Volkswagen has confirmed it is developing a rival for the Nissan Juke and its peers, and the new vehicle will be based on the Polo platform.
The new crossover will sit below the Tiguan in VW’s lineup and will be offered exclusively with front-wheel drive. “A B-segment crossover would fit very nicely into our generous range,” Dr Heinz-Jakob Neuser, board member for technical development at VW, told Auto Express.
“In the future we will have a minimum of one SUV in each segment – from the top-line SUV to MQB-based models and a number of derivatives including a Golf SUV and a Polo SUV. Core markets for the Polo SUV will be China, South America and Europe,” the executive added. He also said the Polo-based SUV will likely spawn Seat and Skoda versions.
As for the car’s design, VW’s T-Roc Concept (pictured) unveiled at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show gives the best hint of what we should expect from the Polo-based SUV. The production model is expected to retain the overall look of the study, but will feature a more practical five-door body style.
The VW Polo-based SUV may be followed in the future by an even smaller model based on the VW Up. Previewed by the VW Taigun Concept, the production SUV may arrive in 2016 if it gets approval from VW bosses.
VW’s SUV lineup will grow significantly from the current two models (Tiguan and Touareg), with confirmed upcoming crossovers including the Polo-based model and two new full-size MQB-based SUVs – a 7-seater previewed by the CrossBlue Concept and a 5-seater mid-size coupe SUV previewed by the Cross Coupe GTE concept.
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