VW T-ROC R

SMALL SUV THAT BRINGS BIG GRINS

- DANIEL GARDNER

THINK OF THE Volkswagen T-Roc R as the same attractive small-to-mid-sized SUV package you get from the existing T-Roc range but with a serpent’s sales pitch and something a little more sinful.

Instead of the milder 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre engines common to the rest of the family, the R denotes the same 2.0-litre turbocharged powertrain you’ll find in the potent Golf R along with a host of accompanying refinements and additions to warrant the Volkswagen performance halo branding. It won’t arrive in Australia until about July 2022 but when it does, it’ll go up against other classy high-performance, go-anywhere models including the closely related Audi SQ2, as well as Mini Countryman JCW, BMW X2 M235i, Jaguar E-Pace P300, Mercedes-AMG GLA35 and Volvo XC40 T5. Or will it?

My first drive of the T-Roc R’s twin-under-the-skin SQ2 was in the mountains of the Austrian Alps, so in the name of context and consistency I’ve returned to the stunning scenery for a first blast in the Dub, because when comparing apples with apples, it’s okay to compare a Pink Lady with a Sundowner as long as they were picked in the same orchard.

Volkswagen is yet to confirm pricing for Australia but it will almost certainly be a giant-killing bargain by comparison. The current T-Roc flagship – the 140TSI Sport – costs $41,000 and it too gets a 2.0-litre bolted to all-wheel drive. If the R comes in at as much as $15,000 more it’ll still be cheaper than anything remotely similar and substantially less expensive than every rival with comparable power – let’s wait and see.