Kia Sportage vs Volkswagen T-Cross

What's the difference?

Okay, this is pretty easy. That SX Hybrid is excellent - it’s fuel efficient, it drives really nicely, it’s practical, but it’s not great value when you consider it’s more than $8000 pricier than the SX petrol. If you want good value, get the GT-Line hybrid. It comes with more features for not that much more money compared to the petrol version. 

Oh, and if you’re reading this in three years time and thinking about buying a second-hand Sportage SX Hybrid, then do it.

The Volkswagen T-Cross might be late to the small SUV party, but it’s not so much tardy, as making a fashionable entrance.

It’s a very impressive compact SUV - big on space, style and comfort, well priced, decently specified and a smart option for customers who aspire to a German badge being shown off in their driveway.

The Sportage Hybrid SX is almost identical in looks to the petrol Sportage, which is why I mistook somebody else's car for mine. There’s a small badge on the tailgate of the hybrid which says HEV for Hybrid Electric Vehicle, but that’s really the only giveaway.

The Sportage is a more interesting looking SUV compared to less avant-garde rivals like the RAV4. I love the arrow LED running lights, the wide, mesh grille, and the tail-lights.

The cabin is also differently good looking and premium, apart from the blank panels on the centre console - the ones that remind you didn’t get the Sportage with heated seats…

Still, even with the blank panels it’s a premium-looking cabin with the 12.3-inch screen and black materials. It would have been nice if the synthetic leather seats were standard on this SX Hybrid instead of the cloth.

It’s not to be confused with the slightly larger T-Roc model, which has just arrived here too. The T-Roc is bigger, based on the Golf. But that model isn’t quite as clever when it comes to its design as this one.

Despite being smaller, the T-Cross is super smart when it comes to overall packaging. It’s based on the Polo city car, and isn’t much bigger in terms of nose-to-tail length (T-Cross: 4108mm; Polo: 4053mm). However the T-Cross is a taller, boxier design, and that means added practicality. It is 1760mm wide and 1583mm tall, whereas the Polo is 1751mm wide and 1446mm tall.

It still has the rugged SUV styling cues you’d expect, albeit in a bit more of an urban-focused design. There are still chunky bumpers and off road inspired bits to separate it from a standard city hatchback, and it has 180mm of ground clearance - ideal for jumping the occasional gutter.

And because it’s a VW sold in Australia, there are option packs to add on if you want them. The test car you see in these images has the R-Line pack optioned up, which adds a number of body design changes and 18-inch wheels on the outside, and some nice bits inside, too. More on that in the next section.

Disappointingly, VW has launched the T-Cross with a base model that still has halogen headlamps, where the mid-spec car you see here has LED lighting all around. I’ll break down the specs for you in the pricing section. 

The Sportage is a mid-sized SUV - it’s not as big as a Kia Sorento, but it is larger than a Kia Seltos. 

There’s plenty of room up front with storage in the centre console, cupholders and door pockets.

The second row has directional air vents and great legroom and headroom even for me at 189cm tall. My nine-year old son reckons the window sill is too high to see out of.

He’s out of his booster seat now but he’s a tall kid and doesn’t have this visibility issue very often as we move from test car to test car.

The boot is also big at 586 litres (VDA) behind the second row. It’ll fit the three-piece CarsGuide luggage set with room to spare.

There are some SUVs in this segment of the market that pack more in than you think is physically possible. The Honda HR-V comes to mind first and foremost, and the T-Cross is very close to that benchmark-setter when it comes to interior practicality.

That’s because the T-Cross has a clever sliding second-row seat that allows you to either prioritise back seat room, or boot capacity. Depending on what you’re doing, you can adjust the space ratio to suit.

The sliding second-row means the boot capacity can either be 385 litres (seat all the way back) or 455L (seat forward), and that increases to 1281L with the seats folded flat, too. Under the boot floor is a space saver spare wheel, and those rear seats fold 60:40 as well.

