Volkswagen T-Roc R strikes out in Australia

One of the hottest Volkswagens on the stand at the Geneva motor show this week is unlikely to grace Australian roads, it has been confirmed – and it’s all to do with petrol quality, or lack thereof.

Volkswagen Australia says it will have little option but to pass on the new T-Roc R SUV unless an alternative fuelling system can be sourced to cope with the high sulphur content in local petrol.

The T-Roc R, which is based on the regular T-Roc due in Aussie showrooms early 2020, uses a particulate filter in Europe, where the maximum sulphur content is capped at 10 parts per million (PPM).

In Australian unleaded fuel, the regulations for sulphur are set much higher at 50 ppm in premium unleaded, or 150ppm in regular unleaded. It means that, unless Volkswagen can supply a version without the particulate filter, the Australian arm’s prospects will be shot.

“It’s up in the air at the moment,” said Volkswagen Australia corporate communications manager Paul Pottinger said. “It’s problematic, we’re doing our utmost to get it resolved.”

Fuel quality has become a focal issue for the Australian automotive industry as the rest of the world strives for improved efficiency and emission standards.

The issue has become so dire that Volkswagen Australia boss Michael Bartsch fears we will soon become a “third-world dumping ground” for older, pollutant vehicles.

His fears have hardly been allayed by the Federal Government, which released a draft regulatory impact statement on the issue last year looking at a range of options and timelines for improving our fuel standards – ranging from 2022 and 2027.

Equally, the issue has forced car-makers to overlook new models or become increasingly resourceful in getting them. A case in point is Porsche's mysterious backflip on the issue last week.

In any case, the T-Roc R would be a significant sales coup for Volkswagen in Australia; the local market is the third largest outright for R models internationally, and at present the Golf R hot hatch outsells the cheaper GTI.

Combine that factor with Australia’s love of SUVs, and the T-Roc R seems like a perfect fit.

Unveiled at the Geneva show this week, the newcomer sports a 221kW/400Nm turbo-petrol four good for a 4.9 second 0-100km/h time. It shares almost everything underneath with the Golf R, including its Haldex-based all-wheel drive system.

While the regular T-Roc has been confirmed with a detuned version of the Golf GTI engine, European variants will score a mid-life facelift in mid-2020 – which could pose further complications for petrol derivatives in Australia.