T-Roc-in the Mountains of Manali

We all expect a lot from our cars. Whether it is a tiny hatchback or a full-fledged SUV, we want our cars to take us to the moon and back, all that in absolute comfort and without spending a dime. I mean, we expect it to lug our massive suitcases, seat our large family of oversized people comfortably, fly over potholed roads and give us a fuel efficiency that borders on absurdity. We want it all.

Thus, when we got our hands on the Volkswagen T-Roc SUV, we could not think of any other destination but the mountains. Manali and Rohtang Pass came to our mind, as the car was to be picked up from Delhi.

I was excited to put this chassis and powertrain to test through some tough terrains, en route Delhi to Manali. I packed my bags, fuelled up the car, stuffed my wallet and left from Delhi at dawn!

Striking Looks

A first glance at the T-Roc would have you a bit confused. It’s not a hatchback, but a sub-compact crossover that falls under the mid-size SUV segment and is unlike any other VW you’ve seen. The modern design strikes you the moment you see it. You may just think it looks a bit funky. Everything on the T-Roc looks so precisely designed and fixed. The big headlamps go so well with the grille. The lines extend all the way from the front to the rear. The slight slope on the black roof and flared wheel arches with the cladding add a sporty and ‘capable’ touch to the stance of the T-Roc.

Above all these bits, what I personally loved about the exteriors were the sexy DRLs on the bumper and the very Kool looking Kurkuma Yellow colour, which surely stands out. There was plenty of proof for that! The moment we drove out of Delhi, I saw young lads from the north Indian Jat land rolling down the tinted windows of their cars to get a better look of the T-Roc.

My T-Roc and I loved the attention we were getting as we overtook cars on the National Highway.

But it’s not just the exteriors of the T-Roc that are exciting. Even the interiors are Rocking. The interiors are plush and familiar. If you have sat in a Tiguan All-Space from Volkswagen you would realise that a few things here and there in the T-Roc have been picked up from it. The touchscreen infotainment system, the air-conditioning controls, the steering wheel and gear selector are all borrowed from the All-Space. Even the instrument cluster has been borrowed from the All-Space but with reworked dials, probably to suit the T-Roc better

The infotainment system is functional and can handle both Apple and Android phones seamlessly. Even more so, the 6-speakers have a rather crisp sound output with minimal jarring at high volume. It’s got a two-zone aircon, heated seats, a big sunroof and loads of cubby holes to store your bottles and gadgets for a road trip. Not to mention, the cockpit is very pleasing with subtle silver elements and soft-touch elements on the dash. The cushioning on front and rear seats are comfortable. The front seats manage to hold you in place. The boot, with 445-litres was more than enough for my somewhat small trolley and camera bags, although it could still fit a lot more luggage. I can gladly say that this is a suitable car for a road trip, though I feel that the rear seats do not provide adequate leg and knee room. It could have been better.

Mountains are calling

As we made our way towards the hills and mountains, it was time to test powertrain. Can it handle all this somewhat non-stop pestering? Can the chassis, suspension and tyres take the brunt of bad roads? As we ran out of smooth tarmac, we encountered roads that had been dug up, two-lane highways with unmarked diversions, deep potholes and what not.

The T-Roc has a 1.5-litre TSI turbocharged petrol motor that chugged along happily with its 7-speed DSG swiftly changing through the gears. It knew exactly when I wanted to put the power down and how much. Foot down for overtaking long trucks and the DSG would shift down and the TSI motor would send all its 148bhp and 250Nm to the front wheels with only a dash of torque steer.

There was nothing that couldn’t have been managed with the T-Roc. Bad roads? No problem, the chassis and suspension took the brunt and inside the cabin it was a different world. Want to cruise at high speeds? The stability at triple digit speeds was amazing. Need to go faster? The powertrain was a lethal combination, with on-demand power delivery and the 215 section wide tyres helping with immense grip across all surfaces. Well, of course not the slush. No worries about safety either, as the T-Roc gets 6-airbags, collision mitigation warning (needs to be tweaked better for Indian traffic) and what I consider the safest of them all, disc brakes all around.

It was only after we crossed Bilaspur that we started venturing onto unpredictable terrain. We said goodbye to straight highways and welcomed winding ghats which we were so eagerly looking forward to. What we were not expecting was a 3-hour delay thanks to an accident and a political rally in the area. Well, at least the Android Auto and the aircon kept us comfortable, and the auto-hold function made mountain side traffic jams an easy affair.

After the big delay, we charged on for Manali. The T-Roc had been giving great mileage on the highways and downhill (Thanks to the Active Cylinder Tech), but the uphill sections had forced it to chug on petrol. Hence we were forced to make a quick fuel stop at Swarghat in Himachal (to avoid fuelling up early morning) and we were back on the road. The sun had already retired for the night and we were stuck in a situation we tried to avoid. Though we were driving through the dark night on winding roads with run offs that lead straight to heaven (or hell), the projector headlamps were thankfully bright enough to light up the roads. The steering was precise and quickly got me into the groove of the winding roads. The 250Nm of torque from the turbocharged motor helped us push through some steep inclines and the brakes showed no sign of fading even with the constant late dive-ins into scary corners. Best of all, the 160mm ground clearance was enough in case I missed to see any rocks or speed breakers in my way.

Just as I started treating the roads like a karting track, traffic from the other end started pouring in on narrow roads with barely any barriers or tarmac. Roads like these went on for more than 60km with Google Maps making a fuss about the time we would take to get there. That was fine, as I was getting somewhat used to driving the T-Roc. The whole combination of rigid chassis, the powertrain, the precise steering, suspension and brakes instilled confidence as I drove.

The Destination

It was a relief to reach Manali during the night, as I had never travelled to Manali via this route (It had always been the other way around via Kaza). We rested for the night and left again next morning to get the feel of Rohtang’s Curves. It was easy to get there as we had bypassed the old route and headed towards the Atal Tunnel, which at 9.02km is the world’[s longest tunnel above 10,000ft. Manali to Khoksar took only an hour max. With the Pass closed, we had no other option but to soak in the beautiful snow-capped peaks alongside the winding roads and leave Rohtang Pass for another day.

This trip to the mountains was a much needed getaway and the SUVW (Sport Utility VolksWagen) made it even better and relaxing. The DSG didn’t make my left calves work, the steering didn’t pump my arms and the ride was plush enough for a drive like this. We wrapped up 550km in 16 hours with the last 3 hours being in pitch darkness. However, the T-Roc made it an easy affair, with no errors or troubles en-route. So the next time you want to take a trip to the mountains, try not to beat your head around which 4x4 you will need. With the T-Roc, it’s highly unlikely that you would get stuck anywhere unless you go out of your way to find trouble. Or better, get yourself an SUVW like the T-Roc. It is reliable and ever-so capable. Just don’t treat it like a 4x4.

(The writer experienced this drive in the early months of 2021)