Andy's Scirocco R - 25K miles per year
Discussion
Hi all,
A couple of months ago I purchased a 2011 Scirocco R. I use my cars as effectively company cars and do around 25,000 miles a year which is probably quite unusual for a car of this kind so I thought it might be quite useful for me and anyone who's interested to document the next 18 months/2 years (in theory) I’ll own it for.
The car is a 2011 R in Rising Blue with 31,000 miles on the clock. It has pretty much most of the boxes ticked so has black leather heated seats, Panoramic roof and the RNS510 with Dynaudio. As I said I bought the car 4 weeks ago after not being able to get comfy and becoming bored of an Alpina D3. I’d ran a Megane RS250 a couple of years ago which I loved so wanted something comparable in speed and size. After drawing up a short list (very short) I began looking for a Scirocco R. The R pretty much ticks all the boxes I look for in a car – Rare, quick, great looking and has the added bonus of being available with the DSG box which is really useful with the amount of city centre driving I do. The drive home was about an hour of motorway driving down the A1 and initial impressions were largely positive. The engine is fantastic! Really torquey low down without losing too much at the top end like most turbo charged cars do. It also sounds and feels smooth for a four pot and I love the ‘bumf’ noise on full boar up-shifts. The interior is great and I love the seats, the only downside was what felt like a very cramped driving position (the pedals seem far too close even with the steering wheel as far back as it will go) but I’m now getting used to that. Since then covered I’ve covered 2000 miles, swapped the number plates (along with the front holder) for some plane ones with number plate holders I found on eBay and clay barred, sealed and waxed it. As I mentioned I will try to document my time with the car so any comments are greatly received and thank you for reading!
A couple of months ago I purchased a 2011 Scirocco R. I use my cars as effectively company cars and do around 25,000 miles a year which is probably quite unusual for a car of this kind so I thought it might be quite useful for me and anyone who's interested to document the next 18 months/2 years (in theory) I’ll own it for.
The car is a 2011 R in Rising Blue with 31,000 miles on the clock. It has pretty much most of the boxes ticked so has black leather heated seats, Panoramic roof and the RNS510 with Dynaudio. As I said I bought the car 4 weeks ago after not being able to get comfy and becoming bored of an Alpina D3. I’d ran a Megane RS250 a couple of years ago which I loved so wanted something comparable in speed and size. After drawing up a short list (very short) I began looking for a Scirocco R. The R pretty much ticks all the boxes I look for in a car – Rare, quick, great looking and has the added bonus of being available with the DSG box which is really useful with the amount of city centre driving I do. The drive home was about an hour of motorway driving down the A1 and initial impressions were largely positive. The engine is fantastic! Really torquey low down without losing too much at the top end like most turbo charged cars do. It also sounds and feels smooth for a four pot and I love the ‘bumf’ noise on full boar up-shifts. The interior is great and I love the seats, the only downside was what felt like a very cramped driving position (the pedals seem far too close even with the steering wheel as far back as it will go) but I’m now getting used to that. Since then covered I’ve covered 2000 miles, swapped the number plates (along with the front holder) for some plane ones with number plate holders I found on eBay and clay barred, sealed and waxed it. As I mentioned I will try to document my time with the car so any comments are greatly received and thank you for reading!
A couple of weeks into ownership I finally got round to sorting out the wheel alignment. Due to the amount of driving I do on the motorway (and the cost of 19” tyres) I’m a bit OCD about wheel alignment. That said it amazes me how far out people let their cars get out of alignment to the point where on the Scirocco it wasn’t just pulling to the left but visually the wheels looked all over the place. This apparently this is quite common with 3 year old cars as the suspension has now settled throwing out the original alignment, the previous owner has probably just got used to it or was coming up the end of their time with car and didn’t bother. As I was busy I tried VW first who explained that they wanted £100 just to look at the car then there would be an hourly charge after that for any work???? I’ve just come from owning a couple of BMWs and that takes the mick. Anyway, I got in touch with a guy (Gary Tams) I’ve used several times before expecting a long delay. Gary is a mobile wheel alignment specialist who uses local garages lifts to do the alignment. As luck would have it he had access to a ramp round the corner from where I work in Bradford and I was booked in. I explained to Gary what handling problems I was feeling through the steering and my backside and this was confirmed by his measurements. Gary aligned the car and informed me that all the bushes and suspension components were in excellent condition – Good! After 30 mins and £50 Gary had finished and the car is now transformed. The wheels now fill the arches as they should and the handling feels much more precise, with the car flowing much better from corner to corner.
Andy Dean said:
it amazes me how far out people let their cars get out of alignment...
