The Volkswagen T-Cross - rocks up late, starts on the biggest bloke in the place

Is there space in the market for yet another compact crossover to muscle in as class leader? In short, aye.

Mullets, flares, the Atkins diet. Some trends don't last forever. Some, however, knock about for a lot longer than you'd expect. Little Mix, bunless burgers, and the booming interest in SUVs, if I had to say.

When it comes to the latter of those, manufacturers are throwing the kitchen sink at the boffins behind their SUV departments.

From big to small, and fast to frugal, there's a model for near enough everyone now. Compact crossovers, especially, are popping up left, right and centre.

That increased competition, though, hasn't dissuaded Volkswagen from spoiling the party with their new entry-level SUV, the T-Cross.

Where does it sit on the scale?

It's a bit of an odd one to be honest. Up until now, the T-Roc - that's based on the Golf - was the smallest of VW's SUVs.

That title is now reserved for the T-Cross, which sits on the same base as the smaller Polo and is, surprisingly, claimed to be the more practical of the two. But we'll get onto that.

Despite it not being much bigger than the smaller hatchback it's based on, it's more like the larger Tiguan and looks pretty mint, to quote my video review above.

Scoring points on styling

My tester was kitted out in the R-Line getup, and looking at it you'd be forgiven for thinking it wasn't a budget SUV at all.

The full-width rear lights alone give off the impression of something a bit more premium, and in R-Line are complimented by silver roof rails, 18-inch rims and a sportier body kit.

Although you can save up to £6k by going for the S, SE or SEL specs, I'd be inclined to stick with this model.

If you're quick enough to put your name down on one, you also have the option of the First Edition T-Cross, but again, we liked the trim on our model.

Usability first

As of now, there are only two engines on offer - both 1.0-litre petrol units, with either 95 or 115bhp.

Potential buyers might be put off on face value, but the more powerful of those engines is surprisingly punchy. It's smooth, efficient, and has enough pull to get itself up the speedo with no major delay.

Granted, some drivers will prefer to wait for V-dub's popular 1.5-litre petrol engine to join the options list, but at the end of the day performance is not what you'd buy a T-Cross for.

This is where it comes into its own

What you would buy one of these for, however, is practicality.

In terms of dimensions, it's only marginally bigger than the Polo but seems a lot more spacious. And the whole rear bench can slide back and forwards, for more legroom or boot space.

Even with the seats raised, you’ll get between 385 and 455 litres of space behind the back seats – more than the Golf, whichever number you’re looking at.

The T-Cross is nice to sit in

Although there’s a bit of plastic trim here and there, the interior is a nice one.

The part-suede seats are comfy and supporting, with enough legroom in front. And that’s from a driver on the higher end of six foot.

It also has VW’s excellent 8-inch touchscreen as standard, and in R-Line, the Active Info Display that swaps the dials behind the wheel for a customisable screen – a canny little feature for no added dollar.

You’ve also got the higher driving position, one of the main draws in upgrading to a compact SUV over a similar-sized hatchback.

A welcome addition

In the last two or so years, VW Group has launched the large Skoda Kodiaq and compact VW T-Roc, and then stickered them with performance badges through the Kodiaq vRS and upcoming T-Roc R.

The market is absolutely chocka with SUVs at the moment – it’d be easy for any new releases to be lost amongst it all.

But it has to be said, I’m properly impressed with VW’s latest effort. It’s just big enough to have plenty space for most, but small enough to still be easily driven and manoeuvred.

Larger engines aren’t available on launch unfortunately, but these are expected to turn up further down the line. Their exclusion right now perhaps backs up the point that the T-Cross is about usability, before anything else.

The R-Line comes in around £23k and it does look canny, but if styling isn’t high on your wish list you’ll still get bags of usability with the other specs. They also come in between £17k and £21k – a solid price for a brand-new compact crossover.

The Volkswagen T-Cross is late to the party, but it’s set its sights on the very top of the class. And it might just be good enough to get there.

Find more on the VW T-Cross at www.lookers.co.uk/volkswagen/new-cars/t-cross

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