VW VW Cross Coupé world premiere
11/30/2011
E success is desirable. BMW has had this success for four years now with the X6 SUV Coupé. And regardless of public criticism, the Bayern bomber is selling brilliantly. VW also wants to get something from this cake in the future and presented the new VW Cross-Coupé as a world premiere in Tokyo. After Mercedes and Audi, who also announced corresponding sports versions of their luxury SUVs, this is the fourth foray into the market niche previously ruled by BMW alone - albeit one class below, because the Cross Coupé will be compact. The crossover study should not only give an outlook on a future sports version parallel to the Tiguan. At the same time, there are future design lines for the entire brand.
VW Cross Coupé uses new technology
The Cross Coupé is the first model to be based on the brand's new modular transverse matrix and is available as a hybrid Version presented. Two electric motors (one per axle) and a direct injection gasoline engine share the work, the hybrid should be able to cover up to 45 kilometers purely electrically. Since the rear axle is powered solely by the electric motor - a concept that Toyota has already demonstrated with the SUV Lexus RX 450h - VW uses the space inside the cardan tunnel to place the lithium-ion batteries.
At 4.35 meters in length, the four-seater Cross Coué is slightly shorter than the Tiguan, but wider (1.87 m). The height (1.52 m) is well below that of the SUV market leader. The petrol engine achieves an output of 150 hp and delivers 210 Newton meters of torque. The directly flanged front electric motor contributes another 54 PS and 180 NM. The electric motor mounted on the rear axle has a maximum output of 116 hp and a torque of 270 Nm. It is only switched on as required; like a conventional automatic all-wheel drive, the Cross-Coupé is on the road with front-wheel drive in normal operation.
VW Cross Coupé drives electrically
The promised performance is remarkable: the VW Cross Coupé should accelerate to 100 km /h in seven seconds, the maximum speed is specified as 201 km /h. The hybrid should get along with just 2.7 liters in the EU mix. This sparrow thirst can only be approximately achieved under ideal conditions with a fully charged battery. The study does not provide for an external charging option to upgrade the Cross Coupé to a plug-in hybrid.Instead, the driver can specify a charging strategy, for example on long journeys, and thus have the batteries charged in a targeted manner in order to be able to drive purely electrically at the destination in the city.
The VW Cross-Coupé also shows design features for future Volkswagen generations beyond the SUV track. The broad lower chrome strut of the radiator grille, which connects the two headlights, is characteristic. The lower part of the strut contains the daytime running lights, the indicator is integrated in the part that rises around the headlight.
In the side view of the VW Cross Coupé, another design thrust becomes clear: With the window line rising towards the rear and the roof sloping in the opposite direction, as well as the wide C-pillar, the idea probably falls on the range not just by chance Rover Evoque.
