2009 Volkswagen Scirocco

The Scirocco is a name Volkswagen has resurrected from the past and put onto the back of a new two-door hatchback designed to be a sexier, sportier version of the Golf.

The original Scirocco had a two-generation run from 1974 until 1992 and was then replaced by the Corrado. But now the Scirocco is back.

The new car doesn’t share much in common with its original namesake as far as the visuals go. Where the old car was rather boxy, you’d be hard pressed to find a straight line on the new one. It’s all curves and sweeping lines, and while it’s described by VW as a coupe, it looks more like a three-door hatchback. That’s no bad thing though – it’s racy and edgy, with its wide stance, low roof and intense headlights. A chrome twin exhaust and some very attractive ‘Interlagos’ alloys on our test car make this a real looker. It’s not brash, but it is good looking while still giving a statement of performance intent.

Inside it’s more familiar Volkswagen territory. Anyone that’s been in a VW in the last five years will be instantly at home with the Scirocco’s sensibly laid out interior, but there are quite a few little touches that give a sporty and more funky feel. The steering wheel has a racing-style flat bottom, while the huge triangular door handles are a nice talking point. There’s also a sunroof, which tilts, but doesn’t open. Which is mildly annoying. And yes, the stereo has an auxiliary socket for your MP3 player.

The Scirocco is not really built for practicality. It will seat four - the back of the car is deceptively narrow, so there’s no room for a middle seat passenger in the rear. Both rear passengers get racing style seats, both of which will fold down independently to allow more luggage into the boot, which, incidentally, is on the small side. No golf clubs in here, sorry.

The front seat occupants get the best deal, with some excellent sports seats with big, high bolsters at the side. They look great and will also hold you in place nicely when you take the Scirocco through any bends.

The engine is a 2.0-litre turbocharged one, shared with the Golf GTi, and it’s a great one. The Scirocco, like the GTi, is more than happy to be revved senseless and will give all of its 200bhp with aplomb, but it’s equally at home being trundled around in traffic thanks to a decent amount of torque. The power is distributed by VW’s excellent double-clutch automatic gearbox – called DSG – which makes for extremely smooth and extremely fast changes.