Scirocco vs Golf GTI

[3t3p]

Hi all I am Pete,

I am new to these forums and own an 06 polo, not a scirocco

Here's the deal, when I got my car serviced by VW my eyes caught a viper green scirocco in the car park and proceeded to GLUE themselves on its curves:D

This DOES NOT happen when I look at Golf GTI's as nice as they are.

I am using the thought of getting a new VW to motivate me to work and finally finish university:)

There are some things that worry me about the scirocco however:( I am used to the 'boxy' format of polos and golfs and when I sat in the scirocco the following freaked me out

1) Rear visibility is appalling and I constantly look using the central mirror! My reversing is not amazing and this concerns me, would sensors help enough for me to get used to reduced visibility?
2) The front pillars are FAT and due to the way they sweep back seem to create massive blindspots which scare the crap out of me quite frankly!

on a more minor note;

3)The everest-like boot lip, what's the crack with that? I work out but I feel I could put my back out if I lifted something heavy out of the car!
4)On practicality I don't need to ship people around but compared to a golf what would it be like for general hobbies and stuff like that?

I don't know if in a yr used sciroccos will be in my price range but I LOVE this car like you guys and have been reading lots of generally positive things about it,

appreciate any insights

[bianco]

1) Yes, rear visibility is bad. Yes rear sensors fix it
2) Yes, the pillars are fat. You just have to move your head a bit if in doubt of the outlook... Its that way in many new cars, if thats any concilation
3) If the boot lip is to high, lower the car
4) Owner/driver sits great, whats more to consider?

What can I say - Its a drivers car!

[ticklerNOR]

1) Rear sensors is a MUST. If you get the navi, or big stereo it will show you with graphic where the obsticale is. Optic Parking Sensor.
2) I always check my blindspot, no matter what. A scooter can easily hide in any cars pillar.
3) Its really not that often that you drive around with heavy stuff in the back. I got a Jack Russel Terrier in cage back there, and its never a problem.
4) I owned a 2004 MINI Cooper S before, and 4 people sits WAY better in the Roc. This is a Coupe, but the backseat space is as good as a 5 door.

[trix]

Hi Pete

1) you get some lovely big wing mirrors to help when reversing too! its not actually that bad reversing, i had a little 306 before & took a roc on a test drive that didn't have sensors & didn't actually have a problem, slow & steady & learn your corners you'd be fine. I ended up getting a factory build & included sensors as my work car park has some lovely low walls you can't see at all & my garage at home is quite narrow so its more for those that i included them. oh & i've seen cars with worse rear vis

2) yes they are abit big but i had a polo has a courtesy car when mine went in & didn't think the pillars in that were that forgiving at times, like bianco says just move your head abit & its also what you are/get used to.

3) personally don't think the boot lip is that bad, its not meant to be an estate car.

4) i've had a couple of packs of laminate flooring in the back of mine & could still have had 2 passengers so its pretty good, obviously you're not going to be able to move huge pieces of furniture around in it. i seem to remember someone on here saying they had put their mountain bike in it (with some careful covering of blankets anyway)

any other questions just shout. oh & with regard to motivating yourself to finish uni, the sooner you get the assignments done to a suitably decent standard the sooner its over!

S

[MarkoRocco]

You worry too much....just buy one - you'll love it.

[3t3p]

Haha perhaps I do worry alot!
I am a cautious perfectionist personality type though!
My main fear is that the scirocco would turn out to be a regret due to impracticality, but I am young and have no need to move kids around and the such and feel I should seize the opportunity and dare to be different by not driving a golf!

Well thanks for the rapid responses thus far, really useful input.

I like the sound of the following as extras, even though the stock car is v nice:)

1)Panoramic sunroof, if it lets in more natural light into the cabin I see this as a great feature and worth the outlay
2)Dynaudio, I love my music and is a nice price to pay for great sound
3) Wheels, are 19'' a must for this car? And is ride comfot affected?
4) Flat tyre indicator, is this only if a tyre is flat or does it give real-time Psi measurements?
5) DSG, sounds awesome:)

Is ride comfort ok? I think my little polo is a great car and I know new golfs are well sound-insulated and will be comfortable on the motorway etc, are roccos this way too?

PS: How much does it cost to lower the car? I see a lot of 'high wheel arch' comments around, can't say I noticed it myself but see what you guys mean...
PSS: Any estimates on costs of a 2.0L DSG in 1-2 yrs time? I'm astonished with the miniscule depreciation value of these cars! they are still so expensive 2nd hand!

