Costs & verdict
Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is
Costs, insurance groups, MPG and CO2
Frankly, you’ll pay silly money for top-end VW T-Roc models, such as the 2.0 TDI 150 DSG R-Line. For the price, we reckon there are better options available in the larger, family SUV class. On the other hand, the 1.0 TSI 110 in entry-level Active trim makes much more sense. It’s cheaper than the equivalent versions of the Audi Q2 and Mini Countryman and has equally strong predicted resale values.
Running costs for cheaper T-Rocs look sensible. The 1.0 TSI 110 can officially average more than 46mpg, which is pretty good, while decent CO2 emissions and reasonable P11D values make it competitive on company car tax. It’s worth mentioning that the Ford Puma 1.0 Ecoboost Hybrid 155 is even better on both counts.
Black Edition and Design trims miss out on some of the equipment that comes with the Active trim, and instead have more customisable interiors. The upper trims are too expensive to justify. As we said before, you’d be better off spending that sort of money on a bigger family SUV.
Reliability
As a brand, Volkswagen finished well down in 20th place out of the 30 manufacturers in the 2021 What Car? Reliability Survey. That’s not great because it was below many small SUV producers, such as Mini, Mazda and Skoda. Peugeot, Vauxhall and Nissan finished beneath Volkswagen, though.
If you compare the T-Roc specifically with other small SUVs, it does averagely well, falling behind the Mini Countryman and Audi Q2 but beating the Ford Puma and Seat Arona.
