VW Scirocco R Wolfsburg, Passat 206TSI R-Line pricing

Volkswagen Australia is farewelling the Scirocco R with a final Wolfsburg edition while reintroducing a performance Passat in the form of a new 206TSI R-Line model grade.

Following a five-year run the Scirocco R will be offered in a final, numbered 150-unit Wolfsburg trim priced from $49,490 (manual) or $51,990 (DSG) plus on-road costs.

The $3500 premium for the limited edition of the Megane RS-rivalling slinky coupe buys black mirrors, grille and 19-inch alloy wheels, ‘motorsport’ buckets and a badge referencing Volkswagen’s home town of Wolfsburg, as was first featured on the Golf R wagon.

There are, however, no changes to the 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder’s 188kW/330Nm outputs. Torque in particular is down 20Nm even compared with a standard Golf GTI.

Family buyers wanting something fast can now turn to the Passat 206TSI R-Line available from October this year in $57,990 sedan or $59,990 wagon guise.

As exclusively confirmed by MOTOR earlier this year, the spiritual replacement for the 3.6-litre V6-engined Passat R36 arrives with an identical powertrain to the Golf R, including a 2.0-litre turbo four developing 206kW/350Nm, and a six-speed DSG driving all four wheels.

With a 5.5-second 0-100km/h (or two-tenths slower for the wagon) the Passat 206TSI R-Line is brisk, but it isn’t as inexpensive as we first thought.

The sub-$60K sticker owes to a fully loaded equipment list extending to 19-inch alloy wheels, sports bodykit, adaptive suspension, full-TFT speedometer/tachometer/trip computer display, tri-zone climate control and full leather trim with 14-way electrically adjustable and heated front seats.

With a buxom 650-litre booty and that tall roofline – with panoramic sunroof the only option – the R-Line wagon may just be the ultimate snow car-cum-mountains bruiser.