Volkswagen T-Cross review: affordable, flexible small SUV

The Volkswagen T-Cross has all the fundamentals to provide stiff competition in the compact crossover segment. Among its many attributes are a practical cabin with a sliding rear bench seat, and a strong engine line-up, which provides enough performance and decent fuel-efficiency. However, it’s not quite capable of toppling the best in the class.

Many of the T-Cross’ rivals are much more eye-catching, for instance. The VW is rather plain inside and out, and as a result, lacks the fun factor most alternatives offer. It’s as refined and as easy to drive as you’d expect a VW to be, although that comes at the expense of the T-Cross not being the most exciting behind the wheel. 

Pricing and specifications have been altered throughout the life of the T-Cross to address concerns of it being undercut by rivals, to the point where the T-Cross is one of the more affordable options in the sector. Indeed, our preferred entry-level trim is so well equipped, that it makes more expensive trims look redundant.

Our choice: Volkswagen T-Cross Life 1.0 115 TSI manual

About the VW T-Cross

The Volkswagen T-Cross started from a rather left-field concept called the Breeze that was unveiled at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. The Breeze looked pretty much identical to the production-spec T-Cross, aside from not having a roof. The T-Roc Convertible filled VW’s drop-top SUV niche a few years later, and the T-Cross took on the popular small SUV segment, first going on sale in March 2019. It’s been well-received by buyers, and has only needed minor updates to keep it relevant in 2024.

Rivals include the Citroen C3 Aircross, Renault Captur, Nissan Juke, Toyota Yaris Cross and Peugeot 2008, as well as the other similarly sized models from within the Volkswagen Group: the Seat Arona and Skoda Kamiq. The higher-spec Style and R-Line versions of the T-Cross are even priced as rivals to our reigning Car of the Year and Small SUV of the Year, the Hyundai Kona. The T-Cross is the smallest of the six SUVs in Volkswagen’s range, sitting below the Taigo, T-Roc, Tiguan, Tiguan Allspace and Touareg.

The majority of the VW T-Cross line-up is powered by a 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine that produces either 94bhp or 113bhp, while higher-spec models can also be had with a 148bhp 1.5-litre TSI EVO engine. The 1.0 motor comes with a five-speed manual in 94bhp form, or can be paired with a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission in 113bhp form; the 1.5 is auto-only.

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There are four trim levels available for the T-Cross: Life, Match, Style and R-Line. Life kicks the range off at just under £24,000. Despite being the base model, it’s well equipped with 16-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, an eight-inch digital driver’s display, an eight-inch central touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus several safety features including front and rear parking sensors, adaptive cruise control and driver fatigue detection.

For a little over £24,000, Match trim adds 17-inch rims, tinted windows, a reversing camera, and keyless entry and start. Next up is the Style trim, which costs around £2,600 more than the equivalent Match trim, and adds different wheels, silver roof rails, two-zone climate control, a built-in sat-nav, and matrix LED headlights. For around £900 over the Style, the range-topping R-Line adds 18-inch alloys, a host of interior and exterior styling upgrades and a standard 10.25-inch fully-configurable digital instrument cluster, and slightly more supportive sports front seats.