Volkswagen T-Roc SUV - Interior & comfort

A car that looks as good as the T-Roc needs a similarly funky interior – thankfully, VW has provided, and a 2022 facelift also improved interior quality. A small SUV should offer enough space for small families and feel a little more comfortable than the equivalent hatchback, too – something VW seems to have pulled off. There’s decent head and legroom all round, with enough space for two six-foot tall passengers to sit one behind the other thanks to generous VW T-Roc dimensions.

Ride quality is at its smoothest on 17-inch alloy wheels. If you'd rather the more distinctive looks of the bigger wheels, it's worth going for the all-round adaptive dampers that come as part of the Dynamic Chassis Control system, although even these won't smother the very sharpest of potholes.

The car’s interior is quiet at a cruise; you soon realise that the prominence of wind noise from around the door mirrors is down to the hushed nature of the engine and tyres.

Volkswagen T-Roc dashboard

Elsewhere, the sharply-shaped dashboard is more stylish than most other Volkswagen offerings. However, it’s disappointing that Volkswagen has moved away from colourful trim inserts for the facelift model, making the dashboard look rather more drab than before.

Other changes include a bigger touchscreen, relocated air vents and a new climate control panel similar to the one fitted in the Volkswagen Tiguan. These additions are a bit hit-and-miss; the touchscreen is now closer to your eye-line, so you don’t have to look away from the road for so long, but the touch-sensitive climate controls are needlessly fussy and more difficult to use on the move than the simple round dials that feature in pre-facelift versions. It’s a similar story for the haptic steering wheel controls, which are fiddly and too easy to activate accidentally whilst driving.

Earlier T-Roc versions had easier controls, but worse material quality. We’re glad VW has addressed our concerns; the T-Roc now gets some softer and plusher feeling materials to break up the sea of hard, cheap plastic. Everything is very solidly assembled, though, with no obvious creaks or groans, but you’re still more likely to be impressed with the dashboard in the Peugeot 2008.

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Equipment

Until the facelift, the T-Roc was available in seven trim levels: S, SE, Active, Black Edition, Design, SEL and R-Line. S includes now-essential features like Bluetooth, digital radio and all-round electric windows, plus dual-zone climate control, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, alloy wheels and LED daytime running lights. Standard SE equipment is fairly generous, as the eight-inch infotainment system gets Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. Other standard features include a rear central armrest and ski hatch, all-round parking sensors, power-folding and heated door mirrors, roof rails and adaptive cruise control. A leather gearknob and steering wheel are also standard.

Now, the T-Roc is available in three specifications: Life, Style and R-Line, matching the Volkswagen Golf. Life essentially takes over from SE, although it now offers rain-sensing wipers and automatic LED headlights with high-beam assist, and smartphone mirroring can be done wirelessly too.

Mid-range Style adds upgraded headlights with the illuminated grille stripe, bigger 17-inch alloy wheels, an upgraded 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and sat nav.

R-Line brings a much sportier look, with lowered suspension, unique badging and a body kit. There are also heated front sports seats and heated washer jets. Curiously, it doesn’t get the fancy headlights fitted to the Style trim, but it still has the back-lit grille.

Options

Unlike rivals like the Kia XCeed, the T-Roc offers a vast range of options, with Volkswagen being particularly keen to facilitate personalisation. A range of 17 and 18-inch wheels are available (ranging from around £100 to £500 extra), which can also be paired with the Dynamic Chassis Control system (around £1,000), which gives a choice of driving modes and suspension settings. Sports suspension is a cheaper option for keener drivers, offering a lower ride height and progressive steering to improve cornering (around £450).

Leather heated sports seats cost over £2,000, while a heated steering wheel can be added for less than £200. We’d recommend being careful with the options list, however. The 1.5-litre R-Line model already starts from around £33,000, so adding features like a panoramic sunroof, Matrix LED headlights and a rather lacklustre Beats hi-fi saw the cost of our test car soar to over £38,000 – at which point the T-Roc no longer feels good value.