2019 Volkswagen T-Cross makes global debut, India launch expected in 2020

The highly anticipated Volkswagen T-Cross has broken cover at a grand event held in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The T-Cross is Volkswagen's smallest SUV yet and is based on Volkswagen's MQB A0 platform which makes it of immense interest for the Indian market. As part of the Volkswagen's group new India 2.0 strategy wherein products based on the MQB A0 and the MQB A0-IN platforms will be brought to India, the T-Cross is expected to be launched in India sometime in 2020 to take on the hugely successful Hyundai Creta primarily in the hugely popular urban compact SUV space.

The Volkswagen T-Cross targets younger SUV buyers primarily and that's something conveyed by its design language in heaps. The SUV's styling is inspired by the slightly larger Volkswagen T-Roc and the T-Cross looks youthful and bold, particularly thanks to its squared off lines and sharp face. The rear looks smart thanks to the tail lights being connected by an LED strip across the length of the boot lid, a characteristic design trait of several new generation SUVs from the Volkswagen group, including Audis and Porsches.

The design of the T-Cross is meant to appeal to the upmarket, urban SUV buyer looking for a compact car that has the burly feel of an SUV with its tall seating even if it isn't really a mud plugger, and is easy and fun to drive on tarmac. The India-spec T-Cross could differ a bit and is also expected to be slightly larger in size keeping Indian tastes in mind but styling is expected to remain the same largely.

The rectangular projector headlamps, the grille inspired from larger SUVs like the Volkswagen Tiguan and Volkswagen Touareg and distinct-looking square shaped fog lamps do offer the masculine presence of an SUV, while the overall silhouette is slightly squat and not too tall, unlike traditional SUVs. The sharp design language continues inside - even the horn pad on the steering wheel isn't round but is hexagonal in shape now.

An 8-inch, all-glass touchscreen for the infotainment system takes centre stage on the dashboard. There's a range of customisation options on offer to help buyers personalise the look of the dashboard as also the seat covers, which all add to the youthful feel inside the cabin along with the sporty looking all-black interiors. The instrument cluster is a large, all-digital display, which Volkswagen calls the Active Info Display.

Internationally the Volkswagen T-Cross will be offered with four engine options including three petrol and one diesel. These include Volkswagen's 1.0-litre, three cylinder TSI petrol engine in two states of tunes - 95PS and 115PS. There's a 1.5 litre, four cylinder TSI petrol engine on offer too, that produces 150PS, while the diesel engine is a 95PS, 1.6-litre, four cylinder engine. The engines can be had with either five- or six-speed manual gearboxes or Volkswagen's seven-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox dubbed the DSG.

It's too early to say which engines will come to India though we expect the 1.0 TSI petrol apart from a diesel to be offered when the SUV is launched in 2020. Depending on the trim levels, manual and automatic transmissions both could be offered in India as well. The international spec T-Cross comes equipped with a host of safety and convenience features as well, including adaptive cruise control, pedestrian monitoring, city emergency braking, lane assist, hill start assist, blind spot detection, lane change assist. It come equipped with a wireless smartphone charging pad as well, apart from four USB ports.

The T-Cross was unveiled simultaneously in Shanghai, China and Sao Paulo, Brazil as well, signifying its importance as a global product for Volkswagen. The T-Cross will be manufactured at Volkswagen's Navarra factory in Spain initially. Production will commence in China and South America in the near future, once the locally specced versions of the T-Cross are readied for production.

Also see: Volkswagen T-Cross First Drive Video