Driving the dream?

[hiltow]

Well, after having some work done on my Mk2, preceded by carefully storing it away for a few years, it's now back on the road with a clean-pass MOT for a few weeks before hibernating it until spring.

I was so looking forward to driving it again, but the experience now just doesn't seem to live up to how I seemed to remember it 5 or 6 years ago. Maybe it's being used to driving around in a big comfy saloon car, but the Scirocco seems tiny driving amongst the other traffic (and I wouldn't class the Scirocco as being a particularly small car).

I mean, I was overtaken by a Renault Twingo that seemed to tower above me like a block of flats as it passed; my head level being barely above the same height of the passenger window line of most other cars. It seems a wonder whether any other drivers can actually see me vice versa through what seems like the 'tiny' door mirrors. Then there's the heavy steering and brakes and what feels like a harsh ride as well. With what seems like the generally poor state of general driving standards thesedays, all this seems to combine to needing to really have ones wits about oneself!

Has anyone else felt like this in their Scirocco recently; dwarfed by the cars around them driven by people too cocooned in them to take any notice that you're also on the road? I think I need to get my Scirocco mojo back!

[the edmundator]

Modern cars are all massive because to fit in all the safety stuff and insulating stuff and still have decent interior space, they gain size... I find my Sciroccos enjoyable to drive after my modern cars, exactly because it's smaller, I feel properly connected with what's going on mechanically and on the road surface, and I can see out easily with the slim pillars.

[MK21800]

I think the experience is an acquired taste, and it sounds like you've actually gone off it.

I know what you mean about the dwarfing. I just laugh at them to be honest. Whoever persuaded suburban housewives that they need something akin to a Range Rover to drive through, say, Surbiton, and deliver little Johnny to school and then visit Sainsburys was a marketing genius. The Golfs and Sciroccos were perfect cars for this kind of driving (we thought so in the eighties and nineties), and they sit nicely on the Motorway as well. Personally I get a bit bored driving a car that feels more cocooned and insulated, and I find I actually drive better in the Scirocco, with more care towards the car, and more awarenes on the road.

I think you raise good points, but the difference is that these are the very points that people like about driving cars like this. It's like a kind of go-kart, almost. It has "character". If it isn't for you, that's a shame, but nothing wrong with that.

The SUV thing does make me laugh though. To my eye they look ridiculous. If they suddenly announced that 16 wheeler Juggernauts were the new trendy thing, everyone'd be buying those and trying to fit them into the tiny car parking spaces that were originally made for normal sized cars.

I saw a Ferrari trying to turn down a road round my way the other day, new one, so wide he couldn't fit. Had to reverse out. £150,000 to look like a nob end seemed rather a strange way to spend his money.

Get yourself a nice slightly older Merc or something if you want the engineering but more comforts, perhaps? Quality stuff they are.

[mr.brown]

Don't forget that whilst you may be uncomfortable - you look cool. Just think of a Scirocco as a pair of high heels..

[hiltow]

Thanks for your replies - I guess it's a case of getting used to it again, and shows just how much things have moved on in over 30 years.

The truth is that after owning the car for ten years and putting so much effort into detailing it, I'd be loathe to let it go now.

Good point though about how you look - it's a great looking car that has a kind of uniqueness that is difficult (or extremely expensive) to create through the medium of a modern car.

[GTXTRA]

It's a slightly more refined version of a near 43 years old design.
A few months away from one and driving a modern will have definitely softened you up.

I detest how modern cars have become so bloated and ultimately so throw away after a few years due to all that on board tech.
The way people drive them, cocooned in their sensory numbing 'safety cells' is always a concern in the event of a collision with one. If I had kids I'd never stick them in a scirocco on a regular basis.

I'll be taking one of mine up to Merseyside from London next Friday. Can't wait for my m54/a41 to Chester detour. Rocco country.

[ghost123uk]

Having got a bit of a head gasket problem on my VW T25 flat 4 ( = usually a load of trouble on that engine) I have just last week started to use the Rocco (which "she" calls "hers" ) as my daily driver, not actually having driven it much at all in recent months.

