Volkswagen T-Cross Life 2025 Review

With the recent refresh, Volkswagen has increased the pricing of all three variants including the top-shelf R Line that will set you back $40,990 plus on-road costs (ORCs), but the version we’re looking at here is the entry-level Life.

It had a price increase of $3000 with the update and is now priced from $33,990 plus ORCs.

With so much now included in the price, the only thing that costs extra with this car is its metallic or pearl effect paint, which adds another $600.

It compares with other popular models such as the Toyota Yaris Cross, Mazda CX-3 and Kia Stonic, which are priced from $30,900, $26,950 and $25,460 (all plus ORCs) respectively.

With the update, the entry-level Volkswagen T-Cross Life gained a significant amount of equipment including a mild exterior redesign with LED headlights and 16-inch wheels. Inside, it now has a fully digital instrument cluster, wireless charging, digital radio, a leather steering wheel with gear shifters and updated cloth upholstery.

This is in addition to the standard-fare standouts such as wireless smartphone integration, central touchscreen, decent quality materials in most places, and a turbo-petrol engine with proper dual-clutch automatic transmission.

However, the lack of keyless entry and starting, the old-school handbrake and a somewhat plain interior have an initial rental-spec feel. Dig deeper though and the true value proposition of the cheapest T-Cross becomes apparent.

With many options now rolled into the model’s standard kit, only fancier paint is optional for the 2025 model, such as our test vehicle’s Smokey Grey metallic hue. White is the only standard colour, with seven optional colours available.

Service intervals for the T-Cross are every 15,000km and, thanks to capped price costs, scheduled maintenance is fixed at between $442 and $1032. The total cost of five years of servicing amounts to $3221, which is reasonable for a German brand and comparable with most mainstream brands.

All Volkswagens get a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.

Despite its size and price, the Volkswagen T-Cross Life is well equipped with passive and active safety features as standard. As before, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist recognition, active cruise control, lane-keeping assistant and driver attention monitoring are all there.

Extra safety features were added for all variants as part of the mid-life update, including LED headlights, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, parking assistance and Volkswagen’s proactive occupant protection, which tightens seat belts and triggers hazard lights in the event of an emergency.

Notable standard safety inclusions continue with parking sensors front and rear, but they are little bit sensitive to the point of being limited in function, while the reversing camera resolution is not the best and there’s no 360-degree view. Parking assistance is also standard – for those who need some extra help with parallel parking one of the world’s most manageable little vehicles.

The T-Cross was awarded the full five-star ANCAP rating in 2019 but this will expire in December 2025.

There is an 8.0-inch digital screen which is good but it feels pared back compared with the full-size 10.3-inch version in the mid-spec Style and flagship R-Line. The same applies to the 8.0-inch instrument cluster, which is noticeably smaller than the 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit given to higher-spec variants. Though small, the screens are of a decent quality with acceptable resolution and graphics.

Other omissions include a head-up display, native navigation and voice control, the latter two of which are offered in the the Style and R-Line.

But important stuff such as wireless device charging, wireless smartphone mirroring, USB-C ports and digital radio is included. It’s clear VW sat down and carefully thought out what inclusions would really matter to the entry-level customer and then cut costs in the right areas.

We don’t mind a simple single-zone air conditioning panel with old-school mechanical dials as it’s easier to operate than many digital versions that are buried within touchscreen menus. It also saves a few bucks from that bottom line, too.

Regardless of the variant, all T-Cross versions share the same powertrain. A 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine with a single turbocharger sends 85kW and 200Nm to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Despite feeling light on its feet, the T-Cross is far from fast with a zero-to-100km/h acceleration time in excess of 10 seconds.

If you’re after a true hyper-mile economy hero, then something with a mild hybrid powertrain should foot the bill – something like the Toyota Yaris Cross, for which Toyota claims efficiency of under 4.0L/100km.

