By Tony Ng

The Volkswagen Scirocco impresses easily. Tonight, I don't need to switch on the radio for aural accompaniment nor play a CD of the greatest driving songs ever.

With the Scirocco, drives should go au naturale because it already has a fantastic soundtrack.

Every time I shift gears, a muted throttle blip plays. A bend ahead. Downshift. Pop. Straight. Upshift. Pop.

The sound of the turbocharger spooling plays faintly in the background like a bar's jukebox as I intoxicate myself on the "viper green metallic" Scirocco.

For its class, the Scirocco is a deadly and potent concoction of performance, practicality and beauty.

A deserted long stretch of road presents itself. Like a predator seizing a prey, I snatched the opportunity. The speedometer climbs quickly as I tap on a vast pool of power - 280Nm over a wide range of 1,700 - 5,000rpm.

All too soon, I've already past the speed limits.

To use an old cliche, the VW Scirocco is more than a sum of its parts.

On paper, the Scirocco stands shorter - in more ways than one - with the Mk VI GTI.

It has 10 horses less than the new GTI (which has 210bhp) but the same torque. The Scirocco will also lose at a traffic light dash with a timing of 7.1secs from 0-100kph. The GTI stands proudly at 6.9secs.

To pile it on, the Scirocco also has GTI DNA underneath. VW has essentially inserted the GTI suspension system into the Scirocco. So what business does the Scirocco have here?

Wither not the Scirocco - because it is more than simply adding up numbers.

The Scirocco's significant in a sense it marks a drastically different design direction that the VW in-house studio has taken and that is good. I cannot help but like the influence it has on its new Golf and GTI.

Look beyond the commonalities shared with the GTI and you'll find yourself rewarded.

The Scirocco has quite a history. Named after a desert wind that the Sahara sends in the direction of the Mediterranean, it first democratised the world of sports cars in 1974 when Volkswagen made available to the masses a coupe that was both fuel-efficient and affordable.

The new Scirocco looks leaner, hungrier, and with the "viper green metallic" shade that came with the test car, meaner.

Remember how I said the Golf, although a global success, was too neutral in looks? The Scirocco is just the opposite with its new front end design.

The new design language sports leaner high-sheen black headlamp housing, a lean radiator grille crossbar (also painted in high-sheen black), pillarless doors. The double band of high-sheen radiator grille and bumper painted in car colour, Volkswagen says, will become a new character trait. Hopefully any cars we see in the future will be as good looking as this.

The squattier looks are further punctuated by the flaring shoulders at the back. The new design also means the Scirocco sits 65mm lower than the new GTI, giving it a lower centre-of-gravity. There is an air of theatre about the Scirocco, further punctuated when you open those long pillarless doors.

I have no problems getting into the low cockpit. It feels airy and larger than it looks - thanks to a panoramic sunroof that extends from the A-pillars to the B-pillars.

The lack of a roofliner in the glass section frees up more space than possible and the glass - which over has a sunshade as cover - lets in only 2.8 per cent of the heat.

New triangular door handles inside mark the Scirocco. The interior doesn't deviate much from the usual Volkswagen fare.

Another pity that VW didn't put in sport pedals to complement the overall sporty look. But I'm just quibbling because the Scirocco's overall handling will blow you away like its namesake.

Its lower form translates into vastly better handling during sinewy corners.

The flat-bottomed steering wheel is well-weighted and hardy. The well-balanced chassis and 18" Pirelli puppies throw their weight behind me as I take liberties with the road. There's no washing out into understeer at 180-degree bends. Bodyroll doesn't even dampen the fun I'm having.

There's an adaptive chassis control system that lets you choose your driving mode: Normal, Comfort or Sport. I chose to remain in Sport most of the time. The firm and decisive suspension, I can live with.

The Comfort mode is the icing on the cake. Optional. You could have it when you're ferrying delicate passengers but other than that, leave that button untouched.

It's not all perfect. Like all front-wheel drives the Scirocco suffers from the the problem of multi-tasking.

Torque steer punches in as the 18" puppies struggle to put down the power and maintain direction at the same time.

But you're never left wishing there was no torque steer at all. It makes the Scirocco more fun to handle. Those tyre squeals are a perfect announcement to all and sundry that you're here.

Turning off the traction control is like suddenly finding yourself holding a key to freedom at age 18.

It's addictive fun yet there's no danger. The high-performance sliding caliper disc brakes, 312mm in front and 286mm at the back, amazes me with its sensitivity and power. Even at high speeds, they haul up the car very quickly.

Stick the Scirocco into sport transmission and you'll be showered with the red carpet treatment as the needle is all too willing to enter the red zone. And stay there.

Only then will the 6-speed DSG shift up. The twincharged 1.4TSI will feature a 7-speed DSG instead of the sixer on the 2.0TSI. But whichever one you chose, you're bound to have fun.

Practicality is perhaps the last thing one will associate with a coupe.

A coupe was never really meant to be a family car. But the Scirocco might just be - for a family of four.

The back seats have more than enough room to seat two comfortably. A 292-litre boot space also means one can stuff quite a few shopping bags inside. Fold down the rear seats and you'll get 755 litres. But the small hatch might prove to be a problem.

More surprises. For such a melodic car, the fuel consumption only stands at 7.6 litres/100km.

When I pulled into one of the carparks in town to run some errands, the Scirocco attracted not a few stares.

Young couples barely in their late twenties stopped and stared. Probably came in their souped up cars.

A GTI owner on the road gave way to let the Scirocco pass. And then followed behind.

New looks, new impact, new handling. There's nothing on the roads like it. Hopefully the Scirocco will herald a new future of VW innovation and design.

tonyng@sph.com.sg

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