One of the most significant new cars to come off the Volkswagen production line in the past few years, the all-new T-Roc has finally been revealed and plans to shake up the booming compact SUV market here in the UK, challenging the likes of the Nissan Juke, Peugeot 2008, Mini Countryman, and sister cars the Seat Arona (once it arrives in the UK) and Audi Q2 when it arrives in showrooms in December.

Besides the rather outlandish name, which nods to the other ‘T’ named SUVs in the firms line-up, the T-Roc looks exactly as you would expect a compact SUV from the German firm to appear, carrying many external features over from the popular Golf and Tiguan. Its coupe-esque roofline gives the car a sportier look then the Tiguan though, plus Volkswagen bosses have confirmed that the new car will also come with a raft of personalisation options to add a little extra dose of character.

First shown as a concept at the Geneva motor show last year, the new T-Roc measures 4,234mm in length and has a 2,603mm wheelbase, making it wider but slightly shorter than the Golf and 252mm shorter than the Tiguan, while boot space is among the best in its segment at 445 litres, bigger than the Juke’s 334 litres and the Peugeot 2008‘s 360 litres.

Inside features the latest version of VW’s excellent infotainment system alongside the latest safety systems like front assist with a pedestrian-monitoring function, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, city emergency braking and semi-autonomous traffic jam and lane-keeping aids.

Other technology highlights include dynamic chassis control, LED lights, the latest generation of the firms intuitive Active Info Display and a personalisation function that allows the car to save more than 100 infotainment, convenience and assistance settings to give the driver their ideal set-up with the touch of a button.

Launched as a five-door for now, the T-Roc will be available in front and all-wheel guises alongside a range of diesel and petrol engines. The official powertrain line-up has not yet been confirmed for the UK; however, petrol is predicted to make up around 80% of sales and we’d expect a number of the powertrains seen elsewhere across the VW range to make an appearance here, including the new 1.5-litre petrol with Active Cylinder Technology launched in the Golf earlier this year and the popular 1.6-litre diesel available across a variety of VW cars. A six-speed manual and seven-speed DSG automatic will be offered

Volkswagen is predicting that the compact SUV market will expand from its 6.4 million in annual sales worldwide today to around 10.6 million by 2027 and the T-Roc is expected to be a key driver of sales for the brand in the future.

Prices are expected to start at around the £19,000 mark. We’ve not yet got confirmation of what the trim line-up will look like for the UK; however, we’ll be surprised if they depart too much from what is currently offered in the Golf and Polo.