2021 Volkswagen T-Roc Review: An Unconventional Family Crossover!

2021 Volkswagen T-Roc Overview: What makes a difference?

The Volkswagen T-Roc is an uncanny family SUV that is going against the tide of conventional SUVs in India. Why do we say so? While the terms of SUV are usually associated with big size and intimidating road presence among the Indians, the VW T-Roc seems to eschew this tradition. Entering the Indian market through the CBU route, the VW T-roc is only available with a batch of 1,000 units in India a year in order to avoid homologation. The T-Roc appears more like a compact family crossover with the ground clearance measured at 150 mm. So, with the premium price tag of Rs 19.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the T-Roc appears like something that should not work. Then if there are sentiments towards punchy diesel-powered vehicles, the T-Roc also stand out of the game. Interesting enough, by the time we’re writing this, the first batch of 1000 units of the VW T-Roc has found takers already. So let’s find out what makes the T-Roc so appealing to Indian customers.

2021 Volkswagen T-Roc Exterior Review

Volkswagen has a tradition of making elegant cars that defines high class and that’s evident in the T-Roc too. The German carmaker has used the minimalistic styling approach in the T-Roc to keep the compact crossover in line with VW’s family design philosophy.

Front View

VW didn’t choose to give the T-Roc sorts of complications but sophistications at the front. It sticks to VW’s well-received conventional design with a wide yet sleek front chrome-lined grille that is flanked by a pair of neat LED headlamps at either end for a single-piece effect. Further below, there are bullet-shaped LED daytime running lamps where you must have expected the fog lamps and they double up as turn indicators. The fog lamps sit lower and are surrounded by the black cladding itself. There’s a silver brushed skid plate that looks solid and sits right under the big mesh air dam. There’s a good level of cladding around the T-Roc’s chin. The bonnet sports some prominent character lines that also enhance the model’s sporty appeal.

Side View

The side profile of the VW T-Roc features pronounced wheel arches that complement the chunky diamond-cut 17-inch alloy wheels. The swooping roofline leverages the coupe-SUV stance of the car to a higher level. The sides look even sportier with strong lines and creases along with black cladding running across the body. Also, the VW T-Roc comes with a black roof that matches perfectly with the body colour, irrespective of the option you go for.

Rear View

Elegance is also the main theme at the rear. The faux exhaust surrounds give it a premium look. The black cladding cuts into the bumper to house the number plate while two creases on the boot lid are as straight as the ruler. It gets the VW logo in the centre playing as the switch for the boot lid and a backup camera at the same time. The all-LED taillamps look stylish with the glow patterns reminding us about the Audi’s as well. The raked roof might be the least SUV-like thing in the VW T-Roc exterior design. All in all, the Volkswagen T-Roc looks gorgeous in an unconventional way that surely helps us grabs a whole bunch of attention on the go.

2021 Volkswagen T-Roc Dimensions: Length, Width, Height & More

At the first glance, the T-Roc looks so small that it can be mistaken for a premium hatchback. The VW measures 4,234 mm long, 1,819 mm wide and 1,573 mm high along with a wheelbase of 2,590 mm.

To put its size into perspectives, the Volkswagen T-Roc is shorter than the Creta by a margin. Further, its height of 1,573 mm even makes the T-Roc fall shorts of almost all sub-4m SUVs in India and is as high as the Hyundai Venue. The width of 1,819 mm and wheelbase of 2,590 mm at least give the car a wide stance, still. These figures put the VW T-Roc into the premium hatch territory, for which the steeply-raked rear windscreen and the not-too-tall bonnet even clinch more. One last reminder, the VW T-Roc is no hatchback and despite its compactness, the T-Roc still receives resounding responses from the buyers, regardless of its hefty price.

2021 Volkswagen T-Roc Interior Review: What Does the VW T-Roc Have To Offer?

Apart from the attractive design, the interior is also the T-Roc’s forte. The SUV comes with a very well-built cabin, which might turn all the haters (who had criticized the T-Roc’s size) into fans.

Interior Design

Once stepped inside the T-Roc’s cabin, you’ll be surprised by the evident width which feels small from the outside. The interior of the T-Roc is very Audi-ish with dark colour and full of straight lines. The dashboard boats of neat design. There’s an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that stands out at the centre place. You won’t find any soft-touch materials on the dash here and the plastic gives us a scratchy feel. However, one can’t deny that the quality of the hard plastic is superb.

The instrument cluster seems to be hugely inspired by the 2019 Audi A6 unit. The 10.25-inch instrument console is highly customizable. The tri-tone Vienna leatherette upholstery does give the T-Roc a premium touch and airy feel.

Convenience and Comfort

It’s true that the VW T-Roc doesn’t set any benchmarks in terms of interior space, but the German auto giant has given it a compensation with the long comfort features list. The 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system offers Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. There is also a premium 6-speaker sound system with dual-zone climate control, a full-size panoramic sunroof, rear centre armrest, leather gearshift knob, power windows, 12V outlet at the front and rear, height-adjustable and heated front seats, keyless entry system among others.

Talking of the seats, the VW T-Roc features comfy seats that can accommodate the largest of the occupants comfortably. The rear bench-type seats are well-padded as well but it lacks headroom and knee room for the tall passengers while sitting with three abreast will lead to the lack of shoulder room. The boot capacity of the T-Roc is 445 litres that aren’t the best in the segment but it can still make good room for a lot of luggage.

Safety & Security Features

On the safety front, the VW T-Roc is equipped with a suite of safety kits like six airbags, front and rear parking sensors, heated ORVMs, electronic parking brake, head-on collision warning, lane-keeping assist, driver steering recommendation, electronic stability control, ABS, EBD, ISOFIX child seat anchor points and many others.

2021 Volkswagen T-Roc Engines: Performance Review

Volkswagen offers the T-Roc with just one petrol engine combined with one transmission option in India. It is powered by a 1.5-litre 4-cyl TSI turbo-petrol mill that is good for 150 PS of max power and 250 Nm of peak torque. This engine comes mated to a 7-speed DSG automatic transmission.

The engine is silent but very powerful for the T-Roc’s compact size. You can easily travel around while pressing the pedal halfway. It performs so smoothly that it doesn’t even let you know it’s making efforts. While the lower-end range feels adequate, the strong mid-range muscle helps churn out significant power then. In the Sport and manual modes, the T-Roc let you rev happily to 6,500 rpm redline without any fuss.

The 7-speed DSG lets you shift the gears quickly and as stated above, it offers Sports mode and manual mode. To switch to the manual mode, the driver can either use the steering-mounted paddle shifters or move the gear lever up and down.

2021 Volkswagen T-Roc Mileage: Is It Fuel Efficient?

The VW T-Roc is quite frugal as it returns an ARAI-rated fuel mileage figure of 18.4 kmpl.

2021 Volkswagen T-Roc Price & Verdict: Is the T-Roc Worth Buying?

The 2021 Volkswagen T-Roc is currently going on sale in India at the price of Rs 19.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). However, the SUV receives so many responses from the Indian customers that it is already sold out in 2020 itself. True, it’s more like a compact crossover that comes at the expense of practicality, SUV space and large road presence. However, the attractive design, superior build quality and excellent driving performance are some things that put the T-Roc in the sweet spot. More than that, the VW T-Roc is equipped with a lot of features that keeps the passenger well-entertained, comfortable and safe. There’s nothing else like the T-Roc on the market that makes the compact SUV a special deal.

Visit our website to look at the previous generations of Volkwagen T-roc.