Category: Affordable Sports 
Price Range: No data available
Looks great, fun to drive, cheap to run.
Poor rear visibility, steering vagueness, cabin lacks exterior's flair.
Volkswagen succeeds in making a desirable coupe without compromises.
Volkswagen is obsessed by the cult of the niche.
In the early 70's a buyer walking into a Volkswagen showroom had just a handful of cars to choose from - their biggest dilemma was whether to go for a nice shade of chocolate brown or push the boat out with lime green.
Today the same buyer will be confronted with a baffling 14 different cars inhabiting niches the 70's car buyer could never have imagined.
Actually, make that 15 because from this September the Scirocco returns to the VW range after a 15-year hiatus.
The Volkswagen coupe follows the traditional formula of the original 1974 Scirocco. Re-skin a Golf and recloth it with a sportier low-slung look.
The new car is fractionally longer (40mm), but 97mm lower and 51mm wider. On the road the broad-shouldered Scirocco has presence the Golf couldn't dream of.
You can choose from three engines. There's a 197bhp 2.0 turbo, a 158bhp 1.4 that is both super- and turbo-charged and one diesel - the new 138bhp common rail 2.0-litre that made its debut in the Tiguan.
Buyers will have the choice of either a six-speed manual, or a six- or seven-speed dual-clutch DSG automated manual.
The sporty coupe with the 197bhp 2.0 averages a fine 37.2mpg and emits 179g/km of carbon dioxide - figures that better the Golf GTI, while matching the hatch's 0-62mph sprint of 7.2 seconds and 146mph top speed.
Prices will start at around £18,500 and stretch to just over £21,000. The car we tested cost £20,940 - a mere £100 more than the Golf GTI on which it's based.
