2023 Volkswagen T-ROC vs Volkswagen Golf

What's the difference?

It's not great that rear cross-traffic alert and blind spot warning haven't been included as part of the T-Roc R Grid Edition's safety package, but there are also things left out that I agree should be. Who needs the leather seats of a T-Roc R? Or power adjustable ones? Not if you can save thousands and keep all the grunt and dynamics.

Yes, the T-Roc R Grid Edition is great value and seriously good fun to drive with a superb high quality feel.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

The Volkswagen Golf GTI is still a standard-setter when it comes to the “do it all” style of sporty hatch.

I wish the media screen was simpler, and that it wasn’t so loud inside on rougher road surfaces that are so common around Australia, and I wish it was cheaper, too. 

But if you can justify the cost, and you want a five-door hatch with plenty of power and presence, then the Golf GTI could well be the go. But I’d also personally be checking out the Cupra Leon, which I think looks better and has a bit more individual appeal.

The T-Roc R Grid Edition is just 4.2m long, 1.5m tall and 1.8m wide, making it small but not the littlest Volkswagen SUV you can get in Australia - that's the T-Cross.

Still, it's little and wearing a tough body kit the T-Roc R Grid Edition looks a bit cartoon-like - in a good way.

Really, the only way you can tell a T-Roc R Grid Edition from the regular T Roc R is by its 19-inch Pretoria wheels and the black roof rails.

The headlights and tail-lights are also slightly different, but this grid edition still looks savage.

Inside, the Nappa leather seats from the T- Roc R are swapped for fabric ones which I think suit this little monster better than the ones made of skin. Euggghh, that sounded gross, but it's true.

It's a premium cabin, as you'd expect from Volkswagen, with zero silliness in there, apart from the R button on the steering wheel.

Press it and you're in 'Race' mode which firms the dampers and gives this SUV a more menacing exhaust note.

At $54,300 the T-Roc R Grid Edition is a lot more affordable than its Audi cousin the SQ2 which has the same engine but lists for $68,200.

The Hyundai Kona N almost matches the T-Roc R Grid Edition for grunt, but undercuts it in price at $49,200.

You can tell it’s a GTI at a glance, and that means it’s off to a good start. There’s the telltale red grille strip, sitting proud above a very aggressive lower bumper with chequered-flag style daytime running lights. 

In profile there’s a GTI badge on the front fender, and I think the 19s on this particular car sit a lot nicer than the ‘Richmond’ 18-inch rims on the standard car. There are red calipers, too, and tinted rear glass.

At the rear there is a minimalist approach to the badging - just the three important letters ‘GTI’ below the VW emblem, which doubles as the boot opening handle. The lower bumper features a pair of round exhaust tips, which poke out a bit more than you might expect.

The inside has the iconic - but not identical between generations - tartan seat trim, and I love it. Got a few really nice compliments on the design, which is called ‘Scale Paper’, in this gen and spec.

Otherwise, it’s a pared back affair, and you could be sitting in any other high-grade Golf.

The T-Roc R Grid Edition is 4.2m long or about 50mm shorter than a Volkswagen Golf hatchback.

Volkswagen is superb at coming up with cleverly designed cabins with a focus on good storage and space, and the T-Roc R Grid Edition has big door pockets, a deep centre console box, four cupholders (two in the front and two in the rear fold-down armrest) and directional air vents in the second row.

The boot has a cargo capacity of 392 litres which is a smidge bigger than many of its rivals. Under the boot floor is a space saver spare - better than nothing.

Being based on the top-of-the-range T-Roc the Grid Edition is well equipped with conveniences such as proximity unlocking, wireless phone charging, directional air vents and four USB ports (two in the front and two in the back).

Space for those up front is excellent, although rear legroom is getting tight for me at 191cm tall if I sit behind my driving position.

You’ll fit more in the Golf hatch than you might expect. I took myself, my daughter and both my parents for a few-hour drive in it, and there were no complaints about comfort or space.

