Volkswagen T-Roc Review
The VW T-Roc is a small, stylish SUV with a high-tech interior and a big boot, but alternatives are cheaper to buy and come with more space for back-seat passengers.
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Is the Volkswagen T-Roc a good car?
Like David Beckham standing next to Wayne Rooney, you can think of the VW T-Roc as a taller and arguably more stylish alternative to a run-of-the-mill Golf hatchback. It’s worth considering if a raised driving position and eye-catching looks are more important to you than outright running costs. It comes with just as much high-tech kit as the Golf, but it isn’t quite as practical as some more affordable SUVs.
That being said, the VW T-Roc looks more upmarket than the likes of the Hyundai Kona and the Citroen C4 Cactus. High-spec cars come with cool hexagonal daytime running lights and every model gets a broad grille and slim headlights which look like they’ve been pinched from the posh VW Arteon saloon. Overall, the grown-up T-Roc makes the rather fussy Hyundai Kona and bulbous Citroen C4 Cactus look like blown-up children’s toys.
That’s not to say the VW T-Roc is without a sense of fun. There are plenty of snazzy two-tone paint jobs for you to choose from and you can further explore the limits of good taste with a range of orange, blue and yellow interior trim packs.
Stick to relatively subtle colour combinations and the VW T-Roc’s cabin is a very nice place to spend time – especially if you’re into your gizmos. The VW T-Roc comes with an 8-inch touchscreen as standard and all but entry-level cars come with smartphone mirroring for Apple and Android phones. You can even get it with a slick 10-inch digital screen in place of conventional analogue dials.
You should consider the VW T-Roc if you need the practicality and economy of a family hatchback but fancy something with more eye-catching looks and a raised driving position.
It’s a shame, then, that the VW T-Roc’s cabin doesn’t feel quite as posh as all its fancy features would suggest. There are lots of hard, scratchy plastics and leather seats are an expensive optional extra, even in top-spec cars.
It’s not just the seats that leave a little to be desired, the VW T-Roc’s cabin isn’t particularly spacious, either. Sure, there’s enough room for four six-footers, but tall adults will feel more comfortable in a Citroen C4 Cactus – especially in the back. It’s not all bad news, though – the VW T-Roc has one of the biggest boots of any small SUV and it’s dead easy to load very bulky luggage with the back seats folded flat.
The VW T-Roc’s punchy 2.0-litre diesel engines will have no trouble hauling a boot-load of rubbish to the tip, but they come solely with four-wheel drive so they aren’t particularly economical. For nipping through town you’ll want a smaller 1.0-litre petrol model, or there’s a more powerful 1.5-litre petrol if you fancy something a bit perkier.
The optional automatic gearbox is definitely worth considering – especially if you spend a lot of time in traffic jams – but the optional larger alloy wheels are an option you might want to avoid. Without them, the VW T-Roc does an impressive job ironing out bumps around town and you won’t hear a great deal of unpleasant noise at motorway speeds, either.
Go for an automatic version and you can get the VW T-Roc with a bunch of driver assistance systems to help make long drives feel like a walk in the park, too. All these extra features do cost extra, however, so check out our VW T-Roc deals to see how much you can save on one.
How practical is it?
There’s enough space in the VW T-Roc’s boot for plenty of family bits and bobs but three adults might find the back seats a touch cramped on long journeys.
The Volkswagen T-Roc’s front seats and steering wheel come with loads of adjustment to help you find your ideal driving position – even if you’re very tall. SE L and R-Line cars come with slightly more supportive seats than S, SE and Design models but you can get even more heavily bolstered sports seats across the range as part of the reasonably priced Sport pack.
The back seats are reasonably roomy too, but six-foot-tall passengers may find their knees brushing against the seats in front if they’re sitting behind an equally tall driver.
Thankfully there’s a fair amount of headroom but carrying three adults side-by-side is a bit of a squeeze thanks to the very narrow (and noticeably raised) central seat. There’s also a large lump in the VW T-Roc’s floor that your middle passenger has to lift their legs over, but at least the footwells are wide enough to accommodate everyone’s feet. If you regularly carry four passengers, a Citroen C3 Aircross will be a better bet.
The rear door openings aren’t particularly wide either, so it’s a little tricky to lift in a child seat. Luckily the Isofix anchor points are clearly marked behind removable plastic caps and the VW T-Roc’s raised ride height means you don’t have to stoop down to strap in a child.
You’ll be able to carry 445 litres of luggage in the VW T-Roc’s boot with all five seats in place. That’s enough space for a baby buggy and some soft bags or a few large suitcases, but not quite as much as you’ll fit in the Citroen C3 Aircross.
The VW’s load bay is nice and square so it’s easy to pack full of boxes and you get an adjustable boot floor that helps cut down the height of the rather tall boot lip. As a result, it’s pretty easy to load and unload heavy luggage and there’s enough space under the raised floor to hide away a few soft bags. Sadly, there isn’t quite enough space to comfortably tuck the parcel shelf under the floor if you need to remove it.
Thankfully, all VW T-Rocs come with two-way (60:40) split folding rear seats so you can carry up to three passengers at once and have some long luggage poking through from the boot. SE models and above also get a handy ski hatch so you can carry some long thin luggage and two passengers in the back seats simultaneously.
Need even more space? Flip all the back seats down and the VW T-Roc’s boot grows to 1,290 litres. That’s significantly larger than the boots in the Hyundai Kona and the Kia Stonic and almost identical to the Citroen C3 Aircross.
With the back seats folded there’s enough room to carry a bike with its wheels attached and – with the adjustable boot floor in its raised position – there’s no annoying step to lift heavy luggage over. The back seats fold completely flat too, so you can slide large boxes right up behind the front seats with minimal effort.
What's it like to drive?
You have plenty of engines to choose from in the VW T-Roc but you’ll have to fork out for a top-spec diesel or petrol if you want four-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox.
What's it like inside?
The VW T-Roc comes with loads of high-tech goodies as standard but some of the plastics in its cabin feel cheap and some eye-catching trim pieces cost extra.
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