Cheers

[trix]

impracticality?! you can easily get in & out of the rear seats & it has a good balance on foot room & comfort (i find some small/3 door cars very upright in the rear seats) you can fit loads of shopping in the boot (i'm a girl, i should know!) the rear seats fold down if you need more load space. what impracticality?

1) pano roof, do not be under any preconceptions that it opens fully, it doesn't. but it does lighten the cabin interior (its not a cave in the first place in my opinion though)
3) plenty of people have upgraded to 19" & not had any problem with the ride quality (even after lowering too)
4) it doesn't tell you specific pressures (you'd be looking at a couple of hundred quid for an option that does that) it just notifys you if one tyre deflates more than a set amount (think it works on the rolling radius but maybe someone can confirm) for £35 its pretty mad not to spec it.

i've been bounding all over the country (& countryside) in mine & love the ride, having the acc to play with is good too

lowering is about £150 for the springs + fitting iirc

S

[MarkoRocco]

I can think of a lot of cars that are more impractical than a Scirocco. I think it is a really good all rounder, and you can forgive it a couple of faults just for looking so good. I am 6'4" and have no problem with access or space etc. I find it to be genuinely comfortable on a long run (and you can set the suspension to comfort if you wish of course). I specced leather, which is possibly harder than cloth, but worth it IMO. My two lads are both six footers and they happily travel in the back. The boot is reasonable. The options you mention are a matter of choice of course, but I would def advise adding the parking sensors for the reasons Trix says. I personally think the 18" wheels are awesome and wouldn't bother with the 19".

You never know, I might be selling mine in a year or two ( and yes, I hope it will be expensive!)

All the best

Mark

[The Darkness]

Well it is less practical using the back seats over a 5 door for sure, putting the kids in and out is slightly annoying. But as others have said, its not really bad, boot is suprisingly big and visibility fine if you have sensors and get used to using the massive mirrors. Go for it!

[gavmac89]

I have a Polo just now too and most of the things you have mentioned that you are concerned about crossed my mind too, im not really worried about them as I know I will get used to them eventually.

[Anakin]

Hi all I am Pete,

I am new to these forums and own an 06 polo, not a scirocco

Here's the deal, when I got my car serviced by VW my eyes caught a viper green scirocco in the car park and proceeded to GLUE themselves on its curves:D

This DOES NOT happen when I look at Golf GTI's as nice as they are.

I am using the thought of getting a new VW to motivate me to work and finally finish university:)

There are some things that worry me about the scirocco however:( I am used to the 'boxy' format of polos and golfs and when I sat in the scirocco the following freaked me out

1) Rear visibility is appalling and I constantly look using the central mirror! My reversing is not amazing and this concerns me, would sensors help enough for me to get used to reduced visibility?
2) The front pillars are FAT and due to the way they sweep back seem to create massive blindspots which scare the crap out of me quite frankly!

on a more minor note;

3)The everest-like boot lip, what's the crack with that? I work out but I feel I could put my back out if I lifted something heavy out of the car!
4)On practicality I don't need to ship people around but compared to a golf what would it be like for general hobbies and stuff like that?

I don't know if in a yr used sciroccos will be in my price range but I LOVE this car like you guys and have been reading lots of generally positive things about it,

appreciate any insights

Hi pete

1) yeah it is, I have a transit van at work, I have no problems reversing that with no rear view or sensors.
2) I currently have a golf and I dont think it creates any more of a blind spot in the Rocco.
3) lol, well half of my Golf Boot is taken up a 12" sub so it looks plenty big to me. (will have to custom build something into the arches in the rocco)
4) What sort of hobbies ? Im sure your knitting will fit in the back not sure about your Handglider.

my reason for going to Scirocco from Golf is that they just look so much nicer

[albertz33]

Dont worry dude,

i freaked out when i got in and saw how bad the visibility was too,. but you get used to it as well as the fat pillars, you adapt and dont notice it after a week or so, i wouldnt reccomend the parking sensors though as im not a woman but seriously on a viper green model i think they spoil the look of the bumper, just my opinion.

As for the danger of putting your back out, well im not a body builder and it hasnt happened to me. On the other hand i drove from London to Newcastle carrying 1 sideboard, one chair, 3 bedside cabinets and a floor standing lamp, i had to drive with my head cocked over the the right for 5 hours, and had zero visibility out of the back and left, but it shows what you can squeeze into a VW if you really try, it amazes me!