For something with only combustion power, however, the Volkswagen T-Cross does pretty well. Its maker claims 5.4L/100km and during our time it returned a number closer to 7.0L/100km, which is about what Hyundai says its Venue will do. We’re sure that given a more balanced range of driving duties, the T-Cross will return an economy figure closer to the official claim.

With the fun and frisky Polo as its basis, the T-Cross promises to be a rewarding car to drive, thanks to its impressively light kerb weight of 1300kg, respectable outputs from its little turbo engine, and its dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Its steering is beautifully sharp but light and its weight distribution feels close to 50:50 for impressive balance when cornering, while the small alloy wheels generate a surprising amount of grip.

In a word, the Volkswagen T-Cross is addictively chuckable; it’s great fun if you’re in a hurry to be somewhere, or simply just pretending to be.

When managing to control the urge to fly around, the sporty ride is choppy but not uncomfortable, it’s happier to cruise than you’d expect for a car of this size, and cabin noise is nicely suppressed.

In fact, only one element of the T-Cross lets the side down when it comes to fun and sometimes even just regular day-to-day driving. Volkswagen’s dual-clutch transmission (DCT) is a proven and well-respected piece of engineering, offering a snappy and aggressive but smooth progress in everything from a Golf GTI to an Audi A7.

The thing is, in all its most effective and impressive applications, the vehicle in question has lots of power and torque. However, when paired with the T-Cross’s bantamweight outputs, the engineering isn’t quite such a good match.

Its function is ingenious in principle and when the accelerator is pressed, not only does the engine work harder, but the gearbox also slips the clutches more heavily (as if you were taking your foot off a clutch pedal faster). This works brilliantly in cars with lots of muscle, but with just 200Nm to play with, the T-Cross tends to bog down rather than leap off the line.

Picking your own gears manually with the paddle shifters helps when off and rolling, but there are no drive modes to select something more aggressive or to liberate more grunt – for that you’ll need to go for the range-topping R-Line.

Some scratchy plastic at the top of the door trims and around the centre console are offset by really decent quality materials on the dashboard and other trims. And while the finishes and patterning aren’t exactly design icons, the cloth seat upholstery is understated and pleasant.

Storage options range from skinny cup holders and a reasonable central slot with device charging, to enormous door pockets that can swallow full-size bottles. There are good stowage options throughout the T-Cross and its space has been well utilised.

Up front the seating is good, with fast and easy-to-adjust manual controls and a driver’s seat that moves to a very low position for tall drivers, an aspect that is unusually good for this segment. But the second row is the standout with lots of under-thigh support, a nicely reclined backrest and more space than you might expect to find in such a little car. There’s also a pair of USB charging sockets and decent door pockets.

The only black marks could be the lack of a centre folding armrest which many, this author included, really value on longer journeys, as well as air conditioning that struggles on very hot days – most likely a combination of a small compressor combined with dark exterior paint and some particularly hot weather.

With 385 litres of storage in the boot, the T-Cross has a larger load area than the Polo and is about on par with the Toyota Yaris Cross. There’s no electric tailgate and you get a space-saver spare wheel.

With more features added as standard to an already fun and practical package, the updated T-Cross more than justifies its small price increase – in fact its value-for-money proposition has never been stronger.

For most, the mid-range T-Cross Style will represent the best value in the range with a bit more kit and aesthetic enhancement in exchange for $3500 more.

However, the entry T-Cross Life gets all the core kit and safety and won’t leave its owner feeling as though they’ve driven away in a budget banger.

2024 Volkswagen T-Cross Life at a glance:
Price: $33,990 plus on-road costs
Available: Now
Engine: 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 85kW/200Nm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 5.4L/100km
CO2: 123g/km
Safety rating: 5 stars (ANCAP 2020)

Related: Volkswagen T-Cross 85TSI Style 2024 Review
Related: 2024 Volkswagen T-Cross arriving early
Related: Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport 2023 Review