VW T-Roc (from 2017) review: Advantages and disadvantages as a used car
Volkswagen had already celebrated great success with the Tiguan for ten years before the Wolfsburg-based company realized that there was also a great demand for an SUV with the VW logo half a class lower.
In 2017, they unveiled the T-Roc, the crossover counterpart to the Golf, so to speak, which has since competed against competitors such as the Hyundai Kona, the Kia XCeed and its group brother Audi Q2, among others. VW's well-balanced success model shares the "MQB A1" platform with the latter, as well as a large part of the technology, which no longer includes the latest technical standards.
The most important facts in brief
- Pleasing look
- High seating position
- Stable and powerful engines
- High driving comfort
- Intuitive cockpit with simple materials
- Good long-term quality and hardly any abnormalities during the technical inspection
- Good value retention for used cars
This is what distinguishes the VW T-Roc
Except for the interior as well as the front and rear, the two models from the VW Group are almost identical in construction. And yet the T-Roc easily outperforms its Ingolstadt brother.
Since its introduction seven years ago, well over 340,000 units have been sold in Germany alone. The Q2 accounted for around a third of new registrations in about the same period.
The T-Roc, manufactured in Portugal, is one of the most successful cars in Europe and is often ahead of the former bestseller Golf in the registration statistics. Even VW probably wouldn't have expected that.
However, the T-Roc is a comparatively affordable, technically sophisticated and high-quality car – at least when it comes to technology and driving fine-tuning. In the interior, there is still room for improvement in terms of quality.
The SUV, whose dimensions are somewhere between the small car segment and the compact class, has made itself comfortable in a very popular niche. The restrained design as well as the balanced driving characteristics and, above all, the elevated seating position also fully meet the taste of the masses.
What facelifts have there been for the VW T-Roc?
Although the T-Roc sells brilliantly, the trade press and customers had one main point of criticism: the interior resembled a landscape made of hard plastic. While VW offered cars with high-quality and solid interiors in the compact class for years, the crossover represented a real step backwards in this area.
The Wolfsburg-based company could not ignore the criticism and made improvements as part of the facelift in spring 2022. On the dashboard there was foamed plastic instead of the hard plastic, which had been negatively noticed in the knock test. On the front door panels, artificial leather now provided a more pleasant feel.
Elsewhere, the revision unfortunately amounted to a worsening of the situation. Since then, the air conditioning has been operated via touch slider, as in the Golf 8. The classic controls that were previously installed were intuitive to use.
There was also a new infotainment screen, which is up to 9.2 inches in size, depending on the version, and now sits at the top of the dashboard like the Golf and the electric ID models. The previous touchscreen was placed further down and firmly integrated.
At the same time, VW has given the T-Roc a new multifunction steering wheel. Its touch surfaces cause operating errors from time to time. On a positive note, the T-Roc has a digital cockpit after the facelift.
Under the bonnet, everything remained the same for the 300 hp top model T-Roc R, but the look was discreetly modernised. The grille has been given a slightly different grille, while in the upscale versions, LED strips extend the chrome clasp in the grille and thus connect it directly to the headlights. At the rear, the T-Roc has been given a new light signature for the rear lights.
Prices and maintenance costs of the VW T-Roc
In terms of price, the T-Roc has undergone a steep development over the past seven years. This is partly due to general price increases on the car market and inflation, but also to Volkswagen's model policy. In its debut year 2017, the basic model was still available for 20,390 euros, but now it only starts at 27,085 euros (as of July 2024).
Due to its popularity, the crossover is not a bargain as a used car. Around 16,000 VW T-Rocs are currently advertised in the mobile.de app. You can get a used car from about 15,000 euros, really good cars with less than 100,000 kilometers on the clock cost at least 18,000 euros. They are usually the basic version with the turbo three-cylinder. The latter is either 110, 115 or 116 hp, depending on the year of manufacture.
If you want a little more power and a cylinder more, you have to put a little more money aside. From about 20,000 euros you can get the 150 hp 1.5-liter gasoline engine or one of the two diesels with 115 or 150 hp.
Apart from the sporty top model T-Roc R, VW has a two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 190 hp and all-wheel drive on offer for performance-hungry customers. This version costs 43,595 euros new and even used is little to do with a decent equipment under 21,000 euros.