The 374-litre (VDA) boot space was large enough to fit the pram, a few shopping bags and a baby backpack, though for families with a baby or toddler, longer trips with more baggage might prove a squeeze. If you need more space and don’t have a child-seat in the back, you’ll get 1230L (VDA) with the back seat folded down. And there’s a space-saver spare under the floor.

The back seat is easily roomy enough for smaller adults and kids, and I could even slot in behind my own driving position (I’m 182cm/6’0” tall) with enough room. Three across will be a squishy, but it is possible.

There are dual ISOFIX and three top-tether points for kid seats, plus there’s a fold-down armrest with cup holders, big door pockets for a bottle or loose items, and a few pockets on the front seat-backs, too. There are USB-C ports (x2), and directional air-vents.

Up front you’ll find similar storage - cup holders between the seats, a pair of big cubbies in the doors, and additional holsters for a phone (with wireless charging) and 2x USB-C ports, a centre console bin, and reasonable glovebox.

The usability of the media system is not terrific. There are menus upon menus, and nothing as intuitive as it could be because so much of it is touchscreen-based. There are only a few hard buttons below, and then you still need to use the screen to get where you need.

I also think the much-criticised lack of knobs and buttons for volume and temperature control is an issue. There are controls below the screen, but they aren’t illuminated, and they aren’t always the most receptive. 

I also didn’t love the haptic touch buttons on the steering wheel. I kept bumping buttons inadvertently when driving enthusiastically.  

As I mentioned, the 2023 VW Golf GTI lists at $54,990 (all prices listed are MSRP, or before on-road costs). So, on the road, you’re up over sixty grand. That used to be more than enough for a Golf R, but times they are a-changin.

And don’t go thinking you’re getting 15-inch touchscreens and leather trim for that money, either. The Golf GTI runs the iconic tartan cloth trim as standard, has the typical exterior styling treatment with red highlights, and it has LED headlights, keyless entry and push-button start, electric heated folding side mirrors, standard-fit 18-inch alloys and adaptive chassis control dampers.

Inside you’ll find a 10.0-inch touchscreen with sat nav, digital radio, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a six-speaker stereo, wireless phone charging, auto-dimming rearview mirror, a digital instrument cluster, front, side and rear parking sensors with auto-parking, sports front seats with manual adjustment, leather-wrapped steering wheel, 

The car I drove had the $2500 Sound and Style pack, which adds 19-inch wheels and Hankook Ventus S1 Evo3 (235/35/19) tyres as well as a Harman Kardon stereo with subwoofer, plus a head-up display. 

If you want leather trim, you’ll have to option the Luxury Package ($3900) which adds Vienna leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, heated front seats, electric driver’s seat adjustment and electric driver’s lumbar adjustment, too.

Colour options include the no-cost Pure White and Moonstone Grey, Atlantic Blue metallic, Dolphin Grey metallic, and Deep Black pearl. Only the eye-catching Kings Red metallic costs $300 more.

Rivals for the VW Golf GTI include the Hyundai i30 N (from $46,200 for the manual; $49,200 for the dual-clutch auto), Renault Megane RS Trophy (from $62,300) and the mechanically related Cupra Leon VZ (from $52,990).

In the snout is a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine making 221kW and 400Nm. It's the same engine as the Golf R, just a smidge less powerful.

Like the Golf R the T-Roc R Grid Edition is all-wheel drive and the transmission is a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.

All of that is enough to accelerate the T-Roc R Grid Edition from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds. That's the same time as the Audi SQ2 and more than half a second faster than the Kona N.

You know the VW Golf GTI formula. Punchy engine, front-wheel drive.

In this iteration, the engine is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol with 180kW of power (from 5000-6200rpm) and 370Nm of torque (from 1600-4300rpm).

This generation doesn’t come with the option of a six-speed manual transmission like GTI models before it - instead, you get a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission as standard.

The 0-100km/h claim is 6.4 seconds. But in some situations it feels faster than that.

The T Roc R Grid Edition needs premium unleaded petrol and quite a lot of it with Volkswagen saying it'll use 8.3L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads.

