Review: Volkswagen T-Cross
The latest incarnation of the T-Cross, VW’s small SUV is as good as ever, says Julie Marshall
Since Volkswagen’s T-Cross SUV was first launched in 2019, it’s been a phenomenal success and has sold more than 1.2 million worldwide.
The latest model, tested here, went on sale in 2024 and is as good as its predecessors.
Having said that, I would have loved to have driven about in the snazzy yellow Rubber Ducky vehicle rather than the staid Smokey Grey one that was delivered.
The bizarre name came about following a public poll, with 46 per cent opting for Rubber Ducky to describe the vibrant yellow paint.
T-Cross is available in four trim levels: Life, Match, Style and Black Edition and the sporty R-Line.
There are three engines across the range: two three-cylinder one-litre petrol examples (94bhp and 113bhp) and a 1.5-litre petrol delivering 148bhp.
We drove the middle-powered one and found it surprisingly good with brisk acceleration (10.3 seconds to 62mph). It was trouble-free and a joy to drive.
It was paired with a six-speed manual gearbox, which made a nice change. Most manufacturers seem to be moving away from manual and onto automatic transmission.
Perhaps I’m out of practice, but I didn’t find it as smooth as VW gearboxes I’ve known and loved in the past.
The whole car is refreshingly old-school with a manual handbrake and a spare wheel rather than a compressor and sealing foam kit (the latter added a £260 premium). It did, however, have push-button starting - again, more manufacturers are heading down that road, which I quite like.
The 18in alloy wheels made the ride quite harsh and quite uncomfortable at times - it did mean the handling was good though, which I suppose is a price you have to pay. The T-Cross is the smallest SUV in the VW line-up, but it can easily fit five adults.
It’s comfortable, has versatile sliding rear seats, decent headroom and a great driving position.
The boot has room for 385-455 litres of luggage, and if the rear seat is folded down, this releases a flat load area with up to 1,281 litres.
The interior is nicely styled and incorporates plenty of storage space. It has two USB-C ports in the front and two USB-C charging sockets on the centre console in the rear. The digital cockpit is easy to read and customisable with easy-to-navigate menus.
Parking is easy to achieve and is aided admirably with front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera on the top spec models.
The T-Cross has a wealth of safety features as standard, including a very keen proximity sensor - not always a good thing.
My drive is very narrow and has plenty of room to get a large car down with room to spare, but the T-Cross beeped alarmingly all the way along. You can almost get into a ‘cry wolf’ situation and be tempted to ignore its wailing which could prove dangerous.
Volkswagen T-Cross
Price: £29,115 (as tested £32,260
Engine: Three-cylinder one-litre petrol
Power: 113bhp
Torque: 147.5lb/ft
Transmission: Six-speed manual
Top speed: 119mph
0-62mph: 10.3 seconds
Economy: 49.8mpg
CO2 emissions:129g/km