With that back seat in its most passenger-focused setting, and with the driver’s seat set for myself (182cm), I had easily enough knee room, toe space and headroom to be comfortable for hours in the back. With it slid forward, that wasn’t the case - but it’s arguably only going to be used like that if you have younger children in boosters or baby capsules, anyway. 

Either way, it’s a good compromise, one that many competitors can’t offer. Not even the HR-V (though it has Magic Seats which are amazing in their own right).

The back seat amenities are a mixed bag. There are two USB ports for keeping devices charged up, as well as a pair of map pockets on the seat backs, and a pair of large door pockets. Unlike some more expensive VW models, those pockets aren’t lined, though, and that’s a bit annoying as things will move around in them, as they’re not shaped for bottles. 

There are no cup holders, no fold-down armrest, and no rear ceiling-mount grab handles. So it really depends what you prioritise when it comes to the back seat experience.

The front cabin is very familiar to those who have sat in a VW over, say, the past five years. It’s a well designed and very ergonomically smart space, with everything falling to hand just as you’d expect.

The media screen is excellent - an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android auto, but not sat nav as standard (optional). There are knobs and buttons on either side, so it’s easy to find your way around the screen, and the menus are logical, too. 

Storage includes a pair of small cup holders between the front seats, a covered centre bin, a decent glovebox, and a storage tray on the dash top. There’s also a storage caddy in front of the gear selector, which houses a wireless phone charger pad, and also two more USB ports. And just like the rear, the front door pockets are large but unlined, though at least up front you get padded elbow pads on the doors.

The steering wheel is lovely, and the optional pack with the upgraded sound system and digital driver info screen is worth the money, if you ask me. It adds to that technical, Teutonic feeling that you get in VW products, and helps align the interior nicely to the already excellent standard of perceived quality - even if there are plenty of hard plastics used.

With a starting price of $27,990 MSRP (before on-road costs), the VW T-Cross is priced close to a number of key competitors in the small SUV segment.

It’s up against the likes of the Honda HR-V (from $24,990, VTi auto) Mitsubishi ASX (from $25,990, ES auto), Nissan Qashqai (from $29,990, ST auto), so if brand cache is what you’re after in your small SUV, this compact semi-premium branded model is going to appeal.

It also has plenty of boast about when it comes to standard specs, with a comprehensive equipment list offered on all models.

Starting at the base model 85TSI Life, the list includes 16-inch alloy wheels, halogen headlights with LED daytime running lights, manual air-conditioning, wireless smartphone charger (Qi), four USB ports (2x front, 2x rear), black roof rails, a leather multi-function steering wheel, front fog-lights, automatic headlights and 8.0-inch multimedia system with app-connect functionality (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone mirroring), as well as Bluetooth connectivity.

The safety spec list is decent, as well. All T-Cross models come with a reversing camera, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, driver fatigue detection, parking sensors and low-pressure tyre indicator. 

If you step up the budget a bit to the T-Cross 85TSI Style ($30,990 MSRP), you see the addition of 17-inch wheels, LED headlights, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry, push-button start, steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters, front sports seats and chrome exterior highlights.

The list price of the 110TSI Style model is yet to be determined (we’re expecting about $36K). But as well as a bigger engine, it’ll add some extra gear, such as 18-inch alloy wheels, dark tinted rear windows, gloss black door mirrors and model-specific interior trim finishes.

The Style grade additionally gains safety items such as adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, automatic high beams and rear cross-traffic alert. That gear can be added to the Life model for $1200. 

There are two other packs available, both of which are fitted to the model you see in these pictures. 

The ‘Sound and Vision’ pack ($1900) is available on all grades, and sees the addition of the brand’s excellent digital cockpit, plus onboard GPS sat nav, and a 300-watt premium sound system by Beats.