At that rate, and with its 55-litre fuel tank, the range of the T-Roc R Grid Edition is about 660km.

The official combined cycle fuel consumption figure is 7.0 litres per 100 kilometres. That’s what you should be able to achieve across a mix of driving.

During my time in the Golf GTI, I did a few hundred kilometres of mixed driving, and saw a real-world return of 8.1L/100km. Respectable, I think. Undoubtedly it would be higher if all you do is drive hard - but this test was about how usable the car is in normal life.

It has a 50-litre fuel tank that needs to be filled with 95RON premium unleaded at a minimum.

It's only March but I'm going to put it out there and say the T-Roc R Grid Edition is going to be up there in my Top 10 funnest cars I'll drive this year.

How could it not be? It's a little car that's only a bit bigger than a kitchen table with 300 horsepower, big disc brakes, lowered sports suspension (independent rear) with adaptive dampers, all-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Add Volkswagen's quality and superb build and it drives exactly how you'd think - almost darn perfectly, in that you don't drive it but more wear it and it responds instantly, predictably, rewardingly.

At the same launch I drove the Tiguan R Grid Edition too, but I'd say the little T-Roc R Grid Edition is even more agile, more pointable, and more fun because of its smaller size and lighter weight.

Quick in a straight line, with great grip even in slippery corners, reassuring traction from all-wheel drive and steering that's so precise with good road feel, the T-Roc R Grid Edition is a gem to pilot.

This was an urban test first and foremost, and the Golf GTI still is one of the most liveable sporty hatchbacks on the market.

There are things you will need to contend with - the amount of coarse-chip road road that intrudes into the cabin is downright nasty at times, and even in the most comfortable drive mode it’s quite firm over Sydney’s pockmarked city roads - but otherwise, this thing is great.

The steering has heaps of weight to it, and is super direct. The heftiness of it might take some getting used to, especially when negotiating tight parking spaces, but there’s always the auto-parking function if you’re nervous. 

Now, the adaptive chassis control dampers will be stiffer or softer depending on the drive mode you choose. There are Eco, Comfort, Sport and the configurable Individual setting, and when my family was on board I had the car in Comfort mode. Again, no complaints about ride comfort.

In Sport mode, it is sharper and lumpier, but never lacking in control or refinement. Yes, you do feel sharp edges, and it might be too edgy for full-time use, but it really does help the car feel more confident and planted.

The engine is terrific. It has more than enough grunt to make easy work of daily duties, and you needn’t fear about whether you’ll have enough squirt to make it for overtaking moves. It has an abundance of torque and the linear way in which it builds power from low in the rev range is superb.

I also had no complaints about the dual-clutch auto transmission. The action of it can take some getting used to at lower speeds, where it can feel like it’s slurring a bit, but it really is a super gearbox, with snappy shifts at speed and smooth changes when you want them.

The Golf 8 range scored a maximum five-star ANCAP crash test rating in 2019. Standards have changed a bit since then, but it still has plenty of standard active safety tech.

The list includes forward AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, plus it has blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, reversing collision avoidance, lane keeping support, adaptive cruise control, a reversing camera and front and rear parking sensors.

If you’re waiting for a new VW Golf GTI, the brand has confirmed that from November production, the R-Line, GTI and R models pick up a front centre airbag. That’ll make the tally seven airbags, with dual front, front side and full-length curtains fitted to all earlier and future models.

The T-Roc R Grid Edition is covered by Volkswagen's five-year unlimited kilometre warranty.

A five-year servicing plan costs $2950 and you'll need to get it service every 12 months or 15,000km.

Buying a VW? You’ll score a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. That’s good, but not as good as Skoda, MG, GWM Haval or Kia. But none of those brands have a real hot-hatch like this.

Servicing is every 12 months/15,000km. There’s a capped-price plan or “Care Plan” prepay packs for three years/45,000km ($1600) or five years/75,000km ($2800). Choose the latter and you’re saving heaps over pay-as-you-go ($786, to be precise).

You get a year of roadside assistance included, but that renews each time you service your car with VW.