Volkswagen T-Roc (2022 - ) review

The T-Roc starts at a similar price as the Peugeot 2008, but rivals like the Ford Puma and Renault Captur cost less while offering more equipment as standard. As a result the T-Roc looks pricey, though running costs shouldn’t be too bad. Our 1.5-litre manual test car in Match trim averaged around 50mpg during the week we lived with it and there’s still a diesel option available for those doing high mileage. However, unlike the Golf there’s no plug-in version to help company car drivers to reduce their Benefit In Kind.

German engineering is generally held in high regard, yet Volkswagen has ranked in the lower region of the table in recent reliability surveys. However, as the T-Roc has been around for a while this should play in its favour with any initial problems likely to have been ironed out by now. The foundations are shared across models in the wider Volkswagen Group, so you can have peace of mind the technology is tried and tested. Should anything go wrong, you’ll be covered by Volkswagen’s standard three-year warranty, and you can extend this further for a fee.

We barely noticed the driver assistance systems during our test which is the biggest compliment we can give. The lane keeping assistance would occasionally nudge the steering wheel and there was a visually alert if we were a bit close to the vehicle in front, but there was no incessant binging and bonging which was a relief. All T-Rocs come with emergency braking, driver drowsiness detection, lane keeping assistance, a speed limiter and adaptive cruise control as standard. However, for additional features such as blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alerts and adaptive cruise control with steering assistance you’ll have to add the expensive IQ.DRIVE package. Luckily, even if you don’t cough up for this option, visibility out of the T-Roc is good and noticeably better than the Renault Captur we’ve been living with on long-term test.

Though slightly shorter than the Golf the T-Roc’s higher roofline makes it roomier inside. The boot is a decent size with a flexible floor height and central ski hatch adding extra practicality. As with most compact crossovers three adult passengers will find the back a tight squeeze, but there’s plenty of room for two and the large door bins provide ample storage. In true Volkswagen style, everything is very functional, but the combination of grey and black materials does lack pizzazz compared to recent Peugeots and Renaults. Finding a comfortable driving position should be straightforward for most and you don’t sit so high up it feels like your head is in the clouds. From R-Line grade and above you get heated front seats as standard, but you can add them to lower trim levels by specifying the Winter Pack.

There are seven trim levels starting with Life, moving through Match, Style, R-Line, and Black Edition, before finishing the range with the performance focused R and R Black-Edition. All T-Rocs have the basics covered and come with automatic wipers, a DAB radio, dual-zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, wireless phone charging and wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay. On a couple of occasions our test car failed to connect to Android Auto which was a pain as it didn’t have navigation built in, so we would recommend upgrading to Style trim which does have its own maps. Our car did at least have a reversing camera to help with manoeuvring and the basic eight-inch driver display had been upgraded to the larger 10.25-inch cluster available as standard on higher level cars. By modern standards the central infotainment screen is a modest size but it was easy enough to use and we appreciate the separate heating controls although would have liked physical dials rather than touch sensitive sliders.

On the road the T-Roc remains composed whether around town, out on the motorway, or on a country road. The steering is very light which, combined with the T-Roc’s compact size, makes the car easy to manoeuvre, yet still sharp enough to make twists and turns enjoyable. The engine line-up for the regular T-Roc starts with a manual 115 horsepower 1.0-litre petrol. It then progresses to the 1.5-litre 150 horsepower option we had in our test car. This is smooth and punchy, so you didn’t have to work too hard to get it up to motorway speeds. This is just as well because the manual gearbox isn’t very satisfying, and we’d recommend choosing the automatic DSG equivalent for a more relaxing experience. For those who cover significant distances the 2.0-litre diesel automatic is worth considering, while the all-wheel drive 190 horsepower petrol automatic gives the T-Roc more grip helping it to live up to its SUV looks. Finally, if you are after more bang for your buck, the sporty 300 horsepower T-Roc R retains all the practicality but injects more fun into the mix.