Current Scirocco has been perfect so far.
No failures that has stopped the car doing its job.
Gearbox linkages failed, they have nasty plastic joints and these wear out so they pop off. (Common problem) Replaced for less than £20 for the two items, from a Volkswagen dealer.
Window winder fell apart, replaced from my written off Scirocco Scala!.
Clutch cable became unbearably stiff, replaced and very light now.
Accelerator cable, also heavy, due to be replaced.
Annoying clicking noise from rear turned out to be the handbrake cable mount had failed, and cable was rubbing on rear wheel.
Great fun, value car. My current car only cost be £50, due to it being un-road worthy. It cost about £250 to put it right and MOT it. Now it's a shining example of a car that definitely didn't deserve its original scrap-yard fate!.
My previous car was the 1.8 carb Scirocco, which was also fun, until written off by someone not looking where they were driving. But the extra power of the Injection model makes a car that still catches a few other newer cars out by how quick it is.
Power improvements have come from breather tweaks, and Janspeed sports exhaust system.
Alloy wheels tend to corrode.
Brakes are absolutely pants, need major upgrade to make them something I can have confidence in.
Fuel consumption is incredibly low for a car of this age and level of performance.
Would recommend a Scirocco to anyone that needs a good, reliable sports coupe for very little money. It still looks sexy, and gets noticed when clean and polished.
Did you do the Gear linkages your self?
Re: stiff clutch - did you just change the cable for your fix?
My GTX clutch is also very heavy, but with no slippage. After 12 months or so I'm sick of it. I kind of assumed that I needed to change the whole assembly. After reading your review I'm now hoping there's a much simpler repair!
All the best.
Aaron.