T-Roc Punches Above Its Weight

Volkswagen have now joined the SUV party with the recent launch of the new T-Roc, which sits between the Golf and the Tiguan in the Volkswagen range.

• At a first glimpse, the T-Roc may look quite familiar, this is because it shared its wheelbase and widely used Volkswagen group MQB platform with the Audi Q2. The Q2 may have a slightly better interior but the T-Roc is much better looking and comes with more standard equipment at a much lower price.

  With one body style on offer, customers can choose to up-spec their T-Roc with a selection of eleven different body colours and four contrasting bi-colour roof options.
  Exterior colour way can be carried through into the interior and onto the dashboard and striped across the bottoms of the seats.

  Customers can choose from three petrol engines, a 1.0 litre with 105bhp, a 1.5 litre with 148bhp and a 2.0 litre with 188bhp. Plus two diesel engines with a 1.6 litre offering 114bhp and a 2.0 litre offering 148bhp. As the diesel popularity is declining it is the 1.0 and 1.5 litre petrol engines that are expected to be the best sellers, with the best price for business leasing. Four-wheel drive is also an option, as are auto gearboxes with some engines, but it will the manual 2WD versions that will make up for the bulk of the T-Roc.

• Offered in five different trim levels, S, SE, Design, SE L and R-Line, even the S model comes well equipped, with all models featuring an 8” Composition touchscreen infotainment system, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth, DAB Radio and USB Connectivity.
  Safety wise, the S comes with Front Assist, featuring Pedestrian Protection and City Emergency Braking plus Lane Assist, whilst SE adds Adaptive Cruise Control and parking sensors. Design, SE L and R-Line also include Volkswagens Driver Alert System.

  Size-wise, the T-Roc is 4,234mm long, 1,879mm wide and 1,573 mm high, making it slightly shorter than the Golf but wider and taller. The T-Roc cleverly utilises its size and shape, to offer passengers better head and leg room compared to the Golf and also a much larger boot, with 445 litres compared to the 380 litres available in the Golf. Fold the 60:40 split rear seats down & the boot increases in size to a very reasonable 1290 litres. The boot floor can be raised & lowered offering a flat load lip or a deeper boot as required.

• If you step inside, you will find that the cabin and dashboard are laid out with the 8” touchscreen being the highlight of the interior, located in the centre of the dash.
  We found the touchscreen system clear to the eye and very simple to use. It comes with touch sensitive buttons that are quick to react. Gesture control, i.e. floating your hand over the screen, brings up a taskbar of icons on the bottom of the screen before you even touch it, which is a useful and addictive set-up.

• Connecting both to Apple-Car-Play and Bluetooth hands-free phone system are quick and very simple to do. There is a double USB Socket located in the centre bin in front of the gear lever which helps connectivity and there is also an electronic parking brake which features a Hold System that is very useful in traffic.
  
  The buttons on the steering wheel, control the volume for the infotainment, allowing you to select your media or the radio station, go into the vehicle settings and use adaptive cruise control. You can also scroll through the functions on offer, so for example, you can choose your SatNav destination in front of you rather than on the screen.

• The 1.5 TSI Petrol engine was being test drove, which when the drive was finished they thought it was a fun drive. With the car’s steering light and responsive whilst on the move. The chassis is quite forgiving and offers up as a comfortable ride, even in the rear, where some cars are let down by their firmness.

  Around town, the T-Roc is nippy when required, easy to park with good visibility. The 148bhp petrol engine is refined too, especially on the motorway. If you set Adaptive Cruise Control you can relax into your motorway journey as the T-Roc moves along quietly, with only some noticeable wind noise when you’re at 70mph. This comes primarily from the wing mirrors.

•  For a business user perspective, diesel engines tend to be the go to as they do offer better fuel economy than their petrol rivals. However, on contract hire, the diesels are up to £100 per month more expensive to lease than the 1.0 litre petrol SE, primarily because the diesel engines are only offered on the SEL and R-Line models. This pretty much takes the diesel version out of any equation and confirms that Volkswagen, like many others, are moving more towards petrol.

  The 1.5 TSI feels brisk, at a top speed of 127mph and a 0-62mph time of 8.3 seconds. With emissions of 120g/km and a combined fuel economy of 53.3mpg, from its Euro6 engine, it’s not that far behind the diesels either.

• A customer had been looking at an SUV-type car, primarily for the more upright and better for your back driving position, but did not want to go as big as the Tiguan. She had the opportunity to drive the T-Roc that was used on test and whilst the driving position doesn’t tend to be much different to their hatchback brethren, in the T-Roc’s case, the driving position is much higher and therefore driver-friendly than compared to the Golf. So much so that the T-Roc is now the top of the customers list for when she comes round to changing her car later on this year.

• From a real world point of view, the 1.5 litre TSI claimed combined furl economy is 53.5 mpg. Out and about on a mixture of roads in urban, country and motorway, the T-Roc was driven for 400 miles averaging at a respectable 40.2mpg. The 1.0 litre petrol is expected to achieve slightly more.

  Overall, the T-Roc was a pleasant surprise. Whilst not physically looking much larger than the Volkswagen Golf, it most definitely offers customer more cabin space, easier access, a larger boot and cleaner looks than the Golf. It’s also more stylish, comes with a higher and more comfortable driving position, all in a compact city-friendly package with a selection of on-trend colour combos to brighten up your day.