Scirocco Central

Hi all, new to the forum, I'm Sam from Northants and I'm thinking of selling my TTS and getting a Rocco R. What's your opinions? Will I be disappointed? Will I miss the Quattro? How much more practical are the scirocco rear seats? What's the 'R' like as a daily driver?

If anyone is interested, the spec on my TT is as follows...

2008
S-tronic
63,000 miles
Sat Nav
19" Alloys
Full leather
DRL's
Full interior LED upgrade
10 months MOT
Full Audi service history
Last serviced a month ago by Northampton Audi
Full two stage paint correction and professionally sealed
Immaculate condition inside and out

Welcome!

I purchased a Rocco R back in February, the TTS was the direct competitor I had in mind when looking. In terms of drivability you'll probably find them to be quite similar; Quatro 4WD is great, but it's quite heavy whereas the FWD of the Rocco R is lighter. The result is a similar driving experience, you'd only miss 4WD If you made further mods to the cars horsepower imho.

As for everyday drivability, the Rocco is excellent. Adaptive chassis gives the options for a nice smooth commute, or balls-to-the wall driving with sports suspension. Average mpg I find to be around 28, more on motorways and less
In heavy traffic. The rear seats can fold down nicely to give you plenty of space; it's not quite the Tardis-on-wheels that my Mk4 golf was, but I've not had any issues fitting oversized luggage, wakeboards, or small furnature into the car.

One thing you might notice it that it'll draw more attention than the TTS. I find that the difference in looks is more pronounced on the Rocco R; people see it and know it's something different to the norm. Audi have a habit of putting the changes specifically on the inside and adding a tiny badge/extra exhaust to hint at the fact that it goes like shit off a shovel.

It's a great all round car, I can't complain at all!

Things to look out for, I'd hang fire to find a second hand one that ticks all the boxes you want; internals, finish, colour etc. If you wait long enough the right one does come along. Check to see if it's around 5 years old that it's had a cam belt change and DSG oil change @ 40k miles (if you take the auto box). The usual rules apply, do a test drive and background checks, but that's fairly obvious. With the radio & media system, check to see that it's working as intended (got stung with this, an easy enough fix but should have checked). Check your Bluetooth comparability if this is desired, it can potentially save you an expense later on.

Any other questions, feel free to ask!

Wow! Thanks for that Maisonian, that's just what I was after. Awesome information! Out of interested anyone know how many R's were produced. Seem very rare?

S_robinson91 wrote:Wow! Thanks for that Maisonian, that's just what I was after. Awesome information! Out of interested anyone know how many R's were produced. Seem very rare?

No worries, glad I could help!

The Mk3 Pre-facelift was based on the Mk6 golf platform, which is also about as rare as hens teeth! I've only ever seen one other Rocco R out and about, ironically about 3 days after buying mine! There's enough on the market to suggest that a fair few were made, but they're rather uncommon in reality whatever the number.

Anything else you were hoping to know?

Welcome. I've never been in a TTS, so I can't really offer a comparison, but I don't think you'd be disappointed with the R. I got mine new 6 months ago, having previously owned the 2.0 TSI GT, and have been pretty satisfied. It's practical enough for my needs - daily commute, ferrying my toddler to and from nursery, occasional weekend trips away with the family...

As Maisonian said, the adaptive chassis control is a nice touch (though the difference between settings is pretty marginal). I average 35mpg in busy-ish rush hour traffic and 40mpg on motorway trips. I've only seen one other facelift R on the road since getting mine (but have seen quite a few of the virtually identical R-lines, and loads of Golf Rs!), so there is a nice 'rarity' value about that. I don't quite agree with Maisonian about the R standing out - only an enthusiast would notice the cosmetic changes over the standard car - but I quite like that it's a little understated. Having said that, I've definitely had more frequent compliments on the new car than I did with the previous GT.

Finally, one compelling reason for you... a change from an Audi means other drivers won't automatically label you as a t**t!

