Prior to the local launch (a few months back), I managed to get an engineer friend all emotional when I mentioned the word "Scirocco". Even though he hasn't seen the car in the flesh, his eyes were almost watering when describing how much he loves the way it looks. If there is any clue to explain his overt admiration for the Scirocco, it will be his current car - a 90s EG-series Honda Civic hatchback.

Now imagine the Scirocco and the EG Civic, lit only by moonlight. Notice the silhouette of these two cars? Not that much different, eh? This is especially true when we scrutinize the profiles of these two great looking cars.

Indeed, that short pointy snout, iconic long roofed two door format, that sudden cliff-like drop at the rear hatch and the stumpy wide rear windscreen - these are important styling cues that made the EG Civic hatchback such a timeless design.

In a similar take, these will be the styling elements to propel the Scirocco towards what I can describe as "design immortality".

Exterior design

When Volkwagen launched the Scirocco back in 2008, the design of the coupe was so well received that many motoring journalists got worried for the other hot favourite in Volkswagen's stable - the Golf GTI. Indeed this fear for sibling rivalry is not unfound, as other than mechanical similarity, it could also be due to the fact that this "coupe" was styled with a hatchback formula rather than a true-blue coupe.

By sprinkling a potent mix of bulges and curves all over, Volkswagen magically turned the Scirocco into a highly desirable looking hatchback - err, pardon me - coupe. The wide and squat tail, the serpent like frown on the headlight cluster and the bulging wheel arches all speak volumes of the visual muscles this car possesses. Don't get me wrong - the Scirocco's styling does not thread along the lines of those sensuous Italians. Instead, the Scirocco is simply a pretty but mean looking little thing in a cool, confident German way.

Externally, there isn't much difference separating this standard Scirocco and the bigger Scirocco Sport. Other than the badges, the standard Scirocco loses the glass sunroof and trade the HIDs for more conventional headlights. It also sheds the bling effect from the 18-inch rims seen on the Scirocco Sport - not a bad thing, in my opinion. This matt finished version somehow shows off the curvature of those ten sexy fan blade inspired spokes much better.