After the facelift, the Volkswagen T-Roc R got better, because it has different sides, and worse, because they changed its air conditioning panel. I still prefer it to the Volkswagen Golf R.
Some people giggle when they see this sports car concept. The Volkswagen T-Roc is a compact SUV, which means it’s a raised hatchback because people want SUVs. People also want fast cars, so the T-Roc was created in the R version. Only that the Volkswagen T-Roc R could not be too high to represent it in the corners, so it was lowered. So a fast, raised, lowered car came out.
Some people don’t like it, but the idea only makes you giggle on paper, it’s not funny in real life. I drove the facelift version and I know that I prefer it to the Volkswagen Golf R, even though the Golf R has the status of a symbol or a legend. I don’t know exactly what fans of a brand like to believe because they feel the need to have a unique product.
Volkswagen T-Roc R facelift
I also think that the Volkswagen T-Roc R would be great without a facelift, but no great harm was done to it. I have a slightly medium attitude towards facelifts. I believe that in most cases you can do the opposite, i.e. offer the facelifted version as the one before it, and the earlier one as the second or third. Customers would still be satisfied, because a facelift is often based on the principle that movement is the cause of all life, not a real improvement. Actually, read about the Volkswagen T-Roc facelift here, about whether the door panels are still plastic. I’ll tell you whether it’s good to sit in it, whether a lowered high car is a freak, or a man’s reason and dignity.
How is it to sit in the Volkswagen T-Roc R, is it sporty?
After all, it is an SUV or a crossover, such a question is fully justified. Maybe these two worlds don’t stick together? They stick, and very well. You get a fast car that you don’t have to get into on your knees. It is not without reason that T-Roc is on the rise, and Golf has recently caught up with the tide.
The interior of the car will appeal to lovers of small windows, the front one is really not high and you sit very close to it. The dashboard is even narrower than the windshield. It’s like in the announcement of the sale of a small apartment, intimate.
The seats will certainly not tire anyone on the further route. It’s basically a more important parameter now than lateral support, but yes, we won’t fall out of the seat in a corner. Of course, there are paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. Sport mode, which will speed up the gearbox change, can be entered by moving the lever to change driving directions. I appreciate that it has a solid physical form and has not been replaced with a switch that we know from other cars of the concern.
Is the Volkswagen T-Roc R better than the Golf R?
There are few reasons why I would choose the Golf R over the T-Roc R. One of them could be driving on the track. There, the hatchback could actually show some advantage over a car with a raised body, which was then lowered to make it sportier. And since driving on the track is a myth and a niche smaller than the ground clearance of a sports SUV, I do not choose it. To take off from under the lights and enjoy a louder exhaust, all you need is a Volkswagen T-Roc R.
Exhale, that’s right. I would give myself half the door bacon cut off, or even the whole one, that this copy of the T-Roc R did not want to shoot from the exhaust or did it too timidly and lazily. I don’t believe that such an important feature was removed during the facelift. I believe the lack of an R-Performance exhaust from Akrapovic was to blame. Adaptive suspension can be let go, but the possibility of shooting from the exhaust must be.
I also have a crown argument
There is one thing for which I value the Volkswagen T-Roc R more than a hatchback with the same letter at the end. It’s the work of the gearbox, specifically how it handles the individual programs. The driving profiles are even called differently in these cars, in the Golf R lowest there was Comfort, and in the T-Roc, as if it didn’t sound like it, Eco is the lowest.
Both vehicles are equipped with a 7-speed DSG gearbox, but the T-Roc is somehow configured better. In the Volkswagen Golf R, driving pleasure is mainly in Race mode, the rest showed great reluctance to change gears. In the Volkswagen T-Roc R this reluctance is much less.
You can also choose different driving modes. In principle, it should be only R mode and non-R mode to choose from. Meanwhile, we can also choose to move in Off-Road mode and Expert, which can be a surprise in a sports, lowered car. This may be the least used piece of the knob in the world, if there are any professions among the knobs.
It was also possible to pamper the owners a little more, who launch the Race mode on Sunday and on holidays. It could use a stronger hit on the screen in front of the driver’s eyes. Meanwhile, we see there only a small flag, which quite modestly suggests that we are taking part in an unspecified race.
What has changed after the facelift?
Probably those interested in buying a Volkswagen T-Roc counted on changes in the interior. Before the facelift it was a bit, in some parts, poor. They lived to see changes, but not necessarily where they wanted them most. The air conditioning control panel was changed, from physical to touch, and this was the asset of the T-Roc R and without R.
However, there is good news, the new version of the panel is not the one that enjoys moderate recognition. A panel known, for example, from the Volkswagen Polo was used here and there are no problems with operation, although the knobs are a bit of a pity. Note carefully, the Volkswagen Golf R has this more problematic panel. Can you see that everywhere you look, the T-Roc R wins?
Volkswagen T-Roc R wins. He wins, right?
Of course, you can make a final argument here, in the form of horsepower. Volkswagen Golf R has 320 of them, and T-Roc R Just 300. This translates into a minimum difference in acceleration to a hundred, respectively 4.7 and 4.9 seconds. The maximum speed is the same, i.e. 250 km / h. I wonder if anyone actually drove that much in the T-Roc R?
If anyone is interested in how much Volkswagen T-Roc R smokes after the facelift, it’s the same as before. Driving with the cruise control on and the speed limit on the expressway, you can go below 9 liters. 10 liters and more can also be burned, both in the city and on the road, just do not try. It does not differ much from the consumption in the Volkswagen Golf R, it is more dependent on the driver’s leg.
Volkswagen T-Roc R – price?
The Volkswagen T-Roc R costs a minimum of PLN 210,990, which makes it PLN 10,000 cheaper. PLN from the Golf R. How it happened, I do not know, but I gained another argument for the T-Roc R. Apparently, these additional 20 KM cost so much and these 0.2 seconds of acceleration to a hundred. Okay, I admit, the Golf R has a drift mode and it’s nicer inside. There is nothing to refer to the price of the basic T-Roc R, because it is cheaper by almost 100,000. zloty.
With other competitors, this is a bit of a problem, because 300 hp of power in a compact car is not so often found without looking at premium brands. Although the Audi A3 with a slightly more powerful engine costs similarly, but has the disadvantage of not being raised. We can get the Audi Q3 even cheaper, but with less power, or we have to throw ourselves at the much more expensive 400 hp. In BMW, you have to take the X2 M35i, much more expensive, unfortunately. The non-premium Hyundai Kona will offer us 280 hp for a lower price, but where is the drive to the second axle? No, so it’s not the same. We can still look for power in plug-in hybrids, because manufacturers like to equip them with excess power, but this is completely different than two liters of exhaust gas. I no longer see a similar power in Seat Ateca, such attractions were moved to Cupra, giving a higher price by the way.
I certainly haven’t convinced anyone, but that doesn’t bother me at all. I felt better in the Volkswagen T-Roc R than in the Golf R. The rest is irrelevant.
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