The VW T-Roc in the test
mobile.de has already tested the VW T-Roc – the convertible version was explicitly scrutinized more closely. The editors were surprised at how little the unusual vehicle concept, including the high body and poor aerodynamics, weighs when driving.
In the VW T-Roc test car with the standard R-Line sports suspension, the roll remained minimal and the design-related sluggishness of the 1,524-kilogram SUV convertible was less annoying than expected. However, those who want to test the limits will soon be admonished by pronounced understeer. The steering offers enough feedback and precision.
The suspension tuning is a good compromise. In Comfort mode, the Wolfsburg engineers could have given the optional adaptive dampers of the test car a little more gentleness. Short bumps are only moderately filtered, but smaller bumps are ironed out sufficiently comfortably. As a reminder, a T-Roc with sports suspension was tested. The normal version uses different springs.
With the 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 150 hp, it can be cruising over country roads in a relaxed manner at low engine speeds. When accelerating, the four-cylinder engine loses its liveliness due to the long gear ratio. When upshifting, the speed often drops well below the range in which the maximum power is available.
The test consumption is okay. We record 7.8 litres per 100 kilometres – with the top down, air conditioning switched on and a driving profile that is made up of country road speed, leisurely motorway driving and stop-and-go traffic in the city.
The engines of the VW T-Roc in detail
Volkswagen did not experiment with the engine range of the crossover and instead resorted to proven three- and four-cylinder engines from the group shelf. The former has a displacement of one liter, while the four-cylinder engines draw their power from 1.5 or two liters of displacement. None of the engines stands out negatively in terms of reliability and durability. You will look in vain for hybrid drives – the T-Roc, like its technology brother Audi Q2, rolls off the production line exclusively as a pure combustion engine.
For the mid-range engines, the customer has the choice between a six-speed manual transmission and a seven-speed DSG. With the three-cylinder engine, on the other hand, you always have to sort the gears by hand, while with the more powerful 190 hp engines, the T-Roc R and, since 2020, also with the 150 hp diesel, this work is always done by the dual clutch. The abbreviation ACT stands for active cylinder management. This technology, with which some of the engines are equipped, also includes a consumption-reducing cylinder deactivation system.
Gasoline engines:
- 1.0 TSI (2017–2020): 1.0-litre displacement, 115 hp, 200 Newton metres of torque, 6-speed manual transmission, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.1 seconds, top speed of 187 km/h, 5.2 litres of Super per 100 kilometres
- 1.0 TSI (2020–2024): 1.0 litre displacement, 110 hp, 200 Newton metres of torque, 6-speed manual transmission, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.8 seconds, top speed of 185 km/h, 5.2 litres of Super per 100 kilometres
- 1.0 TSI (from 2024): 1.0 litre displacement, 116 hp, 200 Newton metres of torque, 6-speed manual transmission, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.1 seconds, 189 km/h top speed, 5.9 litres Super per 100 kilometres
- 1.5 TSI ACT (2017–2022): 1.5-litre displacement, 150 hp, 250 Newton metres of torque, 6-speed manual transmission / 7-speed DSG, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.4 seconds, 207 km/h top speed, 5.6 litres Super per 100 kilometres
- 1.5 TSI ACTplus (from 2022): 1.5-litre displacement, 150 hp, 250 Newton metres of torque, 6-speed manual transmission / 7-speed DSG acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.3 seconds, 207 km/h top speed, 6.4 litres Super per 100 kilometres
- 2.0 TSI 4Motion (from 2017): 2.0-litre displacement, 190 hp, 320 Newton metres of torque, 7-speed DSG, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.2 seconds, top speed of 218 km/h, 6.8 litres of Super per 100 kilometres
- R 4Motion (from 2019): 2.0-litre displacement, 300 hp, 400 Newton metres of torque, 7-speed DSG, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds, 250 km/h top speed, 7.8 litres Super per 100 kilometres
Diesel engines:
- 1.6 TDI (2018–2020): 1.6-litre displacement, 115 hp, 250 Newton metres of torque, 6-speed manual transmission, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.9 seconds, top speed of 187 km/h, 4.4 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres
- 2.0 TDI (2020–2024): 2.0-litre displacement, 115 hp, 300 Newton metres of torque, 6-speed manual transmission, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 10.4 seconds, top speed of 187 km/h, 4.3 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres
- 2.0 TDI (2017–2019): 2.0 litre displacement, 150 hp, 340 Newton metres of torque, 6-speed manual gearbox / 7-speed DSG, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.4 seconds, top speed of 205 km/h, 5.1 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres
- 2.0 TDI (from 2019): 2.0 liters of displacement, 150 hp, 360 Newton meters of torque, 7-speed DSG, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.5 seconds, 205 km/h top speed, 4.7 liters of diesel per 100 kilometers
- 2.0 TDI 4Motion (2019–2020): 2.0-litre displacement, 190 hp, 400 Newton metres of torque, 7-speed DSG, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.2 seconds, 216 km/h top speed, 5.2 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres
Which engine is recommended for the VW T-Roc?