I too know what you mean. HOWEVER, the fun I have been having around the lanes (I live and work in a rural location) has been brill. My particular Rocco has uprated suspension (Bilstein & Eibach) and decent pads (Pagit Greens) plus, I don't know what may have been done to the motor in it's past, but it is revvier and pushes the car along even better than my old GTX (current is an 85 GTS = carb).

Boy is it fun to drive, very quick, stable and unstickable on a dry road (Pirelli P6000s).

Maybe not the most relaxing car to commute in, but I LOVE IT

[ThomasD]

I know exactly what you mean. When I first drove my Scirocco (after not having a Mk1 VW for 20 years), my initial impression was disappointment.

Part of that was that the car was not in great condition, and part of that was I had just gotten out of a Mk6 Golf which shifts perfectly, steers perfectly, brakes perfectly, and has 2 1/2 times the power of the Scirocco. Even compared to my Mk3, the Scirocco seemed very primitive.

After I got the Scirocco sorted and had a little time with it, my impression changed. Classic cars of any type don't compare to modern cars and aren't ideal for most of us to use as daily drivers in modern traffic. The driving experience is very different. Worse in some ways, but better in others.

The clutch on the Scirocco is heavy, the brakes require more force, and steering is heavy moving away from a standstill. On the other hand, once moving the steering is light and very direct. The car has no body roll. The ride quality is decent for an car, and acceleration is impressive for around 100hp due to the lightness of the car. I absolutely love the small cabin and the huge amount of glass area. The high belt line and thick C pillars of the Mk6 Golf make visibility miserable compare to the Scirocco. Plus its ugly compared to the Scirocco.

Your car must be in reasonably good condition if it just passed an MOT. But with the Scirocco, 1 or 2 PSI low in the front tires make the steering feel worse, and it doesn't take much wear in the suspension to get it crashing over bumps. Maybe it's worth seeing if the car needs anything refreshed or a bit of improvement before you put it away for the winter. I found myself initially asking "is the car supposed to be this way?" because it had been so long since I owned a Mk1, and unlike a modern car, it isn't easy to just find a similar one to drive and compare, or even to find someone else who would know.

Maybe your somewhat negative first impressions are due to both a car that isn't quite perfect as well as comparing it to a modern car.

Good luck and I suspect you will start enjoying it again.

[the edmundator]

I have a mk2 Golf, which has power steering, and is also properly designed for the right-hand drive market. This means the controls are all light and it is still an easy car to drive, so I'm happy to use it any time. It is light compared to a modern car and doesn't feel as solid and I suspect it would come off badly in a big accident with a modern SUV. Even though mk2 Golfs came on the market only 2 years after mk2 Sciroccos, the scirocco is just a re-bodied mk1, so actually a good 10-15 years older. I suspect a left-hand drive scirocco would be a more user-friendly driving experience.

[MK21800]

I suspect it would come off badly in a big accident with a modern SUV.

This is an interesting point, and part of the reason why I suspect cars keep getting bigger, alongisde the issue of the safety features and insulation etc.

Applying slippery slope logic, there'll come a time when something bigger than an SUV comes out, and all the SUV drivers start realising that their SUV will come off worse in a crash, and all rush out to buy the bigger one. Then a few years later something even bigger comes out, and so on and so forth, until everyone's driving lorries. And then reinforced lorries. And then reinforced lorries with speedboat off bars on the front.

In my opinion, the old Sciroccos and Golfs are pretty sturdy cars for their size, at least they're not bad. Also, the visibility is good. We are also in touch with the road. So although we may come off worse vs an SUV, our chances of crashing are perhaps less because of the way we drive. I mean, I hammer the Scala sometimes, but selectively, and I do find I drive it with more awareness and reading the road due to its apparent limitations. Effectively, I drive more defensively.

