VW T-Cross continues to cross the T’s and dot I’s for young and old

According to my kids, the VW T-Cross is the car Volkswagen Polo drivers buy when they finally leave home and feel like they are almost middle-aged old people (in their late 20s). Because they must now pay for their own wi-fi and food.

The Citizen Motoring wasn’t convinced they had this right. We thought the VW T-Cross compact SUV appeals more to those who have been paying for everybody’s wi-fi and food. And now I want to downsize, but I still drive a car that looks good and is young at heart.

The irony is that, as soon as a VW T-Cross arrived on our driveway, it was claimed by the very people who think wi-fi is something that mother nature supplies for free, and the fridge has this magic button that keeps filling it up.

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VW T-Cross looks the part

To be fair, I get why they wanted the car. It looked the part, thanks to the optional, R-Line Exterior package, fitted with 17-inch Manila alloy wheels.

The part that probably was not that important to them as it was to me, as I pay for the petrol, was that our VW T-Cross came with a 1.0-litre engine, which makes a peppy 70kW of power and 175Nm of torque. This meant it only sipped fuel at a rate of six litres per 100km, conservatively driven.

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They couldn’t live without the composition media with the inductive mobile charging option, for obvious reasons. And I thought the active info display was cool.

I really liked the convenience offered by the park assist, rear-view camera, powerfold mirrors, adaptive cruise control, and autonomous emergency braking front assist options. It made an old man’s life that much easier in daily traffic.

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Quality at a premium

But such comfort and convenience come at a price. Our VW T-Cross 1.0TSI Comfortline comes in at a base price of R399 000. And the options add a further R60 000 to the retail offering.

However, it carries the aura of German engineering and quality cheaper Chinese and Indian offerings can’t match. And for that reason alone, it remains one of South Africa’s most popular compact SUVs.