The T-Roc, which weighs around 1.4 tonnes, is motorised with all available engines. Even the three-cylinder engine of the base model is comparatively smooth and provides a torque of 200 Newton meters. However, dynamically inclined drivers are unlikely to be happy with it. The 2.0-liter gasoline engines with 190 or 300 hp are powerful, but also put a lot more strain on the wallet.
The 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine represents the golden mean. VW's customers probably see it that way, too, because this engine is the most popular for the T-Roc. Its 150 hp and 250 Newton meters of torque ensure decent driving performance: The current version goes from zero to one hundred within 8.3 seconds, while the Wolfsburg company specifies the top speed at 207 km/h.
In addition, with this engine, Volkswagen gives the customer the choice of whether they want to shift gears manually or prefer to leave this task to the dual-clutch transmission. At the same time, maintenance costs and consumption remain within limits. The factory specification is 6.4 liters per hundred kilometers; it is therefore about half a liter higher than that of the small three-cylinder.
For diesel fans and drivers who often use the T-Roc on long distances, the 2.0 TDI with 150 hp is a real recommendation. This promises low maintenance costs, low consumption, similar driving performance and offers plenty of torque. Until 2019, customers could also choose between a manual transmission and a dual clutch.
What body variants are available?
Volkswagen first presented the T-Roc as a conventional SUV that sits between the small T-Cross and the larger Tiguan in terms of size. With a length of 4.24 meters, it is about 5 centimeters shorter than the Golf 8, but the crossover is about 3 centimeters wider at 1.82 meters and even 12 centimeters higher than the classic compact at 1.58 meters. These stocky proportions combine to create the typical crossover look that is so appreciated by customers.
At the IAA 2019, Volkswagen presented the second body shape of the model – the T-Roc Convertible, which took over the legacy of the discontinued Golf Convertible. An SUV as a convertible? What sounds nonsensical at first makes sense from a model strategy point of view.
Volkswagen tried to counteract the steadily declining sales figures of open-top cars by launching a trendy crossover with a soft top. Convertibles are often bought by older people who also prefer a high seating position. In 2023, the T-Roc with fabric roof was in second place in the German convertible sales charts behind the Mini Convertible with over 8,000 units sold.
What are the dimensions of the VW T-Roc?
Volkswagen T-Roc
- Length: 4.24 meters
- Width (without exterior mirrors): 1.82 meters
- Height: 1.58 meters
- Wheelbase: 2.59 meters
Volkswagen T-Roc Cabrio
- Length: 4.27 meters
- Width (without exterior mirrors): 1.81 meters
- Height: 1.53 meters
- Wheelbase: 2.63 meters
Open discontinued model
There will no longer be a convertible version of the second generation of the T-Roc, which is scheduled to be launched in 2025, as the additional body shape significantly increases development and production costs.
In view of the low quantities in this niche, the additional investments are not worth it. However, it is rumoured that the previous T-Roc Convertible will continue to roll off the production line for a while in parallel with its successor – this was also the case, for example, with the convertible version of the first Golf generation.
How much luggage can you store in the VW T-Roc?
On paper, the closed T-Roc offers a decent trunk volume. VW specifies 445 liters in the normal configuration - over 60 liters more than the Golf. If you fold down the rear seat, the volume of storage space increases to 1,290 liters.
With the versions with all-wheel drive, you have to make small compromises. Here, the volume is 392 liters or 1,237 liters if the second row of seats is flat.
In the convertible version, even more storage space is lost because of the soft-top. Volkswagen puts the volume of the non-expandable trunk at only 284 liters, which is still reasonably okay for a convertible.