About a year and a half ago, I had a prang with - I can't remember, it was a Japanese SUV type thing (modern Suzuki Vitara, perhaps?) - he pulled across me. I swerved slightly so the corner of my wing hit his drivers door, rather than me hitting him square. Upshot was, my wing was pushed in by about 2mm, and my indicator lens broke. His Vitara(?) on the other hand, looked like he almost needed a whole new side to the thing. It seemed like it was made out of tin. And he actually remarked on how strong he thought the Scirocco was. Ok, this wasn't high speed, but at high speed his would have been written off for sure. Even taking into consideration the physics of the thing - a sturdy corner going into a door, I did notice how flimsy his SUV actually seemed to be. And he obviously didn't see me because of the limited visibility that he had.

The extreme of what we're talking about I guess is the motorcyclist. Doesn't stand a chance, but outweighed by the driving skill, road awareness, and manouverability. Although the way some bikers ride, I'm surprised they last more than five minutes. Some ride really well, but quite a few are right dickheads with a death wish.

[the edmundator]

Modern cars seem flimsy because they're designed to crumple, which absorbs the energy of an impact more effectively. It makes them look less solid, but they're much safer in an accident. It's also true that big cars are safer in an accident than small ones.

[Nate]

It's also true that big cars are safer in an accident than small ones.

Not necessarily! Big cars, particularly some of the 4x4s favoured by the school run brigadeare much more likely to roll over. If you haven't already, watch some of 5th gear's crash tests on youtube. They do turn up some unexpected results (eg volvo estate vs renault modus)

There's also another factor involved in accidents which you can't plan or design for, and that's luck. I spent 10 years working on towtrucks and have recovered hundreds of accidents. I've seen properly horrific carnage where everyone walked away, and I've seen what's basically nothing more than a gentle fender bender that has killed someone. If it's you're time to go, it's you're time to go. So I'm gonna keep on driving old motors and paying no attention at all to crash test results

[goaferboy]

The fact that the Scirocco is so small and low is exactly why I love it. It's like a toy.

It's even lower than my girlfriend's StreeKa:

[MK21800]

If everyone drove cars like Sciroccos, there wouldn't be as many crashes in the first place, because they would have to actually wake up to drive it rather than climbing into their insulated cocoon and not really having feedback on what they're doing. Increasing the weight and "safety" factors on cars is all very well, but IMHO it's offset by the fact that it leads to lazy driving. As we witness all the time. Lazy driving and lazy parking.

The same theory applies to boxing headguards - I always thought they were a stupid idea, because they increase weight to the head and make it more difficult to see hooks coming, therefore you actually end up less able to defend yourself. Thereby defeating the original point of wearing them. Notice they weren't wearing them in the amateurs anymore - I believe they have done away with them.

Plus, I've no doubt that we're all getting the "Fully comp for 100 to 150 quid on classic car insurance" deal from Adrian Flux, so there's that... and the fact that a genuine oil filter costs £4.50. And a decent set of tyres can be had for 200 quid.

Only problem is space - but who needs an SUV for that? I used to own a Polo breadvan worth about 50p. Got everything I needed in it, shopping, amps, DJ equipment (back in the days when we used record players), dead bodies, bondage equipment, you name it

I predict in ten or twenty years everyone will be driving really stupid gay looking "safe" vehicles that more or less drive for you, which you steer with your eyelash and if they at that time drove a new Audi from nowadays, or BMW they would complain about how heavy etc. it is - it's all relative.

Also, it depends whether you're concerned about actual speed or perceived speed. The guy in the Renault Twingo was probably having a very boring time while he overtook you.

Edit - Do they seriously make a car called a "Renault Twingo" - did they hire a 9 year old girl to work in their marketing dept? The guy that overtook you also has to live with the fact that he drives a car called a "Renault Twingo". Which must also be very boring for him.

I do understand what the OP means though, it's nothing if not a quirky car. And if these quirks aren't for you then perhaps time to move on?

[hiltow]

I think the driving experience probably depends on what sort of roads there are in your area - 'open' rural roads are likely to be better than in a more if an area, with stop-start traffic and many more drivers around who are lax in their approach to the task. When I first made this post, I was thinking as well of the people on here recently who have posted about their Sciroccos being written off after being hit by other people who simply didn't see them.

Hopeful!y, once I'm used to the steering again things should be alright. It recently had all new brakes as well (which have yet to bed in), which means thinking way ahead all of the time.