Volkswagen T-Roc - Practicality, comfort and boot space

The Volkswagen T-Roc does the family stuff as well as a VW Golf, just with slightly raised seating positions all around. A six-foot tall passenger can sit behind a similarly tall driver in comfort. 

There’s decent width across the back seats, too, so seating five inside for a short drive isn’t too much of a struggle. The T-Roc boasts doors that open reasonably wide, and a higher seating position than in a standard hatch, making getting in and out or fitting a child seat easier. The view out is good for those in the back, too. 

If you’re in the front, you’ll have no complaints about space or comfort, with multi-adjustable front seats and steering wheel, plus standard lumbar adjustment for the perfect driving position. With the T-Roc’s fairly conventional crossover shape, visibility out of the front, rear and side windows is absolutely fine from the driver’s seat, while the chunky C-pillars don’t create as much of a blind spot as, say, an Audi Q2. 

One of the highlights of the T-Roc Cabriolet is that wind noise and buffeting aren’t too much of an issue with the roof down, even at higher speeds. With the top lowered – which takes just nine seconds and can be done at speeds of up to 19mph – and the windows up, you can enjoy the sunshine without feeling too windswept.

Size

It takes up about the same space on the road as a Golf, but there’s more space inside the T-Roc, and the view out is better. Against the tape measure, the T-Roc is 4,234mm long, making it 252mm shorter than the Volkswagen Tiguan – the next model up in Volkswagen’s SUV line-up. The T-Roc is slightly shorter than a Golf, though only by a whisker. With a width of 1,819mm and a height of 1,573mm, the T-Roc is both wider and taller than the hatchback upon which it is based.

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Leg room, head room & passenger space

Inside, there’s plenty of space for four people – five can fit for shorter trips – with decent rear head and legroom even for taller adults sitting in the back behind similarly-sized people in the front. The SUV proportions mean there’s no problem with headroom either. 

Like most small SUVs, you get ISOFIX child seat mounting points fitted to the outer positions of the rear seats. Those points are hidden behind some easily removed plastic covers – just make sure to store said covers somewhere safe.

Boot space

The boot offers 445 litres of luggage space, considerably more than the 380 litres in a Golf. It’s a nice square shape with a floor that’s nearly level with the bumper when the standard adjustable height boot floor in its raised position, making loading heavy loads easy. The rear seats fold easily in a 60:40 split to reveal a useful 1,290 litres of overall capacity.

Those looking to maximise practicality should avoid the 4MOTION four-wheel drive models. Adding the all-wheel-drive setup eats into boot space, resulting in a shallow loading area of just 392 litres in size (1,237 litres with seats folded).

The Cabriolet has a 280-litre boot capacity, with enough space for shopping and everyday use, but a normal T-Roc is much more practical for things like buggies, bikes and holiday bags. The small opening limits what you can get in the cabrio, but you can fold the rear bench to open up space behind the front seats.

Towing

The 113bhp 1.0-litre petrol T-Roc is rated to tow up to 1,300kg, while the similarly powerful diesel has a maximum towing limit of 1,500kg, as does the 1.5-litre petrol. For maximum towing capacity, look towards either the 2.0-litre petrol or 148bhp diesel, because these versions of T-Roc can pull up to 1,700kg. Go for four-wheel drive for better traction on wet grass.