VW previews its new SUV styling
Some analysts speculate that Volkswagen is considering a second, compact off-roader model in the mold of the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque. The Cross Coupe uses front-end styling elements first seen on the Giugiaro-penned Tex and Go concepts wheeled out at the Geneva motor show earlier this year. Those styling cues are combined with heavily […]
Some analysts speculate that Volkswagen is considering a second, compact off-roader model in the mold of the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque.
The Cross Coupe uses front-end styling elements first seen on the Giugiaro-penned Tex and Go concepts wheeled out at the Geneva motor show earlier this year. Those styling cues are combined with heavily sculptured surfaces throughout, a highly defined shoulder — or tornado line, as de’Silva refers to it — a higher waistline, shallow side glass, a heavily angled tailgate, distinctive wheel-arch design and 20-inch alloy wheels.
The five-door Cross Coupe is considerably bolder than that of the existing Tiguan, whose design dates to 2005 and a former VW design team headed by Murat Gunak.
Inside, VW gave the concept a classy Audi-esque cabin with a sweeping dashboard, a high-tech instrument display and grab handles incorporated into the center pod. The four heavily contoured seats are separated by a high-set center tunnel used to store the hybrid powertrain’s battery.
It combines Volkswagen’s familiar turbocharged 1.4-liter, four-cylinder direct-injection engine producing 148 hp and 155 lb-ft of torque with a pair of brushless electric motors — one mounted up front that delivers 54 hp and 133 lb-ft, and a larger one at the rear with 114 hp and 199 lb-ft. The system is calibrated to provide a maximum 261 hp
In a move aimed at reducing weight, VW removed the conventional mechanical drive shaft. The rear wheels are driven exclusively by the rear electric motor. In four-wheel-drive mode, the rear electric motor is fed energy from the front electric motor, which then acts as a generator powered by the gasoline engine. VW says the concept SUV weighs 3,854 pounds, 282 pounds more than the heaviest of today’s Tiguan models. The weight is distributed 58 percent on the front axle and 42 percent on the rear.
Despite its weight, Volkswagen claims a 0-to-62-mph time of 7.0 seconds, making the Cross Coupe 0.8 second faster than the most powerful Tiguan model today, the 2.0 TSI, in straight-line performance. Top speed, however, is capped at 124 mph on a combination of gasoline and electric power, or 71 mph when relying on electric power alone.
But it is fuel economy and overall lack of emissions that Wolfsburg officials are talking up with their latest concept car, which is said to get combined-cycle consumption of 87.1 mpg on the European test cycle.