SUV convertibles have been basically not very successful. Range Rover Evoque Convertible? Nice, but not a hit. Nissan Murano CrossCover? Let’s not talk about it. And now comes VW and cuts the compact SUV T-Roc! At the IAA in September, the test of courage celebrates its premiere at the IAA.
The Wolfsburg even strive for the tradition of the Beetle Convertible, the Golf Convertible anyway: “In the tradition of Beetle and Golf also has the T-Roc Cabriolet on a classic fabric hood,” it says in the press release. However, the roof here is electrically operated as standard, in just nine seconds, the crossover is at the top without. Or drive, because the mechanism works up to 30 km / h, when opening as well as when closing. The soft top unlocks and locks electromechanically.
With an outside length of 4.27 meters, the two-door is about four inches longer than the closed version with four doors, making them optically stretched and thus harmonious. Also, the wheelbase increases by the same value, which is necessary in this case, to accommodate the technology – the legroom in the rear falls in any case rather scarce. The trunk holds 284 liters.
Safety is provided by a rollover protection which can be extended behind the rear seats and which, if necessary, speeds up in the area of the rear headrests within fractions of a second. In addition, the T-Roc Cabriolet is equipped with a reinforced windscreen frame and other structural modifications.
“Always on” and “Digital Cockpit”
With the optionally available infotainment systems of the next generation (MIB3) the Cabriolet is permanently online bringing new functions and services on board. The new system has an online connectivity unit including integrated eSIM. This means that the Cabriolet can be permanently online as soon as the driver has registered for it in the Volkswagen system. The information is displayed on the up to eight-inch screen of the infotainment system. In conjunction with the optionally available Active Info Display with 11.7-inch screen, a completely digital cockpit landscape emerges, the so-called “Digital Cockpit”.
In addition to “Style” the equipment line “R-Line” is offered, which is not only visually sporty, but also has a suitably tuned suspension and a progressive steering with speed-dependent steering control.
Two petrol engines are available for the front-wheel drive: a 115-hp 1.0-liter three-cylinder with manual six-speed gearbox and a 1.5-liter four-cylinder with 150 hp, which can also be equipped with seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
It remains exciting, whether Volkswagen will provide the much more emotional T-Roc Cabriolet in the future also the 300 hp top engine available – the four-door version with this engine is finally in the starting blocks.