Volkswagen T-Cross Review 2026

Given the breadth of Volkswagen’s range, the T-Cross was a late arrival into the small SUV sector in 2018. Up against the likes of the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur, the T-Cross mixes style with practicality in a package based on the Polo’s mechanical bits. Running costs are easy on the bank balance and the T-Cross can save you further by acting as a family’s sole transport, which not many compact crossovers could claim to manage.

The T-Cross is Volkswagen's answer to the likes of the Nissan Juke and Peugeot 2008: a small SUV that's designed to be practical, good to drive and have a dash of style, too. 

Of course, there's certainly no shortage of small crossovers on the market, but the VW T-Cross makes a strong case for itself as one of the best around, with a practical interior, excellent refinement and a great 1.0-litre engine. It's even fairly reasonably priced compared with  the competition.

Think of the VW T-Cross as a crossover version of the Polo and you get the right idea of its size. Its compact dimensions (it measures 4235mm long and 1782mm wide) disguise a surprisingly spacious interior, though. While its small size makes it great in supermarket car parks, it's big enough inside to make this a viable family car, with space for kids in the back and a decent sized boot, too.

While the interior is solid and well built, but in early examples, there was quite a lot of hard plastic, which was rather disappointing given VW's 'premium' image. Things improved with a facelift if 2024, which brought new cabin materials and a redesigned dashboard, along with enhanced kit levels and new tech.

Whatever the age of your T-Cross, driving it will be a pleasurable experience. The light controls and comfortable ride make it an easy-going car to pootle around in, while it also feels assured and settled on longer motorway jaunts. The handling is tidy and secure and the engine range is excellent.

The 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol is the pick, with outputs of 95PS, 110PS or 115PS. The latter two give the best balance of abilities, with a surprising turn of pace, decent refinement and good economy. The 1.5 turbo is gutsier but more expensive. A 1.6 diesel was offered for a wee while, but it was a bit noisy and unrefined, so we'd stick with a petrol engine unless you do mega-miles on the motorway.

All in all, the T-Cross ticks a lot of boxes for buyers who want a vehicle that is comfortable, practical and enjoyable to drive, but still compact in size. It makes an ideal family motor and is cheap to run, too. We think one of it's the best small crossovers on the market right now.  

The T-Cross feels very assured and stable at motorway speeds, happily keeping up with fast flowing traffic. Here it's very quiet and relaxed, helping to give you the feeling that it’s a compact crossover capable of being used as your only family car, and that you can use on longer trips without it leaving you feeling worn out.

Pretty much whatever kind of road you're on, the T-Cross is one of the most comfortable cars in its class, with a smooth, absorbent ride and good body control. Early R-Line cars, with their larger 18-inch alloy wheels, are a little less comfortable than all the other versions, which have smaller rims. We'd give these a miss as a result, but if you have your heart set on one, it's still a fairly comfy car.

The car's handling is also pretty adept, with plenty of grip and cornering that is tidy and precise. It's not the thrill-ride that a Ford Puma is, but it's still very capable. The steering has a satisfying weight to it, and the brakes work reassuringly well, with a firm, measured pedal action.

The mainstay of the T-Cross' engine range is Volkswagen's 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine. The entry-level version has 95PS and a five-speed manual gearbox. In truth, it feels livelier than you might think, with an eager pickup and decent high-speed staying power. If your budget is limited, it's a very sound option.

There's another version of this engine, though, which we feel is the pick of the range. Over the time that the car has been on sale, it's been offered with either 110PS or 115PS to comply with changing emissions laws (it's gone back and forth between the two), but either way, it offers a good slice of extra pep and flexibility over the entry-level engine. It's offered with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Both are fab, so which you choose will come down to personal preference.

The range-topping engine is a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol delivering 150PS, offered exclusively with the dual-clutch automatic transmission. It does indeed add some extra muscularity over the more powerful of the 1.0-litre units, and a shade more refinement, so it's a fine choice if your budget allows, but we reckon the more modest engine choice will suffice for most buyers.

Earlier on in the car's life, it was offered with a 1.6-litre diesel with 115PS, but it wasn't on offer for all that long before being discontinued. Fuel economy is excellent on paper, and if you do massive motorway miles, then it might be worth looking out for on the used market. If your mileages are more measured, though, settle for one of the petrols. The diesel is noisy and lethargic-feeling in everyday use.

