If ever proof was needed that the SUV-Cross Over trend is set to gobble up an ever bigger chunk of the new car market, well, the launch of the Volkswagen T-Cross laid any doubts to rest, last September.
There had been some pent up demand for the T-Cross, for sure, but no-one would have predicted that it would have sold 810 units in the nine remaining on-sale days in September 2019. What’s more, it followed this up with 1 132 sales in October, and in one swell swoop, Volkswagen South Africa had achieved its best overall sales figures for passenger cars in the past decade.
VW needed the T-Cross badly
The T-Cross’s instant acceptance must have come as a relief to VWSA. Because although its best-selling Polo and Polo Vivo hatchbacks regularly tot up over 4 000 sales between them each month, the other models in VW’s extensive passenger range have not fared nearly as well in the sales race.
The perception out there is that Volkswagens are classy motorcars, but they tend to be pricey, without the brand cache needed to overcome this perception, as enjoyed by the likes of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and, yes, VW’s stablemate Audi. The exception to this “rule” is the Tiguan, VW’s player in the small-to-medium SUV segment. The Tiguan has been notching up sales in the region of 500 to 750 a month recently, and is a winner on sheer class and ability.
Is the T-Cross a good car then?
The short answer to this question is “yes”. It’s one of the most stylish new VWs in some time, managing to blend a degree of bright-work with an overall feeling of solidity that is the company’s hallmark. VW don’t do “frivolous” and the T-Cross is evidence of this.
However, as you climb aboard, you do notice that the accent with the T-Cross is more on “youth market” than solid family values, and some may not enjoy the fact that some of the plastics used in the interior are of the hard-edged variety. Even the Polo has a more reassuring soft-touch feel to its interior than the T-Cross.
But it is funky, and if you order the Highline trim level, you get the impressive Composition Media infotainment system, “connectivity” being such an important part of any car’s package these days.
What about the performance, and dynamics?
The T-Cross uses the 1,0-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, also found in the Polo 1.0 TSI. It’s interesting that VWSA launched the T-Cross only with this motor, leading one to believe that there is a trend in new car buying where engine spec and performance is becoming less and less important as long as the performance delivered is “adequate”.
That term, “adequate” more than fits the bill with the T-Cross. It uses a 7-speed DSG (dual clutch automatic) transmission, and thanks to a healthy delivery of 200 Nm of torque it gives this SUV more than adequate performance, as well as an effortless surge of acceleration in mid-range speeds (80-120 km/h), which is where you generally need it. Economy is good too. VW claim 4,9 litres/1`00 km, and we believe owners will be returning figures of between 5,8 and 6,5 litres/100 km with ease.
Ride and Handing?
The ride and handling is good without being ultra-impressive. I have been more impressed with the big-car ride of the compact Polo than I was with the T-Cross’s ride and handling balance. These cross overs (mini-SUVS) have to balance the fact that they carry more weight higher up in the body than an equivalent hatchback, and thus the feelings of response are never going to be as crisp as they are in a lighter hatchback (or sedan, for that matter). The T-Cross Highline trim model (which I had for test) also uses 18-inch wheels with 215/45 rubber, which means the wheels are profiled much more for looks than comfort. Some would argue they provide more stability and grip than smaller diameter wheels with higher profile rubber, but we would argue that in a cross over which has at least some pretensions of rough-road ability, surely high-profile tyres make more sense?
Space
There is more space in a T-Cross than a Polo, but perhaps not as much as you would at first believe. Firstly, the T-Cross is based on VWSA’s MQB modular platform, and its wheelbase is all but identical to that of the Polo. A car’s wheelbase pretty much dictates how much interior space it will have, but in the case of the T-Cross, its substantially higher roof frees up more interior room. It is also wider than a Polo by some margin.
The T-Cross has an adjustable rear seat. When the seat is pushed back this imparts a lot more legroom than you’d get in a Polo, but when it is adjusted forward for reasonable luggage space, the advantage the T-Cross has is not that great. For the record, the T-Cross is credited with luggage space ranging between 377 to 455 litres, while the Polo (with non-adjustable rear seats) has 350 litres. However, there is much more headroom in the T-Cross, at the rear, as it is some 124 mm taller than a Polo.
Overall impression?
Like just about every other VW on the market, the T-Cross is a class act. As mentioned earlier, the way forward in this market (and many other markets globally) is via the SUV-Cross Over route. And much as I mourn the loss of driving dynamics that such heavier, more cumbersome vehicles are saddled with, I am aware that it is now very much a case of “if you can’t beat ’em, join’em”.
Part of the Cross Over and SUV appeal is that, by sheer dint of size, these vehicles are more imposing than hatchbacks or sedans. The other aspect of that appeal is that many people feel safer in a larger, taller vehicle, even though dynamically they are inferior to smaller cars.
There is also that feeling when stuck in traffic that it pays to have a high vantage point, as it somehow eases the stress level. Of course, this advantage is being nullified to a great degree as just about everyone and their dogs seem to be driving high-riding SUVs or double cab pick-ups these days.
So yes, given my viewpoint that I think the up-coming Golf 8 hatchback will be, dynamically at least, a far more satisfying vehicle, I have to concede that I am in the minority here. So, taken in its context, the Volkswagen T-Cross is a very good vehicle in terms of its suitability to our market, and we wish VWSA all the best with it.
Pricing?
Prices, though, have jumped quite markedly since its launch. On introduction in mid-September 2019 the Volkswagen T-Cross 1.0 TFSI 85 kW Highline cost R365 000. That price is now, in early June, 2020, R397 100. Bear in mind that a VW Polo 1.0 TFSI 85 kW Highline today costs R327 900. And this is for a car that is dynamically superior, has a very similar level of equipment, and also enjoys better performance because it is about 115 kg lighter. Yes the T-Cross offers more space, but that extra space and visual impact will cost you close to R70 000 if you choose it over the Polo.
As for the up-coming 110 kW 1.5 TFSI version of the T-Cross, the introduction of this model is still pending, due to the global pandemic that is affecting us all. Right now, its price is listed at R415 600 in R-Line trim.
It may interest you that we currently have over 220 New and Used Volkswagen T-Cross models listed for sale.
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