The local Volkswagen unit’s mid-life update of the CrossFox pseudo offroader brings a welcome minimalist styling trend to the eight-competitors-strong ‘adventure décor’ sector here in Brazil.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The 2010 CrossFox – lightly restyled just a few weeks after its conventional sibling – has now dispensed with the pointless exterior add-ons giving an overt ‘pretend off-roader’ appearance and is much more cleanly styled than its predecessor.
VW said the restyle followed group guidelines and the new model, built only in Brazil, and not for wide export, has details borrowed from the German Tiguan and Touareg – no exterior bolts are visible, for example.
Clever design includes a gas strut in the mechanism holding the spare wheel to the hatch gate that makes it easier to remove and replace. Larger auxiliary lights in the front bumper have dual fog and long range functions.
To create such pseudo off-roaders (all are only two wheel drive), Brazilian automakers use a similar recipe – raise the ride height, ‘offroad’ wheels and tyres, body add-ons such as sill and wheel arch extensions, roof rails, unique interior trim and maybe stability and/or traction control and some extra instruments such as compass, trip computer and inclimometer.
For the latest CrossFox, VW has raised the ride height compared with the standard Fox by 5.5cm/2.16in (as before) but tuned the suspension and steering to give a compromise ideal for both city driving and occasional, light, off-road excursions.
The CrossFox also gets the Polo’s tougher torsion beam rear axle.
The model, fitted with this segment’s typical equipment as standard is priced from R$49,000 (US$29,000). Deep-tread, mixed use tyres are optional.
Surprisingly, it is not offered with the Fox’s Magneti Marelli sequential automated manual gearbox – Fiat’s competing Palio Adventure Dualogic wagon has such an option all to itself, for the time being.
Fernando Calmon
VW increases Brazil investment