The ‘R-Line’ package (only on Style grades - $2500 for the 85TSI and $1900 for the 110TSI) upsizes the rims to 18-inches, plus adds gloss black body accents, aluminium pedals, a flat-bottom steering wheel, tinted rear windows, unique cloth upholstery, dark headlining and R-Line door scuff plates.

Curious about colours (or colors, depending on where you’re reading this)? There are a few to choose from, including: Pure White and Dark Petrol (dark blue) at no cost, then there are the metallic finishes ($600) including Energetic Orange, Limestone Grey, Reflex Silver and Reef Blue, and then there’s this “special colour”, Makena Turquoise Metallic ($800). 

Curious about T-Cross accessories? There are several to choose from, including load sill protection plates, door sill protectors, tailgate garnish, roof rack bars, a roof cargo box, a bicycle carrier, ski/snowboard carrier, mudflaps, side steps, floor mats (rubber), cargo mat, cargo tray, weathershields and different rims.

Normally we cover the design and practicality before we get under the bonnet but you’re on a fact-finding mission and I’m your guide, your guide to cars. That would be a good website name.

Okay, the Sportage SX Hybrid has a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol sporty and fuel-efficient engine making 132kW and 265Nm. There’s also an electric motor producing 44kW and 264Nm. Their combined output is 169kW/350Nm.  

The hybrid variants are front-wheel drive only and have a six-speed automatic transmission. 

It’s a great engine, smooth transmission and the way the motor interacts is almost seamless. 

This isn’t a plug-in hybrid, either. The batteries recharge automatically through regenerative braking. Really, for Australia, this type of hybrid is the way to go, offering superb range and no anxiety about charging.

Powering the VW T-Cross will be two different engines.

At launch, and in our test car, is the 85TSI petrol engine, a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo unit with 85kW of power (at 5000rpm) and 200Nm of torque (from 2000-3500rpm). It is teamed exclusively to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and only comes in front-wheel drive. It’s hardly fast, but can manage 0-100km/h in 9.9 seconds.

There’ll be a more powerful 110TSI motor soon. It has a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol-turbo with 110kW of power and 250Nm of torque. It also comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch auto and 2WD. It’s hardly a horsepower hero, but VW claims a 0-100km/h time of just 7.8sec for this variant. 

So that means there’s no diesel, no four-wheel drive (4WD or 4Motion), nor all-wheel drive (AWD), and no hybrid, plug-in hybrid or electric variant, either. 

The kerb weight for the 85TSI model is just 1240 kilograms, which is very light for a small SUV. The towing capacity is also a bit light, with an unbraked towing capacity of 630kg and a braked towing capacity of 1100kg.

Kia says that after a combination of open and urban roads the Sportage SX Hybrid will use 4.9L/100km. The petrol SX with the 2.0-litre engine and front-wheel drive uses 8.1L/100km.

In our own fuel test we recorded 6.9L/100km which was mostly urban with a couple of motorway trips during the week.

Getting back to our earlier question regarding the money you’ll save in fuel. I’ve worked it out using actual maths.

So, using Kia’s official fuel economy of 4.9L/00km, that’s 3.2L/100km less than the 2.0-litre petrol SX and if fuel is $2 per litre you’re saving $6.40 for every 100km you drive in comparison.

Now, $6.40 goes into $8400 (the extra you’ve paid for the hybrid) 1312.5 times. Multiply that by 100 to get the number of kilometres you’ll need to travel. So, that’s 131,250km you’ll need to go to save the $8400 in fuel. 

Most Aussies do 10,000 kays a years on average. That means you’re looking at over 13 years. Tell you what, the person who buys it second hand will get the best deal because they really will save money on fuel. 

It’s true the Sportage Hybrid is fuel efficient and I’ve scored it very well for that, but if it was me I’d be looking to buy one second hand so I wasn’t getting hit hard with the new car hybrid price premium.

Claimed fuel consumption for the T-Cross 85TSI is 5.4 litres per 100 kilometres - the claim is perhaps a little ambitious, as is often the case with Euro three-cylinder petrol engines.

