The Volkswagen T-Roc crossover has been on sale in Australia since 2020, and obtained a mid-life replace final 12 months.
Highlights of this refresh included a redesigned entrance fascia, plusher dashboard, and extra normal gear.
The mid-spec 2023 Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line on take a look at right here replaces the pre-update Sport, and is the one variant obtainable with the 140kW/320Nm tune of the corporate’s 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine.
Regardless of the entire vary receiving the semi-autonomous Journey Help system as normal for 2023, Volkswagen Australia additionally eliminated blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, as nicely the Proactive Occupant Safety system for MY23 on account of element and semiconductor shortages.
The native arm additionally not too long ago bumped the value of the T-Roc vary by as much as $1000 as a part of a wider vary worth improve from January 1, 2023.
The T-Roc vary now begins at $37,100 earlier than on-roads for the Model, and extends to $60,300 earlier than on-roads for the full-fat R mannequin.
In a hotly-contested section with fairly plenty of associated Volkswagen Group rivals, does the mid-spec T-Roc R-Line kind because the decide of the vary?
How a lot does the Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line value?
The Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line is the mid-spec mannequin earlier than you step as much as the new T-Roc R variants. It begins from $45,200 earlier than on-road prices.
Our tester was fitted with the elective Black Model package deal with electrical tailgate that prices $3500; the elective Nappa leather-appointed seat upholstery package deal that prices $3950; in addition to Pyrite Silver metallic paint with a black-painted roof which prices a further $700.
This brings the entire to $53,350 earlier than on-road prices, or $59,668 drive-away for Victorian consumers (every state has barely totally different taxes).
The one possibility our T-Roc R-Line tester didn’t have was the panoramic sunroof, which prices a further $2000 and would tip the drive-away pricing to over $60,000. Eep…
By way of opponents to the T-Roc R-Line you’re spoilt for alternative.
If you wish to keep throughout the Volkswagen Group household with the identical engine tune, there’s the Skoda Karoq Sportline 4×4 ($50,990 drive-away), the Cupra Formentor V ($54,490 drive-away), and the Audi Q2 40 TFSI S line ($53,300 plus on-roads).
Our nearly fully-optioned tester can be solely $950 cheaper than the recently-launched T-Roc R Grid Version which prices $54,300 earlier than on-roads.
Different similarly-priced rivals embody:
Costs are earlier than on-road prices
What’s the Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line like on the within?
Hopping behind the wheel of the Volkswagen T-Roc feels very acquainted in one of the best ways doable. In case you’ve sat in a current Golf or Tiguan you’ll see, really feel and listen to a whole lot of similarities.
An instance of that is the strong thunk if you shut a door. It sounds nearly financial institution fault-like and is comparable throughout all present Volkswagen fashions. I haven’t skilled any Volkswagen with a bad-sounding door thunk to this point.
One factor to level out immediately concerning the up to date T-Roc is the extra liberal utility of soft-touch plastics across the cabin. The sprint is roofed in smooth plastic that’s squishy to the touch.
You continue to don’t have to look far to seek out more durable plastics, however these are relegated to locations just like the door tops and low down on the centre tunnel. It’d even be good to have lined door trays just like the Golf and Tiguan, too.
The intensive use of piano black across the cabin although is slightly irritating; as a result of I perceive it provides the presents nicely visually, however after per week it was already grubby. It was additionally scratched from being cleaned beforehand.
The seats on our tester are the elective Nappa leather-based items that kind a part of the $3950 Leather-based package deal; which additionally provides energy adjustability for the driving force with reminiscence, and heated entrance seats.
The design of the entrance seats are slightly plain however have some carbon fibre-looking panels that give it slightly one thing. It’s a tad kitschy although.
Regardless of the plain look, the seats are extraordinarily comfy and have loads of facet bolstering to hug you tightly. The headrests are additionally tremendous smooth which makes it very easy to get comfy on longer journeys.
It might be good if the Leather-based package deal additionally included ventilated entrance seats along with the heated seats, given the just about $4000 price ticket, as they’ll get uncomfortably heat on hotter days.
