Just as the world was expecting, Volkswagen has gone ahead and unveiled the much rumoured T-Roc R, an all-wheel drive 224kW hot crossover with more than a few mechanical cues taken from the Golf R.
The deep blue examples seen here in these initial pictures are consistent with Volkswagen’s performance R line of vehicles, and the T-Roc’s inherently square aesthetic does blur the line somewhat between its high-riding urban traverser roots and its hot hatch aspirations.
The most overt characteristic about the T-Roc R is, curiously, its Akrapovic exhausts. They are large, loud, and branch out to quad exits for a soundtrack that’s definitely not one you’d expect of a German crossover, albeit one styled this aggressively.
Of course, under the Volkswagen Group umbrella, it merely joins an existing portfolio of fast and dynamically endowed crossovers such as the SEAT Ateca Cupra and Audi SQ2, but might cause some level of confusion seeing as how it broadens the range of R badged Volkswagens, diluting its prestige.
Might we soon see a Volkswagen Polo R, a Tiguan R, or a Jetta R? After all, there was already a Touareg R and its bonkers V10 turbodiesel. The arguments for either are just as sound as the T-Roc’s was, and never fully off the table. However, the primary impetus for VW to move on this particular model was that it was quickly becoming a worldwide strong seller and projected to achieve higher sales than even the Golf.
The lowered suspension and requisite body kit are straight from the company’s R-Line trim level, but the T-Roc R takes that further with a full 20mm reduction in ride height, 18-inch gloss black alloys (19-inchers are optional, pictured), adaptive dampers, and even Launch Control.
That 0-100km/h sprint takes just 4.9 seconds thanks to the 4Motion all-wheel drive system and the accomplished EA888 turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder TSI petrol under its bonnet delivering 224kW and 380Nm at their respective peaks. Top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h.
Oddly, Volkswagen hasn’t been as ambitious with the T-Roc R’s interior, at least in this pre-production spec. There are small sporty touches such as the aluminium pedal array and flat-bottom steering wheel, but there rest of the cabin is pretty much standard fare VW.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but isn’t quite congruent with the butch exterior. That said, while the front seats are deeper set and contoured to hold the occupant in place as well as accented with a suede Alcantara-like material, the majority of the upholstered surface is fabric. The Golf GTI is no stranger to that kind of juxtaposition, but we’re accustomed to the R receiving more premium trimmings as standard.
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