But it does have start-stop technology and brake energy recuperation, and during my time in the T-Cross I’ve seen a return of 6.4L/100km across a mix of urban and country driving, as well as some long highway stints. 

The Sportage SX Hybrid is better to drive than the petrol SX with the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine. It starts silently thanks to the electric motor and will coast away serenely until you need to move faster and come to a hill where you need the power of the engine.

The brake pedal feel is better than I’ve experienced in many hybrid cars and the transition from engine to motor is almost seamless.

The ride is comfortable, there’s no jiggle over potholes and handling isn’t bad for this type of family SUV. 

The only negative point to report is that because the hybrid Sportage is front-wheel drive, there can be a loss of traction if you accelerate hard from a standstill on a wet road or while climbing a steep hill.

If you’ve never driven a hybrid before, you’ll be absolutely fine - the only thing you'll need to get used to is turning the key and not detecting any engine noise.

The T-Cross drives like a Volkswagen. That might sound like a pretty obvious assertion, but the fact of the matter is that the German brand has a certain feel to the way its cars drive, and this little teeny weeny SUV drives rather similarly to some of the other members of the VW family, including much larger models.

That's one of the things I like most about the T-Cross. It drives bigger than it is. That means it feels substantial and considered on the road, not light (even though it is, at 1240kg) or small (though it is) and it doesn't feel like it'll get pushed around on the open road either.

Truly - I did more than 600 kilometres in the T-Cross, including a lot of highway and open road testing, and it feels substantial, refined and well resolved, which is something you can't necessarily say about a lot of its small SUV competitors. 

It's impressive, but it isn't perfect.

The engine is good and offers a nice whoosh of midrange pulling power, but in stop-start traffic the throttle response - in combination with the dual-clutch auto and start-stop engine tech - can make for some frustratingly slow take-offs. 

As speeds rise, it's a more enjoyable drive. The transmission shifts smoothly and smartly, and the engine response is ample, though up steeper hills you might wish for a touch more grunt, and the good news is the 110TSI model coming soon is bound to appease that desire.

The steering is nicely weighted and offers decent feel to the driver's hands, and you're never left second-guessing what will happen next. 

The suspension is quite well sorted, though my test car's 18-inch alloy wheels and low profile tyres (Hankook Ventus Prime 215/45/18s) were a little sharp over less-than-perfect urban streets. It still rides well and copes with big lumps and bumps decently, but it can be a little jittery - though arguably any small SUV on 18s will have a similar criticism levelled at it. 

The VW T-Cross scored a high five from ANCAP, with the maximum five-star crash test rating - confusingly, awarded in April 2020, but under 2019 criteria. 

Even so it was seemingly very impressive in its performance when it came to front occupant protection (97 per cent), and it comes very well equipped on the safety front.

All models have auto emergency braking (AEB) that works at speeds from 5-250km/h, and it includes pedestrian and cyclist detection (4-80km/h), plus there’s a lane departure warning and lane keeping system that works at speeds of 60-200km/h. There’s also a reversing camera and parking sensors all around, and those sensors incorporate “Manoeuvre Braking”, which will auto-brake if a low speed impact is predicted (rear AEB).

The extra stuff you get in the optional pack for the Life (but standard on Style variants) includes blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control and automatic high-beam lights. It’s 2020, and in this writer’s opinion, additional safety spec shouldn’t be an optional extra - but at least it’s available, which is more than you can say for some others in this part of the market.

It also has the usual electronic nannies you’d expect, such as ABS, EBD, ESC, driver fatigue detection and even VW’s multi-collision brake system, which will slam the brakes on after an impact to lessen the potential for further damage.

It’s missing items such as speed sign recognition, driver facial detection, and rear seat reminder. 

The T-Cross has six airbags (dual front, front side, full-length curtain) as standard, and there are dual ISOFIX child seat points in the back outer seats, as well as three top-tether baby seat attachment points.