Volkswagen Scirocco facelift revealed

The German brand's three-door hatchback has seen a range of changes, including exterior and interior tweaks, and a range of new engines starting with a 92kW 1.4-litre turbo for European buyers.

Australians, however, will likely be more interested in the range-topping Scirocco R, which is now powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder with 206kW of power, up from 199kW overseas, or 188kW in detuned 'hot climate' Australian specification. It isn't yet clear if the new facelifted Scirocco R - which already utilises a detuned version of the engine seen in the new Volkswagen Golf R. - will again cop a power downgrade due to local weather conditions. The similar engine in the new Audi S3 has had its figure cut from 221kW to 206kW.

The new Scirocco R engine uses 8.0L/100km, down slightly compared to the existing 2.0-litre turbo, and its while torque figure has not yet been revealed, it's expected to jump from 330Nm towards 380Nm.

Volkswagen Australia says it has no information about the updated Scirocco R as yet, but the company's general manager of communications Karl Gehling told CarAdvice the facelifted car is not on its product plans for 2014 - according to the international media release, it will be built from August 2014 and will make its way to Australia sometime after that.

Gehling said he couldn't offer any further information on whether the local arm would consider expanding the Scirocco lineup beyond one model, either.

The new Scirocco's styling changes include revised headlights (bi-xenon as standard for the R), a revised front bumper with integrated 'blades', while at the rear it has new tail-lights with LEDs and a new boot lid design with pop-out VW badge handle (a welcome addition as the previous Scirocco had no boot handle), while R models get a new back bumper with integrated vents and a larger rear spoiler. There are new wheels for the Scirocco R (in 18- and 19-inch sizes), five new colours added to the list for a total of 13 hues, and it gets "matte chrome" exterior mirror caps.

Inside, the Scirocco gains dash-top gauges as a reminiscent hat-tip to the first-generation Scirocco, while it also gains a new instrument cluster, carbon-look highlights, revised air-vents and climate controls, a new media system, a new steering wheel pinched from the seventh-generation Golf GTI, and new bucket seats. Tech additions include Volkswagen's ParkAssist automated parking system and a new Dynaudio sound system.

Expect the new Scirocco to arrive in Australia early in 2015.