Masquerading as the T-Roc with the same headlights, which will be more squared in production guise, light film coverings over the taillights and bumper, as well as black tape running the length of the bootlid to hide the connecting LED light strip, the T-Cross will ride on the same MQB A0 platform as the Polo and serve as Volkswagen’s smallest SUV with an overall length of 4 701mm and height of 1 558mm.
What will essentially be Volkswagen’s version of the Seat Arona, the T-Cross will also be more practical than the Polo, and according to the Wolfsburg giant, offer “unrivalled flexibility” with notable tech set to include the Active Info Display instrument cluster, eight-inch infotainment system, up to four USB ports and an assortment of driver assistance tech such as a Blind Spot Monitor, Lane Keep Assist, Autonomous Emergency Braking and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.
As previewed last month in UK spec, the T-Cross will go on sale in that market with a choice of four trim levels; S, SE, SEL and R-Line, powered by the familiar 1.0 TSI in two states of tune, 70kW/160Nm or 85kW/200Nm, the 1.6 TDI outputting 70kW/250Nm and later on, the 1.5 TSI Evo that makes 110kW/250Nm.
In order to save costs, the T-Cross will be front-wheel drive only and offer the choice of a five-speed manual gearbox on the 70kW TSI, a six-speed manual on the 85kW and diesel as well as a seven-speed DSG, which will be the sole option on the 1.5 TSI.
Still to be confirmed though is the rumoured GTI which will come with the same 147kW/320Nm 2.0 TSI as the Polo GTI, despite this being denied by Volkswagen CEO Herbet Diess last year.
Sales of the T-Cross in Europe will kick-off shortly after its reveal, with local availability commencing next year.