--->

One thing I wanted to ask... if it's not too nosey of me! I notice your TTS has, on three occasions since 2011, been MOT'd only six months after its previous MOT. How do you arrange that? I thought there was only a four-week window within which you could present a car for MOT - one year after the previous certificate was issued.

It's on my mind as my 1971 Reliant Scimitar had its MOT today - and I could really do with it being in July or August instead!

You can present your car for an MOT anytime irrespective of when the last MOT was done. The MOT will expire 12 months from the test date unless it's within 30 days of the current expiry date. In which the current expiry anniversary will maintained.

If it was done today, you can take your car for a test on 11/8/2017 and the expiry date will be 10/9/2018. The earliest date you can present the car for an MOT and maintain the anniversary is actually given on the certificate.

RoccoTom wrote:One thing I wanted to ask... if it's not too nosey of me! I notice your TTS has, on three occasions since 2011, been MOT'd only six months after its previous MOT. How do you arrange that? I thought there was only a four-week window within which you could present a car for MOT - one year after the previous certificate was issued.

It's on my mind as my 1971 Reliant Scimitar had its MOT today - and I could really do with it being in July or August instead!

Wow, didn't expect someone to do an MOT check on my car lol. But yeah, just what Cuprabob said. Think two of the early MOT's were done by garages selling them with full MOT.

At least I know if I do get a scirocco there's a descent forum base backing it, thanks for everyone's help!

It's a great daily that is always faster than I remember when I open it up on a good bit of road.

35mpg seems unbelievable though in town?!

I get more like 20-26mpg.

The other day a motorway journey saw a peak of 31.5mpg.
It's rare to hit 30mpg.

Do you people drive sensibly or something?!

Will get far more attention than a TT, esp in viper green for some reason:D

Hi All,


I just thought I would jump on the back of this post as I am also looking to purchase an R fairly soon. I had a MK3 Scirocco 1.4 TSI (160), which was fantastic, until the inevitable happened and it needed a rebuild around the 60k mark. So although I loved it, mechanically it was a nightmare, water pump, supercharger pulley, blown turbo and then the rebuild required. I'm a fairly cautious driver with the odd thrill of planting it for a bit of fun so I was really disappointed given I gave it 5* treatment.

How reliable is the 2.0T in the new R and the car on a whole? I know there were a few teething issues with the last R, but I've not seen any major posts about engine rebuilds or anything so far, which leads me to believe this could be a fairly solid purchase. They have come down nicely in price, I have seen a few for the early £20k - £25k mark which is ideal, but there's a voice in the back of my head which makes me nervous about buying another Rocco, regardless of it being a completely different engine & model.

Many Thanks!

GG

The 2.0T is admittedly a favourite of VW engineers; reliable, powerful and easy to work on. It's the 'evolution' of their 1.8T which was a god of an engine; naturally the engineering has followed!

As for gearboxes, avoid the first generation of DSG (present on the Mk5 golf & similar I believe - might be wrong). It had a few teething issues, but the second and current generation of DSG are reliable and smooth, especially when coupled to the 2.0T.

I currently own the pre-facelift Scirocco R, coming up to 56,000 miles. It's been well maintained & (touch wood) hasn't got a single problem. I'll be honest, I think you might have just had a spot of bad luck. If at all concerned, buy from a dealership who'll usually offer a parts warranty on the non-perishable areas of the car. For example, if my car fails an MOT for any mechanical reason other than 'worn breaks' (for example), the dealership pays out.

Once bitten twice shy, I can appreciate your reservations. I think you'll find the general concencus to be that the Rocco is a generally reliable car.

Thank you for your reply buddy, that does sound very good, I do still love the pre facelift R as well.

I will no doubt post up when I get down to numbers and purchasing, the only other problem I am facing at the moment is the amount of targeted R's in and around my area. I live in a village not far from Coventry, from what I have read online and on these forums, it seems to be a fairly hard hit area for R's being taken or any fast German car for that matter, but why should anyone not buy something they've worked hard for just for the sake of some complete waste of life trying to ruin it.

Thanks again!

GG