What does the interior of the VW T-Roc look like?
The interior of the T-Roc was unusually colorful by VW standards in the early years of production – at least optionally. Depending on the version, for example, the majority of the dashboard is in body color. Fortunately, Volkswagen has retained the intuitive layout of the cockpit typical of the brand in the model.
The T-Roc does not require the driver to get used to it for a long time, as most of it sits where you expect it to be. As mentioned earlier, Volkswagen has "modernized" the air conditioning control system with the 2022 revision. The analog controls have been omitted, instead there are touch sliders, which are already known from other VW models and which have often been criticized.
Before the facelift, digital instruments were reserved for the higher-quality variants, the simple equipment had classic round instruments. On T-Rocs with Digi-Cockpit, the driving information is displayed on a 10.25-inch screen.
The touchscreens of the infotainment system are 8 or 9.2 inches in size, depending on the variant. The latter is part of the "Navi Discover Pro" package, in which VW dispenses with some classic buttons and rotary controls, which makes operation unnecessarily difficult.
The space in the front row is good for a car in this segment. The front seats can be pushed far back, which also allows two-metre people a comfortable sitting position. In terms of headroom, there is also nothing to complain about.
In the rear, things are less airy. For tall people, it can be uncomfortable on long distances – both the legroom and the space above the crown of the head could be more generous. In addition, the rather average interior width has a negative effect on the rear seat: When three adults sit next to each other, it becomes very cozy.
The impression of quality in the interior is ambivalent. In the first few years, VW used mostly creaky hard plastic, which was at least cleanly processed.
With the facelift, the Wolfsburg-based company has definitely improved here: You will find significantly more soft plastics and other high-quality materials in the front row, which provide a more pleasant atmosphere. At the rear, however, little has changed in terms of the disappointing materials.
What standard equipment does the VW T-Roc offer and which extras are recommended?
Volkswagen has taken a new approach to the equipment of the T-Roc and has relied on other names. The more functional basic equipment has been supplemented by two equivalent lines: "Style" and "Sport". In addition, there was the high-quality "R-Line". With the facelift, "Sport" was taken out of the range, and the "Life" line was added.
The basic T-Roc version was rather sparsely equipped until 2022. Standard was only the minimum, such as air conditioning, electric windows or an interface for smartphones. The headlights shone with halogen technology. However, the LED headlights are vastly superior to this outdated technology. So when looking for a used car, you should make sure that the T-Roc was ordered with them. Their disadvantage: they are more expensive to replace than halogen lighting.
The following features that were not standard on the basic model are also useful: heated seats, parking beepers and cruise control. In the higher trim levels, these were always on board. The optional adaptive cruise control makes motorway driving much more relaxed and is therefore a real recommendation. With the facelift, Volkswagen has expanded the standard equipment, especially when it comes to the assistants. Since 2022, for example, lane departure warning and emergency brake assist have been standard.
What are the known problems with the VW T-Roc?
Technically, the SUV is considered a safe bet. In the general inspection, the T-Roc has so far been in the green zone in all categories. Often, only small things such as stone chips on the windshield or incorrectly adjusted headlights are complained about.
One thing to consider when searching concerns many models from the VW Group: For cars with DSG transmission, you should check before buying whether the car often served as a towing vehicle. This leads to significantly higher loads and increased wear of the double clutch. This is especially true for the powerful diesels, because the DSG transmission is sometimes overwhelmed with their high torques.
The pros and cons of the Volkswagen T-Roc
Strengthen
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Sturdy appearance with compact dimensions
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Wide and attractive engine range
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Also available as a convertible
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Value stability as a used car
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Good long-term quality
Weaken
- Partly simple materials in the interior
- Partly cumbersome touch operation
- Average space in the rear
- Sparse standard equipment
My conclusion: Who should consider the VW T-Roc?
The T-Roc actually appeals to the same target group as the classic Golf, but in a direct comparison, the crossover impresses with a significantly higher seating position that offers a better overview of the traffic situation. In combination with the easier entry, this is a real selling point, especially for older people.
The SUV is a rock-solid car that, despite some weaknesses in detail, represents the classic VW virtues and represents an attractive intermediate size below the Tiguan. Of course, word got around quickly, which explains the great popularity of the model. However, the latter also ensures comparatively high prices on the used car market.