Volkswagen said its T-Cross small SUV – shown as a 'study' at the 2016 Geneva show – will be launched in Europe next autumn.
The new model will take the European VW brand SUV range to five models – the others are T-Roc, Tiguan/Tiguan Allspace and Touareg – and will also be sold in China and South America where local build is expected.
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The new model is 4,107mm long with front wheel drive. VW claims it will be "at home in the city, and ready for the small and large adventures both inside and outside the urban jungle".
The modular transverse matrix (MQB) creates a surprising amount of room, the automaker claims. The back seat can be adjusted lengthwise – for more knee room or more room for luggage. It claims building on the MQB modular transverse matrix will make T-Cross "one of the safest vehicles of its class, guaranteed through excellent crash properties and a large spectrum of assistance systems".
Front Assist (ambient traffic monitoring system) and Lane Assist (lane departure warning system) will be standard.
According to just-auto's PLDB database, the T-Cross has been a long time coming. VW revealed a small SUV concept, the Taigun, at October 2012's Sao Paulo auto show. The first plant to build a production model based on that concept had been expected to be Taubate but the economic downturn in Brazil saw those plans put on hold.
A modified Taigun concept debuted at the Delhi motor show in February 2014. The main change was an externally mounted spare tyre. According to VW, the Taigun concept was 3,859mm long; with mounted spare wheel, it was 3,995mm. Width was 1,728mm and height was 1,570mm (with roof rails 1,605mm). The wheelbase was quoted as being 2,470mm.
A fresh B-segment SUV concept appeared at the Geneva motor show in March 2016 and VW has now confirmed the T-Cross production model will be manufactured in Europe (Bratislava, also home to other VW SUVs, seems likely) and Brazil, with additional build in India and China also likely.
This vehicle should be closely related to the SEAT Ateca and a rival for the Opel/Vauxhall Mokka X, Fiat 500X, Jeep Renegade and Ford EcoSport. The Geneva 2016 concept, the T-Cross Breeze, was a convertible but the production model, as shown in VW's sketch, will be a five-door hatchback.
Volkswagen of America is not expected to sell the T-Cross, at least initially, even though many dealers want this model as a challenger for the Jeep Renegade, Hyundai Kona and Chevrolet Trax (aka Opel/Vauxhall Mokka).
See also: VW Brazil to include five SUVs in 20 launches by 2020
