Volkswagen T-Roc long-term test review
The T-Roc is a new kind of Volkswagen – one that's designed to appeal to your heart as well as your head. But is it good enough to gain recognition amid a field of impressive small SUV rivals? We...
- The car Volkswagen T-Roc Design 1.0 TSI 115
- Run by Alastair Clements, special contributor
- Why it’s here Having rested its SUV aspirations on the larger Tiguan and Touareg thus far, VW is now hoping its smaller and funkier T-Roc can take on a wealth of small SUV rivals
- Needs to Combine the quality, solidity and practicality we’ve come to expect from VW, with enough flair to tempt buyers away from some seriously chic opposition
Price £20,500 Price as tested £23,540 Miles covered 2106 Official economy 55.4mpg Test economy 33.8mpg Options fitted Discover Navigation (£780), Car-Net Security and Service (£350), 17in ‘Mayfield’ Atlantic Blue diamond-turned alloy wheels with anti-theft bolts (£40), Active Info Display (£405), Ravenna Blue dashpad (free), black roof (free), metallic paint (£575), luggage compartment mat (£70)
10 August 2018 – driver assistance
I’m not some sort of Luddite who can’t cope with technology, but on occasions the T-Roc’s pretty sophisticated roster of driver assistance features can be frustrating.
I’m a big fan of the adaptive cruise control, but unlike more traditional cruise systems it can get confused by bad weather; on more than one occasion there has been a bong from the dashboard with the accompanying message: ‘Front Assist: no sensor view.’ And cruise control cuts out completely as a result.
Talking of dashboard noises, the collision warning system is necessarily loud and alarming, but when it begins detecting parked cars as potential collisions – something that happens pretty often in busy London traffic – it not only makes me jump, but has also applied the brakes automatically and completely unnecessarily.
That has the potential to be dangerous with tailgating commuters, but fortunately Volkswagen has built in a sensitivity function in the car’s settings menu, so I’ve been able to dial down Big Brother’s influence and take back a measure of control.
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