Volkswagen Scirocco (2008-2017) review - Practicality, comfort and boot space
The Scirocco is spacious for a coupe but less practical than the cheaper Golf on which it's based
Unlike most coupes, the Scirocco isn’t just a glorified two-seater. It lets you carry three adult passengers – although the low roofline and shallow windows make things a bit claustrophobic for those in the two sculpted rear seats. Tinted rear glass and dark interior materials don’t help either. You can’t even choose tan leather in some versions to brighten the ambience.
Visibility isn’t great through the Scirocco's fixed rear headrests and letterbox-shaped rear screen, so it’s a good job rear parking sensors are standard.
VW doesn’t quote a towing capacity for any Scirocco, so it’s no good for people who are planning to haul loads, while an 11-metre turning circle is nothing spectacular. You can load up to 75kg onto its roof, though, if you need more practicality than the interior of its squat body can provide.
Size
This is no lithe coupe. Using a hatchback to build off, even the lightest Scirocco (the 1.4 TSI) clocks in at 1,280kg, while the R DSG is a relatively portly 1,450kg. It’s just 1mm longer than a regular Golf three- or five-door, as well as being slightly wider and nearly 50mm lower. The R model is 8mm shorter and lower than the rest of the Scirocco range.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
Front leg room (1,061mm) and space (1,443mm elbow room) is absolutely fine, while the rear is usable for adults but not massively appealing in terms of environment. With 820mm of leg room and 1,272mm elbow room, it’s certainly much bigger in there than the back of rivals such as the Audi TT, Peugeot RCZ or the Toyota/Subaru pairing.
Headroom is reasonably generous too, once again thanks to that link with the Golf, so expect 953mm front and 924mm rear. Opt for a sunroof (£755) and you lose 3mm of head room up front and a solitary millimetre in the rear.
Boot
The rear seats fold to increase the deep boot’s capacity to a healthy maximum of 1,006 litres. That’s impressive, although with the seats in place the 312-litre area is 78 litres down on a BMW 2 Series.
While the Scirocco’s hatch tailgate is handy, the high load lip makes it tricky to lift in big items. It’s a whole heap better than the Audi TT for passengers or luggage, though.
