Volkswagen's two-door T-Roc concept shown at the 2013 Detroit car show proves that the latest claims of a SUV take on the bread-and-butter classic VW Golf are not unrealistic. - dpa
WOLFSBURG: Sports utility vehicles are money-makers for auto companies the world over and Europe's biggest maker is looking to tap into this lucrative market with a high-riding version of its best-selling Golf saloon, several German car mags report.
The Tiguan SUV and its larger brother the Touareg have been a success for years but Volkswagen lacks an entry-level soft-roader for uneven trails.
The Golf SUV is set to be revealed by the end of 2017, says the auto magazine Autozeitung, which shows an artist's rendering of the chunky, four-door car.
There has been no official word from the factory on the new offroader, but VW development chief Frank Welsch recently let the cat out of the bag when he said there would be "two more SUVs pitched below the Tiguan," the mag reported.
The two-door T-Roc concept shown at the 2013 Detroit car show shows that this is no pie-in-the-sky claim from VW. It pressed all the buttons with SUV fans with a modern, crossover-like body and removable T-top roof - hence the name T-Roc.
Autobild said the T-Roc was a blueprint for the upcoming Golf SUV. It also said the eggshell grille and slit LED headlamps showed an unusually aggressive design language from the maker of bread and butter cars.
To all accounts the Golf SUV will be based on the MQB modular platform and incorporate all the upgrades planned for the mid-cycle upgrade of the current Golf 7.
For future Golf SUV versions VW has a huge range of power plants to choose from, starting with a frugal 1.6-litre diesel through to the pumped-up, 300-horsepower version of the 2-litre turbo motor used in the fastest Golf R model.
