New VW T-Roc R or used Porsche Cayenne Turbo?

VW has revealed the T-Roc R - quite possibly one of the last purely internal-combustion engined VW Rs we’ll ever see - will cost £38,450 in the UK. This is a lot of money - £2,300 more than a normal Golf R, and £545 more than a Golf R Estate.

The T-Roc R, remember, is effectively a Golf R that’s been crossover’d. It uses the same 2.0-litre, 300-odd bhp four-cylinder engine, the same seven-speed DSG and Haldex-based all-wheel drive, and the same MQB platform. Added weight and bluffer aero makes it 0.2 seconds slower to 62mph than a Golf R hatch - 4.9 seconds plays 4.7. The top speed is the same at 155mph.

Not bad - but in the massive, murky world of performance SUVs, the T-Roc R (and Audi SQ2, Cupra Ateca and so-on) is a small fry. Go used, and your £38K will get you much farther (admittedly with many more costly fuel stops).

Take, for example, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo. A car that brand new would’ve cost way over £100,000, that has a 4.8-litre V8 with 500bhp and will exceed 170mph. And now, less than £40K buys you a 2012 car with around 25K miles on its odometer.

If you want something a little newer, you can get a Macan Turbo for under £40K. Or a Range Rover Sport with the big 5.0-litre V8, any number of big AMG Mercs or even a BMW X5M.

So, where would your money go? An old V8 with a high risk of spectacular breakdown and heroic fuel consumption, or a modern, jumped-up hatch?