I feel your pain. I jump into and out of all manner of different cars all day; I also have a quite acute feel for crap alignment and it really surprises you just how wobbly so many cars feel. Proper wheel alignment is one of the best and cheapest upgrades you can make to any new purchase.Get some photos up for us, Rocco R is a fun thing and as you point out reasonably rare too!
I've seen you knocking about Bradford and rawdon area, I always keep an eye for roc r's as I used to own back in 2010 very similar to yours but in silver, very under rated cars imo and better to drive than the golf r of the same period I owned mine for about 18 months and wouldn't have sold it if it wasn't the need for 5 doors (newborn!) as it had only done 13k, I px ed for an rs3 which was a better "baby carrier"
Ubbs
Ps i retrofitted rear cup holders, front covered ashtray and led number plate lights which I removed before I got rid all boxed and genuine vw pm if your interested
Ubbs
Ps i retrofitted rear cup holders, front covered ashtray and led number plate lights which I removed before I got rid all boxed and genuine vw pm if your interested
To compare the Megane and the Scirocco first of all I’ll say that my Megane was a ‘Sport’ non-cup model which means it has quite a few toys as standard, had standard seats (fantastic) front Brembos only (poor) 18” wheels, the pseudo electronic diff (a la the Scirocco) and 18” wheels with 225 section Dunlop tyres. The Scirocco is running 19” wheels with Michelin Pilot Super Sports tyres.
The engine in the Scirocco is much better. Lots more torque through the range, doesn’t run out of breath too much at the top end and to my ears makes a great noise for a 2L turbo. The engine feel and noise really adds to the character of the Scirocco and helps make the car feel much more ‘expensive’ and a quality item. In comparison the Megane sounds really angry and thrashy which depending on your point of view is either horrible our quite exciting.
The brakes on the Scirocco are much, much better than on the Megane. The Megane’s brakes were really poor (and I’ve owned several BMWs). Despite being Brembos at the front they were really spongy and never felt like they were biting properly. I tried a couple of different pads (they’re the same brakes as on an Evo VII) but never felt they were right. The Scirocco’s on the other hand are really good, powerful and good feel.
Handling wise the Megane was as all the press say, fantastic. The narrower tyres and softer non-cup suspension means the car is more on it’s toes you can really throw it around. Lift off over steer in the wet is either fun/terrifying depending on what mood you’re in. The steering in the Megane has great feel (for electric power steering) when you press on which means driving quickly in the wet is much easier/enjoyable. The Scirocco is typically German in that it’s quite precise and very pointy at the front. The back end will always go where the front goes. With the Scirocco being considerably wider (it only just fits down my drive), running 235 section tyres and being considerably stiffer the handling is more exciting rather than fun and the enjoyment comes from the sheer speed you can carry into a corner and cover ground. The Megane is more fun with the enjoyment coming from the adjustability mid corner so you can decide how to attack a series of corners. So from that point of view on a smooth piece of flowing tarmac the Scirocco is a weapon and would be quicker. Anything more difficult – bumpier/wetter and the Megane would kill it.
The engine in the Scirocco is much better. Lots more torque through the range, doesn’t run out of breath too much at the top end and to my ears makes a great noise for a 2L turbo. The engine feel and noise really adds to the character of the Scirocco and helps make the car feel much more ‘expensive’ and a quality item. In comparison the Megane sounds really angry and thrashy which depending on your point of view is either horrible our quite exciting.
The brakes on the Scirocco are much, much better than on the Megane. The Megane’s brakes were really poor (and I’ve owned several BMWs). Despite being Brembos at the front they were really spongy and never felt like they were biting properly. I tried a couple of different pads (they’re the same brakes as on an Evo VII) but never felt they were right. The Scirocco’s on the other hand are really good, powerful and good feel.
Handling wise the Megane was as all the press say, fantastic. The narrower tyres and softer non-cup suspension means the car is more on it’s toes you can really throw it around. Lift off over steer in the wet is either fun/terrifying depending on what mood you’re in. The steering in the Megane has great feel (for electric power steering) when you press on which means driving quickly in the wet is much easier/enjoyable. The Scirocco is typically German in that it’s quite precise and very pointy at the front. The back end will always go where the front goes. With the Scirocco being considerably wider (it only just fits down my drive), running 235 section tyres and being considerably stiffer the handling is more exciting rather than fun and the enjoyment comes from the sheer speed you can carry into a corner and cover ground. The Megane is more fun with the enjoyment coming from the adjustability mid corner so you can decide how to attack a series of corners. So from that point of view on a smooth piece of flowing tarmac the Scirocco is a weapon and would be quicker. Anything more difficult – bumpier/wetter and the Megane would kill it.
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