The flat-bottomed steering wheel is a chunky and is wrapped in leather-based. It even has some perforated sections for these with scorching and sweaty arms.
The buttons on the steering wheel are of the closely criticised touch-capacitive selection. In case you’re coming from conventional steering wheel buttons they are going to really feel extremely unusual at first.
While you press a button there are half and full press choices that aren’t instantly apparent. Consider Drive Contact for older iPhone and Mac customers. There are additionally swipe gestures for adjusting issues reminiscent of quantity or content material on each screens.
To avoid wasting all the effort it could be a lot simpler if the T-Roc, plus plenty of different Volkswagen fashions, got here with common steering wheel buttons as a substitute. Even Volkswagen Passenger Automobiles CEO Thomas Schäfer has stated the corporate plans to deliver again the hard-button steering wheel.
Forward of the driving force is a well-recognized 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit cluster that’s very configurable. You can also make plenty of the show menus – together with the map view – full-screen which is a cool occasion trick.
I predominantly caught with the standard rpm and pace gauges and had the map view within the center. I additionally swapped out the map view at instances to view the gas consumption.
Shifting throughout is the 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that sadly appears to be like slightly small in its housing. It’d be good to have the display just a bit bit bigger just like the R flagship (which will get a 9.2-inch unit).
The touchscreen is flanked by a spread of touch-sensitive buttons and two knobs. The ability icon on the quantity knob spins round with use which drives me completely insane as a result of it doesn’t keep upright until you place it there and use the steering wheel to regulate the quantity.
The display itself takes a short while to get booted up correctly however as soon as it does it’s fairly snappy to work together with. Swiping is fairly fast however go away smudgy fingerprints in all places. There’s gesture management although, which can be utilized on a few of the menus.
Wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are normal on the T-Roc R-Line, and the whole lot appears to be like good on the high-resolution show. Swiping could be a little bit laggy at instances, however within the grand scheme it really works utterly tremendous.
What was annoying was the wi-fi cellphone charger not working with my iPhone 11 Professional Max. I’ve had my cellphone work on many wi-fi cellphone chargers beforehand however the T-Roc R-Line’s didn’t prefer it one bit. I additionally tried with my cellphone case on an off to no avail.
Satellite tv for pc navigation comes as normal on the T-Roc R-Line and it’s very complicated and clunky to function. It additionally takes its candy time to seek out addresses if you’re looking.
I wouldn’t advocate utilizing the built-in satellite tv for pc navigation and would as a substitute recommend utilizing Google Maps or one thing of that ilk with smartphone mirroring.
Underneath the touchscreen are but extra touch-capacitive buttons, for the local weather management this time. They’ve contact and slide controls which is a cool occasion trick, however may actually be push-buttons as a substitute just like the outdated one.
In case you’ve by no means used Air Care in a Volkswagen earlier than you’ll be blown away with how shortly it may possibly do away with yucky smells within the automotive.
On the centre console there are some strangely-shaped cup holders with a piccolo espresso cup spot proper within the center. There’s even an ideal house for the important thing close to the electrical park brake.
The centre armrest is properly padded, however the cupboard space beneath it’s fairly puny.
Talking of different storage choices up entrance, the glove field is huge and isn’t impeded by the proprietor’s guide as there’s a particular spot for it below the entrance passenger’s seat.
Shifting to the second row there wasn’t a lot house for me behind my very own driving place at a leggy 182cm tall.
Whereas leg room is sort of compromised for adults, head and toe room is sort of good. With a view to get comfy I discovered I needed to splay my leg on both facet of the seat in entrance. Shorter adults and youngsters shall be at house at the back of the T-Roc although.
The rear seat itself is sort of plush and the armrests are smooth and squishy. There are additionally air vents and USB-C ports on the rear centre console.
One thing I’ll be aware is when getting out of the T-Roc I needed to step out like a ladder. The door opening is sort of slender and I couldn’t contort my legs sufficient to get out the usually.
The boot within the T-Roc R-Line measures in at 392 litres with the rear seats down. That is incrementally smaller than the bottom T-Roc Model.
