Germans are not only discovering openings in their regular production lines, but in their concept vehicle ranges as well. VW, which recently proposed the 3,859 mm (151.9 inches) long, up!-based Taigun, the 4,890mm (192.5 inches) long and sporty flavored CrossBlue Coupe, and the 7-seater 4,986mm (196.3 inches) long CrossBlue Concept, is now targeting the sub-compact category with the T-Roc.
VW says that all of the aforementioned SUVs and Crossovers are either under consideration or actually being developed for production (Taigun). For the T-Roc, the automaker states that it “offers a glimpse at future Volkswagen SUVs”.
Due for a world premiere at next week’s Geneva Motor Show, the T-Roc is slightly bigger than a Polo at 4,179 mm long, 1,831 mm wide and 1,501 mm tall (164.5 x 72.1 x 59.1 inches), but significantly smaller than the production Tiguan.
In the sketches, at least, the three-door model has a sporty appearance with heavily toned wheel arches and sharp lines, and comes with two removable panels on the roof.
One of the highlights of the four passenger interior is the fully-digital 12.3-inch instrument panel, which seems to be a recurring theme lately in the VW Group (see next generation Audi TT). There’s also a tablet-like, user-configurable infotainment screen and, you guessed it, digital climate controls
The T-Roc sits on VW’s scalable MQB platform (same as the TT, Golf etc.) and according to the Germans, it weighs in at 1,420kg (3,130 pounds). Motivation is provided by the same 181hp (184PS) and 380Nm 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel found on the Golf GTD paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch DSG transmission and 4MOTION all-wheel drive system with Haldex coupling.
It can run up to a top speed of 210 km/h (130mph), accelerate to 100 km/h (62mph) in 6.9 seconds and return a combined fuel consumption of 4.9 l/100 km (58.6mpg UK or 48.0 mpg US) with 129 g/km of CO2.
By John Halas
PHOTO GALLERY
