America only has one Volkswagen R model, the Golf, but Europeans will soon take delivery of this interesting performance crossover called the T-Roc R. The initial reactions indicate that it's not held back by the "SUV" thing.
The T-Roc and Golf are closely related in a way that makes you wonder why the company needed to make both. But the T-Roc was deemed unfit for the American market, not because it's ugly (which it is) but due to its high fabrication cost. By the time they added AWD, the 2-liter turbo engine and did all the Nurburgring testing, the T-Roc R ended up costing about €45,000, which is basically premium car territory.
The drivetrain itself is basically the same as that in the Golf R, making 300 PS and 400 Nm of torque. And because it's so small, the weight hasn't gone up by much, resulting in a 0 to 100 km/h sprint time of 4.6 seconds, at least officially. Independent drive tests in Spain put that to the test and show the T-Roc R is about as quick as officially claimed.
4.6 seconds - there was a time not long ago when you needed to buy a Ferrari to go that quick. Of course, the 300 horsepower mini crossover has to basically cheat here, building up power before dumping to all four wheels. Without launch control engaged, it wouldn't be that fast.
YouTuber Automann-TV says he was pleasantly surprised by the hot T-Roc in other ways as well. It's engaging in the corners and the optional sports exhaust sounds even better than the 2018 Golf R with Akrapovic pipes.
Unfortunately for Volkswagen, the T-Roc R has no shortage of rivals, including the Mercedes-AMG GLA/GLB 35 and BMW X2 M35i, both of which pack 306 horsepower. And in a recent drag race, we saw how the sister car, a Cupra Ateca, can do a lot with its 300 HP motor as well.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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