In Euro NCAP crash tests, the Volkswagen T-Cross scored a 97 per cent result for adult occupancy safety and a very fine 86 per cent for child passenger safety. This contributed to an overall five-star rating.

All T-Cross models have twin front-, side- and curtain airbags, as well as a front passenger airbag cut-off switch to allow a rear-facing child seat to be placed here. This can be attached with an Isofix mount and there are a further two Isofix points on the outer rear seats.

Autonomous emergency braking wards off potential collisions, along with Lane Assist. There is also an e-call system to contact the emergency services in the event of a collision.

During the 2024 facelift, the standard safety roster was upgraded to include a driver attention and drowsiness monitor, dynamic road sign display, and adaptive cruise control across the board.

If you're looking to tow with your VW T-Cross, then you can expect to pull a braked trailer of up to 1000kg if you choose the entry-level 95PS version of the 1.0-litre petrol. That increases to 1100kg for the 110PS/115PS versions, regardless of your gearbox choice. The 1.5 petrol will pull up to 1200kg, meanwhile. We've looked high and low for a figure on the now-defunct 1.6 diesel, but we regret to report that we've so far been unsuccessful.

The Volkswagen T-Cross makes a fair stab at giving you the sense of being in an SUV thanks to its lofty driving position. It’s a little more elevated than a Nissan Juke, helped by the more upright seating position in the VW. This means you sit with your hips and knees more at right-angles, which is good for comfort and helps create more legroom for those in the back. There is height adjustment for the driver’s seat, and the steering wheel moves for angle and depth, so finding the ideal seating position is easy. There’s also lumbar support on all T-Cross models to further add to its comfort quotient.

The big news in the rear seats is that the seats themselves can slide backwards and forwards by 14cm so that you can use the space available either for rear legroom or extra boot space. Rear legroom is fine with them all the way back, and headroom is good, too, but slide the chairs all the way forward, and kneeroom becomes uncomfortably tight.

Depending on where you set the rear seats on their runners, the T-Cross gives you boot space of between 385 litres and 455 litres. Fold the 60/40 split rear bench down and it frees up a maximum of 1281 litres of capacity. The boot floor lies flush with the opening to make loading easier.

It's fair to say that early examples of the VW T-Cross didn't live up to Volkswagen's reputation for plush interior quality. The plastics on show in too may areas were of the hard and grainy variety, meaning little to get excited about for either the eyes or the fingertips. Everything looked and felt solid and sturdy, just not as posh as you expect from a VW.

VW addressed this with the 2024 facelift, whereupon plusher interior materials were introduced in a variety of areas. It really worked, too, as the cabin felt transformed, and classy enough to be worthy of the Volkswagen badge.

The changes weren't all positive, though. The facelift also replaced the physical buttons and dials for controlling the car's air-con system with a touch-sensitive panel with sliders and icons. These are more difficult and less precise to use, making them more distracting when you're on the move. Still, at least it's better than incorporating the ventilation controls within the touchscreen as many carmakers - Volkswagen included - do these days.

With early examples of the T-Cross, an 8.0-inch colour touchscreen was standard in all models. There was a twin USB connector for your smart devices, plus Bluetooth and DAB radio. Every model also had Volkswagen Connect to access smartphone apps via the car’s screen.

With all but the base S model, you also got Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, enabling you to use your phone's sat-nav and music. The SEL and R-Line trims came with satellite navigation included. You could also pay extra for an upgraded stereo with a Beats Soundpack. 

As of the 2024 facelift, the infotainment spec was upgraded. Entry-level Life versions got six-speaker audio and 8.0-inch infotainment screen, DAB radio, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, two USB-C ports in the front, and two USB-C ports in the rear. Style trim added navigation, while R-Line  trim got a larger 10.25-inch infotainment screen.

The software run by the T-Cross' infotainment system isn't Volkswagen's latest, but that's actually a good thing because it means that it's less complicated and distracting to use, with logical menus and clear graphic design.

The VW T-Cross costs a shade more than some other small SUV models, but not by a ludicrous amount. Prices currently start at around £26,000 for an entry-level 95PS model in Life trim, and rise to more like £34,000 for the R-Line car with the 150PS 1.5-litre engine.

As ever, though, the used car market holds the key to some very tempting savings, and the T-Cross has been around long enough now that some of those savings are absolute whoppers. Early entry-level cars from 2020 or thereabouts. can be had for around £10,000 with around 60,000 miles on the clock.