[x5pea]

which GTI are you talking about? the new mk6?

Ive owned a rocco and mk6 gti and both the mrs and i preferred the rocco over the gti. To be honest the GTI was a bit of a let down, rocco handles much better, driving experience is much better in the rocco and it looks 100 time nicer too.

If you talking about a mk5, thats a different story as a mk5 is half the price of the rocco, ive also owned a mk5 this year and id say that the mk5 is an awesome car and at half the price of the rocco a great buy. It handles great and with a few touches can look very good not as good as the rocco mind but it is half the price

hope this helps

[retsila]

I would say it's as practical as most 3 door cars, except if you do put people in the back, the 2 that can get in a scirocco will be more comfy than in most other 3 door cars. Obviously the 5th person wouldn't be very comfortable at all.

With regards to getting kids in the back, granted, a 5 door is easier, however I have a 1 year old, and although getting him into the cabin is harder than on my volvo, I find it easier to secure him into his seat in the scirocco, because you do it in front of the seat instead of fron the side, and anyone with a modern Britax car seat will tell you, you normall have to put your back out to pull the strap adjuster tight enough.

The pano sunroof does add light, but also adds a fair amount of road noise. I managed to test drive both, and at cruising speed on motorways/A roads, there was a real difference.

Go for the dynaudio, I didn't and wish I did.

With regards price for a second hand one, I'd say look at the current price of a golf gti that's 2 years old, then add at least a grand to that. I know the gti is actually more expensive, but it's also more available, and the price i've seen some rocco's actually sell for second hand is nuts. Given I'm on a VW pcp, it was cheper for me to order a brand new car, than get a 6 month old one with 8k on the clock.

Eiether way. GET ONE

[3t3p]

My hobbies are radio controlled planes and model rocketry! And a 15kg custom PC which will soon become 23kg:D But I also do knitting whilst in freefall;)

So it's true the sunroof DOES add road noise? I've read conflicting views on this, its a shame I like the look of it on the car actually, the way 'black' is extended backward on the roof.

Retsila beg pardon but i meant I had NO kids haha, or if I do I am in deep £$*£"%&£"!$*!($

As for Golf GTI's, I think a 2nd hand Mk5 is more to my liking, and obtainable for about £15k or less if you go outside of VW...Been reading the Mk6 is TOO refined and controlled? I wouldn't complain about receiving one tho!
I just love the appeal the Rocco has, and the looks it would get:) HAS to be viper green though!:D Just wish wish wish the 2nd hand market was more extensive:(
'low' end audis like A3 are nice but 'meh' to me and the BMW one series looks like a SHOE! (Think someone here said it lol)

[wigit]

just buy one of each



i actually prefer the 5 door in our family

3t3p if you are seriously going mk5 get an Ed30/Pirelli you won't be disappointed

[Anakin]

My hobbies are radio controlled planes and model rocketry! And a 15kg custom PC which will soon become 23kg:D But I also do knitting whilst in freefall;)

So it's true the sunroof DOES add road noise? I've read conflicting views on this, its a shame I like the look of it on the car actually, the way 'black' is extended backward on the roof.

Retsila beg pardon but i meant I had NO kids haha, or if I do I am in deep £$*£"%&£"!$*!($

As for Golf GTI's, I think a 2nd hand Mk5 is more to my liking, and obtainable for about £15k or less if you go outside of VW...Been reading the Mk6 is TOO refined and controlled? I wouldn't complain about receiving one tho!
I just love the appeal the Rocco has, and the looks it would get:) HAS to be viper green though!:D Just wish wish wish the 2nd hand market was more extensive:(
'low' end audis like A3 are nice but 'meh' to me and the BMW one series looks like a SHOE! (Think someone here said it lol)

For around £15k you can get a 2006 MKV R32.

[Gary_Monkey]

5) DSG, sounds awesome:)

If you can afford it... get the DSG box. It's amazing! Best of both worlds. Lazy when you need it... vicious when you want to drive hard

Gary

[raffoul232]

Before purchasing my scirocco i was keen on getting the mk6 golf gti. But once i test drove the rocco, i was blown away. So finally the verdict is scirocco all the way just look at the difference:

[trix]

but of course bear in mind that you need to decide whats best for you with regard to options etc as if you listen to everything we tell you & follow it you would end up wanting a hideously expensive car

S