What is it?
It’s a strange truth at the moment that making a success of producing small cars actually seems to mean turning them into slightly bigger, taller ones. If a car maker wants profitability out of his global supermini line today, in other words, he’d better have a downsized crossover somewhere within it.
The European market for these high-rise five-doors has doubled in size over the past five years, and is set to double again in the same time frame; and even if you're the biggest car maker in the world, you simply can’t afford to continue to pass on a share of a growing segment like that. And so, having watched as its rivals made all the money, Volkswagen has, in its usual style, carefully considered what its product positioning should be; laser-targeted the juicy middle of the market on price, size and specific role; and then taken its shot.
So enters the new Volkswagen T-Cross. A couple of inches longer and just under six inches taller than a Volkswagen Polo, the T-Cross is still smaller at the kerb than its main crossover-class rivals. VW dubs it ‘an urban SUV’ rather than an off-roader; there’s certainly no four-wheel-drive version.
At launch, you can choose between a pair of 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engines, which drive the front wheels through either manual or seven-speed twin-clutch gearboxes. Neither develops more than 113bhp. Our first taste of the car came in the more powerful 1.0 TSI 115 - in SEL trim.
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It's not ...
... a Sport Utility Vehicle. Not even close.
Urban SUV
Calling it an Urban SUV brngs to mind Ford's European Fusion which they designated an "Urban Activity Vehicle", aimed at young urban families. While constant demand had it in production for no less than 12 years the irony is that it was bought by "third agers" who appreciated it's raised height providing excellent ingress and egress, if not it's s-l-o- w, elk averse, steering. It however illustrates everything that's gone wrong at Ford that it was replaced by a cheapstake "One Ford" with a Brazilian designed, India (now Romania) built "EcoSport"(?) which is only marginally less dire following what must be fortune costing re-designs spent trying to lift it out of it's crude origins. To add insult to UK customers the antiquated, spare wheel carrying, side hinged, rear door opens the wrong way for RHD UK (and India) markets. Bit fresh that Ford in the US chastises the UK market, when selling such a vehicle - he'd be counting the profits if they built a decent car.
Avoid the cheats
Until they compensate U.K. buyers for the dieselgate scandal vw products need to be boycotted.