By: Jason Woosey
Volkswagen might be surging ahead in the overall global sales race, but the German automotive giant is not doing very well in the US of A. The fact that even Subaru outsold it last year and the year before should tell you everything you need to know.
You could blame a variety of factors, but one of them is that Volkswagen is simply not getting the product mix right. Even designing a unique Passat just for North America hasn't helped things along very nicely.
Not one for giving up, Volkswagen will soon be taking another stab right at the heart of the North American market. Well, almost. To do the latter it would require a pick-up truck that's roughly the size of a house, but the next best thing is a rather mainstream, mid-sized crossover SUV - one that's also somewhat cheaper than the Touareg. This new contender is set to go into production at the tail end of 2016 and will offer seating for seven.
So what will it look like? Our guess it that it will take most of its cues from this new concept called the Cross Coupe GTE Concept, which is a follow-up to the previous CrossBlue and CrossBlue Coupé showcars. Though the Cross Coupe is a five seater, it likely points towards a sportier version of the new SUV, aimed at style-conscious folk willing to forgo some practicality for a sprinkle or two of Evoque-like style.
BORN FOR THE USA
Volkswagen says the forthcoming SUV will be fully tailored to the US market, although beneath the surface you'll find VW's global MQB modular transverse matrix platform.
The showcar that you see here is motivated by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain that pairs a 3.6-litre direct-injection V6 petrol engine with two electric motors, one up front and another over the rear axle. All this teamwork results in an all-wheel drive package with a system output of 265kW and the ability to sprint to 96km/h in six seconds on the dot.
Expect the showroom model to be offered with a relatively wide range of petrol engines and at least one diesel, although Americans are not too big on the latter, despite all VW's consistent efforts to persuade them otherwise.