The boot has a height-adjustable flooring however due partly to the subwoofer that kinds a part of the $2900 Black Model package deal’s Beats premium sound system you possibly can’t change the extent.
The subwoofer is mounted contained in the house saver spare wheel which is sweet to have given plenty of its premium rivals have runflat tyres.
What’s below the bonnet?
The Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing 140kW of energy and 320Nm of torque.
The same model of this engine and tune is offered within the Skoda Karoq Sportline, Cupra Formentor V, and Audi Q2 40 TFSI.
The turbo petrol engine is mated to a seven-speed ‘DSG’ dual-clutch computerized transmission, with drive despatched by means of a 4Motion all-wheel drive system.
The T-Roc R-Line is the second most-powerful mannequin within the present line-up earlier than you step as much as the fire-breathing T-Roc R, which produces 221kW and 400Nm.
Claimed mixed gas financial system for the T-Roc R-Line is 7.3 litres per 100km, although throughout our time we noticed a mean of 8.6 litres per 100km over a mixture of freeway and metropolis driving.
It has a 55-litre gas tank and requires a minimal of 95 RON premium unleaded petrol.
How does the Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line drive?
Identical to the inside, driving the Volkswagen T-Roc feels very acquainted. Sure elements of the driving expertise are paying homage to the Golf, whereas others are just like the Tiguan.
The R-Line remedy will get you slightly extra pep in your step, with the two.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine producing 140kW of energy and 320Nm of torque.
From a standstill the T-Roc R-Line lags for a break up second earlier than taking off no matter which drive mode is chosen. That is seemingly as a result of the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission in our tester was nonetheless in its studying interval.
Over time the automobile would get used to the way you drive and calibrate the transmission and throttle response accordingly.
What this meant for the time we had our tester although is you’ll be initially overtaken on the site visitors lights until you possibly can preempt when the lights will go inexperienced.
When you do get shifting, issues get much more seamless and silky easy for essentially the most half. You’ll even hear a Golf GTI-esque soundtrack should you punch it a bit.
The primary few gear modifications can generally rev out to 3000rpm which is a bit more than I’d like in a small-capacity turbocharged engine, however past second gear the dual-clutch transmission is raring to shift up gears and maintain the revs down low.
Across the metropolis the T-Roc R-Line soaks up highway imperfections like a dream when in a comfort-oriented drive mode. That is superb given the very fact our tester was fitted with the elective 19-inch Misano alloy wheels which is a part of the Black Model package deal.
This elective package deal additionally provides adaptive chassis management with adaptive dampers, which lets you choose a drive mode that may both dial up the sportiness or make you are feeling such as you’re driving on a cloud.
You possibly can actually really feel a distinction when biking by means of all of those drive modes. There are even plenty of off-road drive modes for many who frequent the snow or have to get to a camp web site, for instance.
While you dial up the pace the T-Roc R-Line turns into much more dynamic. It positively has slightly little bit of heat hatch about it.
The progressive steering is finest attributed to the sensation of dynamism at increased speeds because it feels very direct. You additionally don’t have to enterprise removed from the steering’s centre level to start altering instructions.
The engine does start to expire of puff considerably at freeway speeds nevertheless it nonetheless has loads of punch to do an overtake if essential.
One factor which may drive you insane should you go for the elective Black Model package deal is the highway noise from the 225/40 R19 Bridgestone Potenza S001 tyres. It’s very boomy and also you’ll be reaching to show up the music.
Identical to within the metropolis, the T-Roc R-Line feels very compliant on the open highway and doesn’t bounce round a lot in any respect on rougher sections. It picks up a extra subtle multi-link rear suspension setup in comparison with the entry-level Model’s rear torsion beam setup.
By way of security gear, the T-Roc R-Line’s adaptive cruise management works extraordinarily nicely. The way in which it interacts with different automobiles that lower you off and are travelling barely sooner than you is extraordinarily pure.
It additionally accelerates to the set pace steadily which is enormously appreciated as it may be unsettling have a automotive rev considerably to achieve 100km/h as shortly as doable.
