Post by Big Blue on Mar 11, 2023 23:41:54 GMT
So as mentioned I recently had a T-Cross as a rental car. What can I say about it that Chris doesn’t know? Not much I expect but here goes nothing.
First impression was very well put together but not sure what else to expect in a modern VW. It was also very familiar very quickly which was nice. Cruising on the A8 it had the same issue I had with the Škoda we had at Christmas. It had all manner of self-driving stuff that I couldn’t turn off. At various points I had some bits off and others on then different bits on and off but without going through the instructions I couldn’t figure out how to stop it grabbing the steering out of my hands all the time. The other tech annoyance was the engine off button. For some reason it kept initiating a restart when I wanted to get out. User error but annoying all the same.
I guess it had the three pot petrol turbo and power was no issue for a car of this type. The gearbox was also well matched to it which helped. It was also fully loaded with kit: radar cruise, heated seats, Nav, CarPlay: in fact everything that makes one wonder what does the luxury sector need to offer to set its tech apart from ordinary cars? Better seats, more sound deadening, better materials and….. that’s it. That these can be easily attained it can’t be long before manufacturers stop the pretence of forcing down the quality of middling cars and just load them up.
Space-wise I was amazed. I could easily sit behind myself in comfort and once I’d moved the boot floor down it was big enough for family-sized luggage. Pointless as I was alone with hand luggage only. Chris would be pleased to see there is space for a spare wheel, even though it was absent.
So, some pictures of the very comfortable and spacious interior. It is a decent place for a family to travel any distance in. In fact, like the level of kit, it makes one query the relevance of the bigger, posher and more expensive VW SUVs.
So aside from the annoying driver “aids” what was it like to drive? Well on the Autoroute it was safe, swift and stable. On the D roads it was secure and rode well. All very dull and car-as-white-goods I thought. But then I got to that last bit of hill that actually leads to my mother’s house. A section past the football stadium, into a right hander then an uphill section that once defeated a Fiat Punto into a left that becomes even steeper, up to a narrowing left that flattens out. I thought about that Punto and mashed the accelerator pedal to the floor as I passed the stadium and jolly good that I did.
Not because the T-Cross was some underpowered dog that needed a run up to the ever-steepening hill but because it gave the T-Cross an opportunity to strut its very competent stuff. The steering gave the kind of feedback one expects from a Golf GTi and the suspension danced through the corners like a ballet dancer’s understudy with that gearbox making sure the power was in the right place at the right time. All very surprising and yet again made one wonder why shell out more when this is available in this market segment.
Fuel wise it managed 40.04mpg with a couple of motorway runs, tootling round Salernes and a trip to the seaside town of StRaphael with my mum. If young families run only one car and they want space, practicality and enjoy driving this is probably it.
Chris chose well - and has a much funkier colour.
First impression was very well put together but not sure what else to expect in a modern VW. It was also very familiar very quickly which was nice. Cruising on the A8 it had the same issue I had with the Škoda we had at Christmas. It had all manner of self-driving stuff that I couldn’t turn off. At various points I had some bits off and others on then different bits on and off but without going through the instructions I couldn’t figure out how to stop it grabbing the steering out of my hands all the time. The other tech annoyance was the engine off button. For some reason it kept initiating a restart when I wanted to get out. User error but annoying all the same.
I guess it had the three pot petrol turbo and power was no issue for a car of this type. The gearbox was also well matched to it which helped. It was also fully loaded with kit: radar cruise, heated seats, Nav, CarPlay: in fact everything that makes one wonder what does the luxury sector need to offer to set its tech apart from ordinary cars? Better seats, more sound deadening, better materials and….. that’s it. That these can be easily attained it can’t be long before manufacturers stop the pretence of forcing down the quality of middling cars and just load them up.
Space-wise I was amazed. I could easily sit behind myself in comfort and once I’d moved the boot floor down it was big enough for family-sized luggage. Pointless as I was alone with hand luggage only. Chris would be pleased to see there is space for a spare wheel, even though it was absent.
So, some pictures of the very comfortable and spacious interior. It is a decent place for a family to travel any distance in. In fact, like the level of kit, it makes one query the relevance of the bigger, posher and more expensive VW SUVs.
So aside from the annoying driver “aids” what was it like to drive? Well on the Autoroute it was safe, swift and stable. On the D roads it was secure and rode well. All very dull and car-as-white-goods I thought. But then I got to that last bit of hill that actually leads to my mother’s house. A section past the football stadium, into a right hander then an uphill section that once defeated a Fiat Punto into a left that becomes even steeper, up to a narrowing left that flattens out. I thought about that Punto and mashed the accelerator pedal to the floor as I passed the stadium and jolly good that I did.
Not because the T-Cross was some underpowered dog that needed a run up to the ever-steepening hill but because it gave the T-Cross an opportunity to strut its very competent stuff. The steering gave the kind of feedback one expects from a Golf GTi and the suspension danced through the corners like a ballet dancer’s understudy with that gearbox making sure the power was in the right place at the right time. All very surprising and yet again made one wonder why shell out more when this is available in this market segment.
Fuel wise it managed 40.04mpg with a couple of motorway runs, tootling round Salernes and a trip to the seaside town of StRaphael with my mum. If young families run only one car and they want space, practicality and enjoy driving this is probably it.
Chris chose well - and has a much funkier colour.
