Volkswagen T-Roc R review

The T-Roc R has a higher list price than its Audi SQ2 and Cupra Ateca sisters, but the differences are tiny after you’ve factored in the discounts that are available through our New Car Buying service, and the T-Roc R holds its value well.

Standard equipment is pretty generous, too, with a list that includes 19in alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, ambient interior lighting and adaptive cruise control.

With four-wheel drive and nearly 300bhp under the bonnet, emissions are unsurprisingly on the high side; the T-Roc R pumps out 176g/km of CO2, putting it into the top 37% tax bracket for benefit-in-kind (BIK) company car tax. And, although the official fuel economy is as healthy as 32.1mpg, you’ll have to drive pretty sensibly to get near that.

More positively, Euro NCAP awarded the T-Roc five stars (out of five) for safety. An in-depth look at the results shows that the T-Roc is better at protecting adult occupants, child occupants and pedestrians than the SQ2 and Ateca are.

What’s more, the T-Roc R’s Euro NCAP rating is boosted by its comprehensive safety kit, which includes lane-keeping assistance and an automatic emergency braking system that can detect pedestrians as well as other cars.

We would, however, recommend adding the Driver Assistant Pack Plus; it gives you automatic main beam for the headlights, blind spot monitoring, a semi-autonomous driving function for traffic jams and a rear cross traffic alert system that warns you if you’re about to reverse into the path of another car. 

The regular T-Roc was one of the least reliable small SUVs in the 2019 What Car? Reliability Survey, finishing 17th out of the 18 models included, although Volkswagen as a brand performed better, ending up in mid-table. The warranty is nothing special at three years and 60,000 miles. For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here