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By Jonathan Crouch

Volkswagen's trendy T-Roc compact SUV gently evolves in second generation form. Jonathan Crouch checks it out.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 47

Volkswagen's second-generation T-Roc compact SUV is a clear evolution of the style-led original - and there's more to it than first meets the eye. Its larger size and better quality feel distance it from its predecessor. And there's now the significant option of a full-Hybrid engine too.

Backgroundword count: 175

Once the defining face of small Volkswagen SUVs, where does the T-Roc fit into the Wolfsburg brand's plans today? The original version - basically an SUV Golf - was launched back in 2017 as Volkswagen's entry-level crossover, a position since supplanted by smaller Polo-based T-Cross and Taigo models. And it sold steadily for eight years, with a subtle mid-term 2022 facelift along the way, by which time both Convertible and hot hatch R models had been added to the range. By Autumn 2025 with over 2 million sales on the board, the second-generation design we look at here was long overdue. It's once more Golf-based, which means there's no EV version. But this MK2 T-Roc will have something arguably more significant for Volkswagen right now - the option of the brand's very first full-Hybrid engine. Perhaps just as significant is the fact that this second-generation T-Roc will be the very final combustion car that Volkswagen launches in its long history - or at least that was the plan at launch. Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 214

There isn't an EV-powered T-Roc - and with the extent of Volkswagen's ID electric range, there doesn't need to be. What's perhaps more surprising given the Golf underpinnings is that there's still no Plug-in Hybrid version - though Wolfsburg says it could easily add such a derivative if need be. From launch, the range will be based around Volkswagen's usual 1.5 eTSI mild hybrid four cylinder turbo petrol engine in 113bhp 148bhp forms. But the powerplant line-up will quickly be joined by something quite revolutionary for the VW Group, a full-Hybrid engine. The conglomerate has always previously stuck with either mild hybrids or PHEVs. The Hybrid unit will also be based around a 1.5-litre four cylinder configuration, but will mate it to a 'Hybrid module' intended to enable pure-electric driving for short distances in urban traffic, thanks to a separate electric motor. Unlike with rival Toyota and Lexus Hybrids, there's no specific EV mode. The set-up is purely front-driven by a seven-speed DSG auto gearbox and comes with a choice of two outputs - 134bhp and 167bhp. Also to be added to the T-Roc range after launch is a 2.0-litre mild hybrid powertrain with 4MOTION AWD. And eventually, there'll be a top T-Roc R performance model with AWD and an uprated track-tuned 2.0-litre turbo.

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