Volkswagen bets on T-Roc for compact SUV market

By Kim Bo-eun

Volkswagen Korea is betting big on its newest urban compact SUV model, T-Roc, unveiled last month.

The crossover SUV targeting the millennial generation was launched here for 12 million won below the model's price in Germany. Volkswagen is also running an event where customers can purchase the vehicle for less than 200,000 won in monthly payments for 36 months.

The new T-Roc features a sporty and sleek exterior as well as impressive performance.

The T-Roc has a shorter overall length (4,235 millimeters), wheelbase (2,605 millimeters), full width (1,820 millimeters) and overall height (1,575 millimeters) than the Tiguan model.

Despite being a compact SUV, the T-Roc has a spacious interior with sufficient headroom and legroom in the back seats. Passengers can enjoy 1,290 liters of loading space when folding down the back seats. The vehicle enables 445 liters of loading space when keeping the back seats in position, which is the largest among similar five-passenger models.

The SUV can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 8.8 seconds. Combined fuel efficiency is 15.1 kilometers per liter (13.8 kilometers per liter in the city and 17 kilometers per liter on highways).

The T-Roc also boasts digital connectivity by incorporating the latest MIB3 infotainment system, which provides navigation and multimedia services. It also offers wireless charging for mobile phones.

The infotainment system Discover Media is equipped with an 8-inch TFT touchscreen color display, gesture control and voice recognition.

T-Roc offers improved convenience by applying wireless mobile phone app connectivity to the infotainment system.

Sales of the T-Roc have exceeded 500,000, globally.