Volkswagen T-Roc review

Odd what constitutes praise for a small crossover SUV these days. But when you arrive in the T-Roc, it’s a relief to see the Volkswagen accountants have been locked in a cupboard while its cabin was being costed. 

We have four – four! – electric window switches, as opposed to two that interchangeably handled front and rear duties. We have a tactile little knob to adjust the door mirrors. The door handles themselves are a new minimalist design built into the armrest, but there’s no electric release mechanism to argue with. Bliss. 

So VW is slowly recovering from its interior design lobotomy that wrecked the ID cars and the Mk8 Golf. There’s a grown-up sized screen behind the steering wheel festooned with multiple info displays, from the comprehensive to the minimalist. The steering wheel is lathered with proper buttons, not haptic nonsense. Heck, if it had a proper headlight switch we’d be approaching halcyon Mk7 Golf levels of common sense here.

Flushed with this success, Volkswagen has let loose and introduced a whole new knob onto the centre console.

What does it do?

Whatever you want, as long as what you want is to adjust the volume, scroll through driving modes (Eco, Comfort, Sport, Individual) or muck about with a Mini-style ‘atmosphere selector’ which adjusts the screen graphics and ambient lighting between a range of pre-curated offerings. 

Thing is, it always defaults back to being a volume knob. And that means there are not one, not two, but three ways to adjust the volume in the T-Roc. Steering wheel buttons, touch-sensitive under-screen slider, and central tunnel knob. For Brits in right-hand drive cars, they’ll have to move their left hand off the steering wheel – where the volume rocker lives – to use the knob. Weird. 

But let’s not scare Volkswagen off here. Physical switchgear is good. More of it please. Next time, the heater controls. And a button to deactivate over-active lane-assist wouldn’t go amiss. There’s a shortcut to kill all the ADAS nonsense in the touchscreen’s upper echelons.

Is the touchscreen still punchably bad?

Happily, no. A series of software updates and processor updates mean the 12.9-inch Volkswagen touchscreen is now ‘fine’ where five years ago it was ‘criminally terrible’. The menu structures still lack the complete logical clarity of rivals, the sat nav in particular is just too fussy and is a good-enough reason to switch to phone mirroring for Apple or Android devices. 

Do so and you’ll want to keep your device charged. Only two USB-C ports are offered on the centre console, but the wireless charging pad is effective and for some reason features a graphic of an Olympic swimming pool race. No, us neither. 

What about practical touches?

Door bins are a decent size but aren’t carpeted like the best VWs of yore. So whatever you place inside is going to rattle. If you’re clutter-phobic you won’t like the exposed cupholders with no lid, but the adjustable dividers make it easy to stop devices, bottles and snacks slopping about.

What about further back?

Surprisingly generous. Legroom is adult-friendly for either of the outer seats, thanks to a 28mm wheelbase stretch. Anyone relegated to the middle seat will have a terrible time because they’re perched on the seat bolster ridges like a cat on an allotment roof shed. You’d be happier sitting on a cattlegrid. It’s also short on headroom if you’re in the middle, and a transmission tunnel chops into legroom. But as a four-seater, the T-Roc works very well indeed.

In the boot, the removeable floor allows you to have a near-flat loading surface or a deeper well for big objects. The 40:20:40 split rear seats fold flat too. For a car that apparently majors on being a style choice, you’re certainly well-catered for on space.