The new Volkswagen T-Cross will take on the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur in the compact crossover market – and Volkswagen says it will be a “truly credible” SUV.
The T-Cross sits beneath the Volkswagen T-Roc, Volkswagen Tiguan, Tiguan Allspace and Volkswagen Touareg in the firm’s range of SUVs.
It finally gives VW a model in the burgeoning supermini-sized-crossover market, a year after its Spanish sister brand launched the Seat Arona.
Project manager Felix Kaschützke admitted VW was late to the segment but said that was “something we have done before”. He added: “Usually we are not the first in a segment but, when we come, we are the best.
"When customers hear there is a new small SUV from Volkswagen, they know we’ll get it right. We’ve put everything in this car that customers might expect.”
The T-Cross is based on the VW Group’s MQB A0 supermini platform, and shares many mechanical underpinnings with the Polo, which it will be built alongside at the firm’s Pamplona factory.
But while it shares a number of mechanical elements – including powertrains – with the supermini, the T-Cross has distinctive SUV styling. Kaschützke says that was a result of a focus on versatility to serve the target audience of small families.
“We needed to differentiate it [from the Volkswagen Polo] so customers could see the added benefits,” he said. “It can’t just be a reworked Polo: it has to be a truly credible car. People aren’t going to buy this car because it’s an SUV but because of the versatility it gives them: a higher driving viewpoint and extra space.”
