Scirocco is all sizzle and show

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In fact, in many ways it's very much a souped-up, low-slung dramatised version of VW's iconic Golf GTi.

And what a stunning head-turner this new three-door coupe-like is.

On the media launch drive along the sweeping roads in the beautiful Camperdown and Ashburton region of KZN the Scirocco drew many admiring glances, thumbs-up and honks of approval as petrol heads snapped away with their cellphone cameras as we whizzed past.

It's just that sort of car. If you think it looks good in photographs, wait until you see it on the road.

It crouches low and squat on the tar and boasts all the tell-tale elements of a car designed for thrills - slit-eyed headlights, sloping bonnet, menacing black mesh grille, gleaming 18-inch alloys wrapped in 235/40 R80 rubber, bulging wheel arches, sloping roof-line, rear diffuser and a twin tail-pipes.

Being a two-door, the tapered window line and bat-eared side mirrors make it look even meaner.

True, not all good-looking have the go to match the show. The Scirocco has. Lots of it.

And the fun begins from the time you strap yourself into the low sports-seat and twist the ignition key. Just a dab at the metal pedal and its gurgling idle turns into a cheeky growl.

Find a stretch of windy road, give it free rein and hang on because when all that turbocharged 147kW and 280Nm move into action you have to wrestle the torque steer as the front tyres scrabble for grip.

I drove the top of the range 2.0-litre model that comes with DSG (the lovely semi-automatic gearbox that works so slick and rapid in a number of other VW/Audi models), and it was fun with a capital F.

That is, once you've got the hang of the torque steer (which is par for the course when you stick a hard-punching engine under the boot of a front-footed car), and the directness and lightness of the wheel (the Scirocco has the same electro-mechanical power steering as the Golf, Jetta, Eos, Tiguan, Passat and Touran).

Oversteer does comes into play, but to get there you have to be playing most of the game in the red-half of the rev counter.

Put foot and its big turbocharger will gulp air so enthusiastically that the Scirocco will squirt from zero to 100km/h in 7.1 seconds and gallop on to a top speed of 235km/h before it runs out of breath.

And, says VW, if you drive it gently (which not many owners are likely to do) it should consume only about 7.6 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres.

But hey, if you are the type who has sleepless nights about how much fuel your car will guzzle on your yawning twice-a-week toddle to the Bowls Club, then you should be driving a little white Korean washing machine on wheels and not be reading this article.

Yes, I know it's not PC, but if you can afford a Scirocco, the cost of fuel is really not going to be a factor now, is it?

After all, what price can anybody put on a little early Sunday-morning fun along a stretch of quiet country road?

But I digress, so let's move on before the Speed Camera Nazis come and nab me.

Like the “every-day sports car” it is, one expects the ride to be fairly taut, particular along bumpy stretches, but it is not uncomfortably so and there is none of the jumping and shuddering some sporty cars are prone to.

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Besides, anybody who buys a car like this will be happy to sacrifice a little comfort for extra grip, I'm sure.

And the grip levels on this car are phenomenal. Its underpinnings are tweaked fifth-generation Golf, with the same four-link rear suspension and McPherson struts attached to the Golf platform, but with a few ‘extras' from the bigger Jetta's parts and modifications to fit the Scirocco's wider track.

And the high levels of grip, go, and eye-candy of the Scirocco is matched by a high-performance, quick-response braking system.

Our test car was equipped with 312mm disks in front and 286mm disks at the rear and they did a great job, even they were never really at any serious stress levels.

Safety is a key concern on sportier vehicles, for obvious reasons, and the Scirocco's peace-of-minders include a rigid cabin shell, high-strength body reinforcement, six airbags, Isofix mounting fixtures at the rear seat positions to keep the ankle-biters safe, and when things go badly wrong, not only are the airbags and belt-tensioners triggered, but the hazard flashers are activated, the doors unlocked, the interior lights are turned on and the fuel pump is shut off.

The long list of safety equipment also includes ESP (electronic stability programme) with BA (brake assist system and counter-steering assistance); ABS (anti-lock braking system), EDL (electronic diff lock), EBD (electronic brake-force distribution) and an optionally extra DCC (dynamic chassis control) which adapts the car's settings at the touch of a button from Normal to Comfort or Sport.

The Scirocco's cabin has generous seating space for four adults, all in individual stitched-leather, contoured bucket seats and.

It has a 312-litre boot that grows to 1006-litres when the rear seats are folded down.

The cockpit lay-out will be instantly familiar to anybody who has driven a late model VW or Audi: clear, well-positioned dials and gauges, drilled metal pedals, flat-bottomed steering-wheel with audio controls, radio/CD player, aircon, multi-function computer, leather gearshift knob, Satnav with colour touchscreen, “Park Pilot” park distance control at the rear (which you DO need, because rear visibility is not great).... the list just goes on and on.

The Scirocco offers a choice of two charged four cylinder engines - a 1.4 TSI (118kW) and 2.0 TSI (147kW). Both engines are mated to a manual 6-speed transmission but the 2.0 TSI engine can be ordered with an optional dual clutch transmission (6-speed DSG).

The prices and models are:
Scirocco 1.4 TSI manual - R282,000
Scirocco 2.0 TSI manual - R322,000
Scirocco 2.0 TSI DSG - R336,500

(Only the 2.0 TSI DSG is available now. The 1.4 TSI and 2.0 TSI manual will be available from the third quarter of 2009).

All models come standard with a five-year/90,000km Service Plan, three-year/120,000km warranty and a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty.

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As an eye-catching, sporty four-door the Scirocco is in a class all of its own, with its closest rivals probably the likes of VW's own GTi, BMW 1 Series, Opel Astra OPC (which might not be around for too much longer) and the Ford STi.

The Scirocco has an impressive range of superior specifications but even bog standard it is expensive.

And be warned, if you want to personalise and jazz it up further from a long list of optional extras, you better have a heat-resistant credit card that can withstand the cost of metallic paint (R830), electric panoramic roof (R8,820), Park Distance Control (R3,880), DCC Adaptive Chassis control (R10,470), Interlagos 18-inch alloys (R4,820), bi-Xenon headlights (R7,950), SatNav multi-media system (R28,290), RCD CD-changer (R4,000) and a DynAudio Sound System, including RCD-510 CD-changer, (R13,230).