Volkswagen Scirocco 1.4 TSI (DSG) Review: Smaller but still loaded

What we like:

The relatively affordable price

brilliantly eye-catching styling that does not throw usability out of the window

great chassis

top-notch handling with enough poke (still) to match its go-faster look.

What we dislike:

The uninspiring Eos-sourced interior that looks dull in comparison to the flamboyant exterior.

I popped by my engineer friend's office for a visit the other day, but he wasn't around. Instead, there it is - a photo of the Scirocco pinned up in his cubicle. I certainly hope he had gone for a proper test drive - after all as an engineer, I am sure he can better appreciate the fact that this beauty is more than skin-deep.

With a whopping saving of $30k from the Scirocco Sports, cheaper road tax and better fuel economy, it doesn't take a chief engineer to figure out why the 1.4 accounts for three quarters of the Scirocco's local sales.

For all its style and talents, the $98,300 asking price of the Scirocco 1.4 sounds more like a bargain. Perhaps, it is really time for my engineer friend to do the switch - to a modern incarnation of his EG Civic hatch...

Credits: Story by Colin Choo, pictures by Azfar Hashim