However, you don't have to spend a whole lot more to get a far more desirable spec. A car of the same kind of mileage and vintage, but this time with the 115PS engine and in SEL spec, can be had for around £11,500.

Obviously, you'll have to pay a slice more for a car from after the 2024 facelift because it'll be that much newer, but it might be worth stretching yourself if you can afford to because some big improvements were made and quite a bit of standard kit and tech was added. Entry-level examples can be had for around £17,000, but around £18,000 should get you a version with the more powerful 1.0-litre engine.

If fuel economy is your priority here, then there really isn't much to pick between any of the petrol engines. Both the 1.0-litre units have official WLTP returns of around 50mpg, the 95PS unit sitting marginally above that threshold, and the 115PS equivalent sitting marginally below. Even the 1.5 isn't too far behind on around 48mpg, though.

The now-defunct diesel did the best of the bunch during its short time on sale, with an official figure of around 55mpg. It might be worth seeking one of these out on the used market if you're a super-high-mileage driver, because long motorway runs are where diesels do their best work. If your mileage is at a more conventional level, though, we'd urge you to stick with one of the petrols, which are almost as frugal day-to-day, and nicer to live with.

Insurance groupings for the car sit at between 8 and 20 depending on your choice of engine and trim level. This means premiums should be reasonably affordable, but young or inexperienced drivers will definitely want to the stick to the most humble versions with the lowest power outputs in order to keep costs halfway reasonable.

VED road tax will be charged at the flat rate of £195 per year, and the T-Cross' pricing is low enough that no version should be liable for the expensive luxury car surcharge.

When the T-Cross initially went on sale, it was offered solely in an high-value high-spec First Edition spec. This was reserved for the first 250 UK examples sold, so you'll do well to find one on the used car market.

It wasn't long until the trim structure changed to S, SE, SEL and R-Line. The entry-level Volkswagen T-Cross S came with:

• 16-inch alloy wheels
• electrically adjusted and heated door mirrors
• LED rear lights
• automatic headlights
• sliding rear bench seat
• air conditioning
• electric windows all-round
• 8.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with Bluetooth and DAB

The Volkswagen T-Cross SE gained:

• 17-inch alloys
• black-painted roof rails
• front foglights with cornering function
• leather-bound steering wheel with remote controls for the stereo and infotainment
• adaptive cruise control
• driver fatigue warning
• Car-Net App-Connect

In addition to this, the Volkswagen T-Cross SEL had:

• rear privacy glass
• silver roof rails
• front- and rear parking sensors
• LED front lights
• front sports seats
• climate control
• Discover Navigation

The Volkswagen T-Cross R-Line featured:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• unique body styling pack
• R-Line badges
• black headlining
• aluminium pedals
• Carbon Flag seat cloth
• 10.25-inch Active Info screen

Special editions offered by VW across this period of time included United, Active, Black Edition, and Match. The latter two of these come and go fairly regularly within Volkswagen's various model lines.

Since the car's facelift in mid-2024, the main trim levels have been Life, Style and R-Line (with Match and Black Edition specials having been thrown in sporadically, of course), and equipment levels have been enhanced throughout the range.

These days, the Volkswagen T-Cross Life comes with:

• 16-inch alloy wheels
• remote central locking
• heated door mirrors with power folding and adjustment
• front seat manual height adjustment
• height- and reach adjustable steering wheel
• manual air-conditioning
• split folding rear seats
• automatic LED headlights with high beam assist
• rain-sensing wipers
• front- and rear parking sensors
• adaptive cruise control
• electric front-and rear windows
• leather steering wheel and gearshifter
• ambient lighting
• 8.0-inch digital cockpit display screen
• DAB radio with six-speaker audio
• wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• two USB-C ports in the front
• two USB-C ports in the rear

To that little lot, the Volkswagen T-Cross Style adds:

• 17-inch alloy wheels
• LED matrix headlights with cornering function
• LED rear lights with dynamic turn signal
• dual-zone climate control
• navigation
• silver roof rails
• privacy glass
• sports front seats

The Volkswagen T-Cross R-Line does away with the Style's swanky exterior lighting, but replaces it with:

• 17-inch black alloy wheels
• heated sports front seats
• chrome styling elements
• privacy glass
• 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit Pro