By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(August 27, 2017) Volkswagen premiered its new T-Roc small SUV in Italy this past week. The diminutive SUV is based on the same MQB structure as the Golf and Atlas yet, interestingly for a company that just launched the Atlas and a new Tiguan in the U.S., there are no plans to sell the T-Roc in the U.S., despite the rapid growth of the compact SUV market.

To put the T-Roc in perspective, it is 166.7 inches long, 71.6 inches wide, 62 inches tall, and sits on the same 102.5-inch wheelbase as the Tiguan. However the T-Roc sits significantly lower, has a lower overall height, and is nearly half an inch wider, despite having slightly narrower front and rear tracks. It is closest in size to the Golf, being nearly an inch shorter and wider, nearly five inches taller, and sitting on a 1.2 inch shorter wheelbase.

The T-Roc will be available with front- or all-wheel drive, the former with a torsion beam rear suspension, and the latter with a multi-liml independent design to go with the front MacPherson struts. Adaptive dampers are available as an option with the all-wheel drive suspension.

This is the first VW SUV offered with a contrasting roof color that is separated from the body color by metallic trim that stretches from the A-pillar to the C-pillar. There will be three trim levels from launch: Standard, Style an Sport. Only the Standard will be offered without the option of a contrasting roof color.

A six-speed manual gearbox and front-drive is standard in most trim levels. 4Motion all-wheel drive models powered by the 2.0-liter (gas or diesel) turbo motors are fitted with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, which also is available if ordering this drive layout with the 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine.

The Virtual Driver