Volkswagen T-Roc - Engines, performance and drive

The Volkswagen T-Roc was originally aimed as the brand’s push to get more emotion into its range, but we feel it’s better thought of as a supremely competent all-rounder that specialises more in refinement and comfort, than being one of the more fun small SUVs from behind the wheel.

It starts with the steering, which is light enough at low speeds to make manoeuvring through traffic or parking in a tight multi story a doddle. It doesn’t give much in the way of communication at higher speeds and doesn’t have the sharp responses of a Mazda CX-30, but it is ultimately precise enough for you to feel confident threading it along a twisty B road.  

You can carry some speed down a country road because grip levels are strong, and when you do encounter the bends and accidentally go in a little too hot, you’ll feel VW’s electronic diff lock start to kick in by gently braking the inside wheel to help tuck the car’s nose into the turn.

Where the T-Roc impresses most is with its refined motorway manners, where the occasional sharp intrusion from bumps at low speeds (especially with the larger wheel sizes) settles down, leaving a feeling of composure that’s not unlike the VW Golf upon which the T-Roc is based. 

Style trim and above can be specified with dynamic chassis control, a system that allows you to adjust ride comfort for over £1000. Its firmest Sport setting can leave you wincing a little over the worst jolts in the road, while a Comfort mode that comes close to achieving the best of all worlds, providing a pliant ride that still keeps you in touch with the state of the surface you’re rolling over. However, the standard suspension set up on the smaller wheel sizes provides a decent enough ride anyway that we don’t think this expensive option is necessary. 

There’s a little wind noise over the large door mirrors at speed, but that’s only noticeable because other background noise, such as road and engine noise, is kept at bay so well.  

The high-performance R and R Black Edition versions are four-wheel drive cross-country weapons with their own chassis tuning, and you can read about those versions separately in our dedicated VW T-Roc R review.

0-62mph acceleration and top speed

The entry-level 113bhp 1.0-litre petrol allows the VW T-Roc to feel sprightly enough in town, with a 0-62mph time of 10.1 seconds giving you enough performance to keep up with traffic and handle the occasional out-of-town jaunt. We prefer the brawnier 148bhp 1.5-litre petrol with its swifter 8.8-second acceleration time because it’s more flexible and doesn’t cost that much more to run. However, get it with the standard six-speed manual because the seven-speed DSG can be a touch laggy when setting off.

The 187bhp 2.0-litre petrol offers a warm hatch-rivalling 7.2 second 0-62 dash, while the hot 296bhp VW T-Roc R drops this time even further to 4.9 seconds. 

In contrast, the 113bhp 2.0 TDI diesel takes a leisurely 10.7 seconds to reach 62mph, but its stout 300Nm of torque should make it a relaxing drive without the need to change gear much. The 148bhp version of this engine is quicker at 8.8 seconds and will have no trouble lugging a fully loaded T-Roc with passengers and luggage up to motorway speeds.