certainly doesnt represent value for money and if we're talking circa 30k, for a coupe, theres much better cars availalbe.

[jonallen628]

I love the notion that an RS version with 4WD and 300+ HP is in the pipeline but i really think this will be taking VW too far into Audi territory. The fact that the R has only 2WD places it perfectly below the S3 in the VAG hierarchy which must have them all grinning at Audi. Despite all the trick e-differentials etc this car will not be as capable as the S3 either in the dry or the wet. It could be more down to VW marketing rather than politics, we could still see a Golf R20 with 4WD and another 10 Bhp maintaining it as the flagship VW hatch?

I like what they have done with the front and back end, the front looks far less fussy without the round fogs crammed in and i like the dual exhausts at the back. The wheels are similar to the Audi ones i was considering. I think the interior makes more sense now with the 10My changes although i am not convinced by the steering wheel still, i am sure it will grow on me. Like the blue needles on the instrument cluster, this must be specific to the R. I have asked my dealer to send me through any official information when it is released, but as it is 2WD i may end up sticking with the GT.

Come on VW, give us a Roc with 4WD!

[gc76]

I think youre being very optimisic. Any attempt to make an even more powerfull scirocco would start to tread on Audi's toes both interms of price and performance. And it would never becalled the RS for the same reason.

The model range for vw has always tended to be 1.bog standard models 2. GTI/Performance versions 3. Limited range of 'R' cars or similar. This has been the case all the way back to the mk2 golf whereby there was the GTI and then the Rallye sitting above it.

The Scirocco R isnt a dissapointment because I didnt expect anything more from it. Would I buy one over the standard car? Probably not, it certainly doesnt represent value for money and if we're talking circa 30k, for a coupe, theres much better cars availalbe.

I have to agree, I dont see VW making a more powerful scirocco than the 'R'. And if they did how much would that cost? £30K+ for a Scirocco! No chance.

The only thing I would find as a disappointment will be the price. If the car starts at £25K - £26K then that would'nt be too bad, the car comes standard with Xenons so there is £860 worth of equipment above the GT. If the R had some decent seats (non cloth) then I think I will go for it.

[gc76]

There is a little bit more info on the VW site. Doesnt give a release date or price though.

http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/#/new/scirocco/latest-news/

[JMcQueen]

The only thing I would find as a disappointment will be the price. If the car starts at £25K - £26K then that would'nt be too bad, the car comes standard with Xenons so there is £860 worth of equipment above the GT. If the R had some decent seats (non cloth) then I think I will go for it.

I agree, xenons and leather should really have been standard. I reckon they'll price it about 26,500 for a dsg car, add leather, 19"'s, Dynaudio and reversing sensors and you're talking 29k. Far too much. You can get the same standard car for 23k from a broker after discount and I doubt discounts will be available on the R.

[jonallen628]

What happened to the Front & Rear Lights from the Studie R20? VW are probably holding these back for an 11My just after everyone has shelled out for a Scirocco 'R' I hate it when manufacturers do stuff like that, the last M3 came out just before BMW facelifted the 3-Series and as a result always looked dated.

[morrissey]

It's a nice visual upgrade, but who really needs that extra power without 4WD?
I rarely get the chance to exploit the power have got.
The lack of 4WD is the deal breaker for me - without it the price hike looks hard to justify.

[Evil Derboy]

Regarding comments about the Scirocco R vs the Focus RS and the dissapointment that it's not an RS beater. Does VW want to compete with the Focus RS with this car? The Focus is a hatchback and the Scirocco is being marketed as a Coupe so would the RS even be in its sights?

Or is a souped up Golf the more comparable platform to launch an RS beater? Another question to ask is why would you compare a Focus RS to the Scirocco in the first place. I admire what Ford have done with the Focus but it's not for me and I would never buy one. So given that you all own or are going to Sciroccos would you or did you consider a Focus before making your purchasing decision?

Another aspect to consider is that when VW launched the MKV Golf GTi, at 197 BHP it was already slower than the Focus as well so they have a history of launching cars that aren't quite as fast as some of the competition.