We get behind the wheel of the updated VW T-Cross
The update comes none too soon with VW and other legacy brands having to fight off a growing number of keenly priced rivals from China and India getting more sophisticated with more features.
Late last year, Volkswagen SA launched the latest T-Cross in upper-grade Life, Style and R-Line guises priced between R471,400 and R543,800. Earlier this year, it followed up with more affordable Base versions priced at R399,900 and R418,200. All variants are imported and sold with a three-year/120,000km warranty and three-year/45,000km service plan.
Volkswagen has given the new T-Cross more styling swagger, with restyled front and rear bumpers, revised light clusters and a new radiator grille. Three bold new exterior colours are available: Grape Yellow, Clear Blue Metallic and Kings Red Metallic.
Standard assistance systems consist of adaptive cruise control with stop/go functionality, cornering assist, lane assist, emergency assist and pedestrian monitoring.
All T-Cross models are powered by a 1.0 l three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. The Base version has outputs of 70kW and 175Nm and a five-speed manual transmission, with all other versions getting the more powerful 85kW/200Nm unit paired with a seven-speed DSG gearbox.
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