Hot off the factory floor and carrying a reputation badge straight from professional wrestling, the VW T-Roc mini-Tiguan has finally landed. We're reporting from the automobile's public debut at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show, where a sportier R-Line specification was launched to broaden the little B-SUV's appeal. I thought VW named its vehicles after winds? A break from the norm right here but with a nod to Wolfsburg heritage - the T comes from VW’s bigger SUVs, Tiguan and Touareg. The ‘Roc’ nonetheless is from the English word…err…rock. Because off-street. Or something. At the risk of sounding like a caught document - very important certainly, especially to Volkswagen. VW reckons the T-Roc will help sales grow from 6.4 million globally to 10.6 million in simply 10 years. What’s totally different about this one then? Well for one, it’s the primary VW SUV you can have with a two-tone paint finish thanks to its contrasting roof section, there to stress what VW describes as a coupe-fashion roofline. The VW T-Roc dimensions are smaller than the Tiguan's general (252mm shorter, in reality) but it surely shares the bigger car’s design DNA.
MQB underpinnings imply the T-Roc is spaciously packaged - it has a big (for the sector) 445-litre boot, which might be expanded to 1290 litres by folding down the 60/forty break up rear seats. Cabin storage is powerful with a big storage field under the climate control panel, hiding two USB charging ports and optionally available inductive wireless charging. Unsurprisingly the T-Roc comes filled with more devices than a Betterware catalogue and, given the household-pleasant bias, there’s a hefty give attention to security. As customary you get Front Assist with city emergency braking and lane assist, plus you can too choose adaptive cruise management, highway sign show, blindspot monitor, park help and a reversing digicam to call but a number of. Other tech highlights embrace the debut of VW’s next-gen Active InfoDisplay (chunky 11.7-inch digital dials). Top versions get jazzy LED headlights, with daytime-running lights and indicators formed by a single spherical element. The central infotainment screen comes in a spread of sizes up to eight inches, plus you'll be able to add the App Connect smartphone interface, and a whole host of concierge companies beneath the safety and Safety umbrella.
Music fans can be sated by the optionally available 300-watt Beats stereo, and there’s a huge panoramic glass sunroof too, to bathe Oscar and Gertrude in daylight on their method to the local nursery. What are the VW T-Roc trim levels known as? There’s the standard automotive after which two increased trims with equivalent features (the identical structure because the Arteon, coincidentally) referred to as Style and Sport. Style gets you white ambient lighting, a contrasting roof, customisable interior trim panels, 17-inch wheels and a silver underbody guard. Sport has a performance look, obviously, and due to this fact benefits from tinted rear home windows and lights, aluminium pedals, purple ambient lighting, pink brake calipers, 17-inch wheels, black rooflining and sports seats. To this point, so Germanic. There’s an R-Line bundle, too, with even sportier-wanting bumpers and facet sills. Can I've an engine to match these sporty pretentions? UK engines aren’t confirmed yet - we’ll get some of these six options, but which of them precisely are still TBC.
The 114bhp versions are entrance-wheel drive and handbook solely, whereas the 187bhp items have a seven-velocity DSG and 4MOTION as normal. Pick a middling 149bhp motor and you'll have two- or all-wheel drive, plus a guide or automated gearbox. The selection is yours. VW says it’ll journey like a Golf (it does share a lot of the identical platform) plus there’s the choice of adaptive chassis management for those moments when you are feeling like getting schporty. Will the brand new VW T-Roc SUV be any good? It’s exhausting to say, however the combination of Golf and Tiguan oily bits and crossover vibe is a promising combine for many consumers. However conflicted you are feeling concerning the explosion of SUV recognition, it’s clear that Volkswagen gross sales are solely going in a single direction with this latest - and belated - addition to its 4x4 clan. The Volkswagen T-Roc launches for Europe in November 2017, with some early pre-gross sales in September. Estimated starting value in the UK is £19k.
