SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Trick Trok: 2022 Volkswagen T-Roc 2.0 R-Line

The fun’s in the traction

Pics by Motorpress
Posted: November 29, 2022

The numbers

Base price, 2.0 R-line: R660 400
Engine: 1984 cc DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder turbopetrol
Power: 140 kW between 4500 and 6200 rpm
Torque: 320 Nm between 1500 and 4400 rpm
0-100 km/h: 7.2 seconds
Top speed: 216 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 8.6 l/100 km
Tank: 55 litres
Luggage: 392 – 1237 litres
Standard tyres: 225/40R19 Bridgestone Potenza
Spare: Spacesaver
Ground clearance: 158 mm
Turning circle: 11.1 metres
Towing capacity, unbraked / braked: 740 / 1700 kg
Warranty: Three years, 120 000 km
Service plan: Five years, 90 000 km at 15 000 km intervals

What to look for: Facelift, new features, same three-model lineup.

Volkswagen’s T-Roc received a facelift in November 2021 and the new cars went on sale here in July 2022.

Most visible on the outside are new: headlights with C-shaped DRLs, grille with chromed bar across the centre, lower air intakes and bumper. The back end came in for remodelling too, with new lights and tail pipes.

All models gained USB type-C sockets, two each front and rear; mobile phone interface but not a charging pad (it’s optional); keyless entry and starting; LED headlights and DRLs; automatic headlamp control with cornering function and high beam assist. The R-Line two-litre car added Digital Cockpit Pro (a customisable high-resolution display), IQ Drive package (Autonomous Emergency Braking, Front Assist with stop and go, side assist, Adaptive Cruise Control and speed limiter), park assist (camera is extra), Nappa leather, powered driver’s seat with warming, ventilation and lumbar support, stainless steel pedals and R-Line bumpers. A small trade-off is that the seat powering mechanism meant that the under-chair storage tray had to go.

Engines, gearboxes and measurements remain as before although back seat legroom appears to have shrunk. I was quite comfortable back there, in the previous car, but felt cramped this time.

And while I’m whining, VW-Audi’s latest version of its music box won’t allow me to play my flash drive tunes in random disorder. That’s despite trying every setting imaginable on three different Audi-VW products driven recently. I succeeded once, accidentally, but it defaulted back to (ab)normal at the following restart.

Apart from that, the seven-speed DSG on our R-Line test car behaved extremely well. As always. The 4Motion awd system was fun, too. Although it offers, among numerous choices, a couple of off-road settings, it isn’t up to serious bundu-bashing because its modest ground clearance of 158 mm precludes such foolishness. The fun part comes in The Traction. Pushing the envelope through twisty bends engages awd automatically, and one can almost ‘feel’ all four wheels digging in to keep the plot stable.

Luggage compartment:  Loads at 73 cm onto a flat deck that’s 74 cm long and a metre wide, extending, when the 40:60-split seatbacks are folded down, to just over 1.4 metres. The wider part of the seatback has a ski-slot to accommodate long, narrow, loads. Like skis. Fixtures and fittings include a light and four lashing rings and there’s some secret stash space around the Spacesaver spare under the baseboard.

Cockpit: Apart from the powered driving seat and USBs mentioned earlier, one finds a small armrest box, electric parking brake, auto hold, driving mode selector, optional charging pad (R4 800), medium sized cubby and door bins and illuminated visor mirrors. Thankfully the optional (R15 500) pano-roof boasts logical controls; unlike some I have met recently.

Biased opinion: Lovely car. Just wish I could play my music in it.

Test unit from VWSA press fleet

We drove the previous model in 2021



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is thoroughly researched, given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.