The lane-keep and Journey Help programs labored nicely in most city eventualities however received simply confused when the lane markings pale on regional and rural roads.
It’s positively one of many higher programs on the market however I turned it off for the as a result of I used to be sick of being pushed from lane marking to lane marking.
What do you get?
T-Roc R-Line highlights:
- 18-inch Nevada alloy wheels
- R-Line exterior styling
- Sports activities suspension
- Progressive steering
- Privateness glass
- Auto LED Efficiency headlights
- Auto high-beam
- Rain-sensing window wipers
- Electrically-folding facet mirrors
- 8.0-inch Digital Cockpit cluster
- 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wired and Wi-fi Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
- DAB+ digital radio
- Satellite tv for pc navigation
- Wi-fi cellphone charger
- Lava Stone Black gloss inlays
- Black headliner
- Leather-based-wrapped sports activities steering wheel
- Gearshift paddles
- Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
- LED inside ambient lighting
- Sports activities entrance seats
- R-Line material/microfleece upholstery
Our tester was fitted with the next elective further packages:
Black Model package deal: $2900]
- 19-inch Misano alloy wheels
- Black inside and exterior styling particulars
- Black-painted roof
- Carbon-look C-pilar trim
- Adaptive chassis management
- Beats premium sound system
Leather-based package deal ($3950)
- Nappa leather-based upholstery
- Energy driver’s seat with reminiscence
- Heated entrance seats
Electrical tailgate: $600
The one possibility our tester didn’t have fitted was the panoramic glass sunroof which prices $2000.
Is the Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line protected?
The Volkswagen T-Roc has a five-star ANCAP security score primarily based on exams carried out by Euro NCAP in 2017.
It obtained an grownup occupant safety rating of 96 per cent, a baby occupant safety rating of 87 per cent, a pedestrian safety rating of 79 per cent, and a security help rating of 71 per cent.
Normal security options embody:
- 6 airbags
- AEB incl. Pedestrian detection
- Facet Help (blind-spot monitoring)*
- Rear cross-traffic alert*
- Proactive occupant safety system*
- Lane departure warning
- Lane maintain help
- Journey Help
- Adaptive cruise management with cease/go
- Adaptive lane centring
- Park Help (bay and parallel)
- Entrance, rear parking sensors
- Reversing digital camera
Volkswagen Australia has eliminated Facet Help (blind-spot monitoring) and rear cross-traffic alert for MY23, in addition to the Proactive Occupant Safety System on account of element shortages.
Our tester was fitted with these, nonetheless, because it was a MY22.5 mannequin.
How a lot does the Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line value to run?
The T-Roc, like all new Volkswagens, is roofed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee.
Scheduled upkeep is required each 12 months or 15,000km – whichever comes first.
Volkswagen affords three- and five-year Care Plans for all variations of the up to date T-Roc, costing $1450/$2450 for the T-Roc Model, $1700/$2850 for the T-Roc R-Line, and $1700/$2950 for the T-Roc R.
That is considerably costlier than the equal five-year service package deal for the Skoda Karoq and Audi Q2. It’s lineball with the Volvo XC40 although.
CarExpert’s Tackle the Volkswagen T-Roc R-Line
The Volkswagen T-Roc is a convincing crossover as a result of it builds on the tried-and-tested roots of the Mk7 Golf.
It supplies a sought-after elevated seating place and a usable boot. It additionally doesn’t look too dangerous both!
Volkswagen has performed a great job sprucing up the T-Roc with the mid-life replace. The soft-touch dashboard and normal digital instrument cluster was desperately wanted.
Regardless of all of the reward, the T-Roc’s second row is considerably cramped and it will get very costly should you tick a couple of too many possibility bins.
The T-Roc R-Line shapes because the decide of the vary if you need slightly extra pep than the entry-level Model, together with a correct dual-clutch transmission.
It additionally comes with options like wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, in addition to satellite tv for pc navigation as normal.
If it’s further energy you’re after although, you possibly can go for the new T-Roc R Grid Version for not an excessive amount of extra. Sounds fairly tempting to me.
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