Photo: Guido ten Brink / SB-Medien
Only a few people remember the wild Touareg R50, but we think it deserved to be called the first performance Volkswagen SUV. The little T-Roc R doesn't have a V10 TDI, only a 2-liter turbo. It's very fast on paper, but not so imposing.
This is the answer to the question "what would happen if you made the Golf R a little taller?" and Volkswagen hopes a lot of people ask this, as development was lengthy and costly. It's certainly not as funky as a Civic Type R, but there's a crowd for this kind of car too.
The exterior styling is what the stock T-Roc should have been all along - sporty and strong. They've revised the bumper with new intakes and piano black trim, while the enlarged upper grille is a nice touch. We've heard the word "prototype" tossed around, so those LED daytime running lights at the bottom may not be for production.
The T-Roc R is one of three performance crossover from VW Group. They all have the same 2-liter turbo engine making 300 horsepower and 400 Nm. However, the Vdub is the shortest, so it feels like it doesn't deserve to be taken seriously, like an angry but very small dog.
In contrast, the interior is exceptionally sober, with few frills outside of the blue dashboard. We feel like the Polo GTI has a lot more personality for almost half the money.
Which brings us to a very intriguing question: if you want to have fun in a small family car, what's wrong with a normal hot hatch? Sure, the T-Roc R has AWD, but it's not like drag racing is life's only joy. Ground clearance? Not necessary when you've bot super-delicate 19-inch forged alloy wheels.
Not wanting to be total downers, we'll point out that the optional Akrapovic exhaust is a great way to have aftermarket pops while still complying with the latest emissions regulations.
The exterior styling is what the stock T-Roc should have been all along - sporty and strong. They've revised the bumper with new intakes and piano black trim, while the enlarged upper grille is a nice touch. We've heard the word "prototype" tossed around, so those LED daytime running lights at the bottom may not be for production.
The T-Roc R is one of three performance crossover from VW Group. They all have the same 2-liter turbo engine making 300 horsepower and 400 Nm. However, the Vdub is the shortest, so it feels like it doesn't deserve to be taken seriously, like an angry but very small dog.
In contrast, the interior is exceptionally sober, with few frills outside of the blue dashboard. We feel like the Polo GTI has a lot more personality for almost half the money.
Which brings us to a very intriguing question: if you want to have fun in a small family car, what's wrong with a normal hot hatch? Sure, the T-Roc R has AWD, but it's not like drag racing is life's only joy. Ground clearance? Not necessary when you've bot super-delicate 19-inch forged alloy wheels.
Not wanting to be total downers, we'll point out that the optional Akrapovic exhaust is a great way to have aftermarket pops while still complying with the latest emissions regulations.
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