New Volkswagen T-Cross vs Volkswagen T-Roc: costs
The Volkswagen T-Cross has always been upstaged by its bigger T-Roc sibling, but can it turn the tables after its recent facelift?...
Buying and owning
Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
For the price of a Volkswagen T-Roc in entry-level Life trim, you can buy a Volkswagen T-Cross in the higher Style trim level we have here and you’ll get £700 change. However, that gap shrinks to £302 when you factor in the discounts available through our free online New Car Deals service.
The T-Cross also offers slightly more wallet-friendly insurance premiums and better fuel efficiency; with the TSI 115 engine, it officially returns up to 50.2mpg, against the T-Roc TSI 115’s 49.7mpg. In our real-world economy test, the T-Cross TSI 115 managed 42.1mpg, beating the 40.1mpg of our test T-Roc TSI 110.
The T-Roc holds on to its value better, though, and the result is that it’ll cost £102 less than the T-Cross over three years, after factoring in all the costs a private cash buyer is likely to face.
On the other hand, if you buy via PCP finance, the T-Cross brings lower monthly payments. If you put down a deposit of £2000 on a three-year deal with a 10,000-mile annual limit, the T-Cross comes in at £413 a month, against the T-Roc’s £431. That gap becomes much bigger if you go for the T-Cross in our recommended (and cheaper) Match trim, which will cost you £328 per month on the same terms.
In the trim levels of our two contenders, meanwhile, both cars are well equipped, giving you adaptive cruise control, dual-zone climate control and alloy wheels. Other than the added features we’ve mentioned already, the T-Cross’s higher Style trim level brings mainly cosmetic enhancements inside and out.
When it comes to safety tech, both cars have nearly identical lists of safety equipment, including automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assistance. Both cars scored five stars in Euro NCAP safety testing. However, the tests have become more demanding since the T-Cross was put through its paces in 2019 and the T-Roc way back in 2017, so much so that the T-Roc’s rating has now expired.
Still, in its slightly more recent tests, the T-Cross posted higher scores than the T-Roc in all areas other than how well it protected children in the rear seats; the T-Roc scored just 1% higher in this important category.
In the most recent What Car? Reliability Survey, the T-Cross came eighth out of 22 models in the small SUV category – six places higher than the T-Roc. In the overall brand league table, Volkswagen ranked 22nd out of 32.
Each car is covered by a three-year/60,000-mile warranty; many rivals offer longer warranties with higher mileage limits, or no mileage limit at all.
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