Geneva Motor Show - Volkswagen is taking the SUV craze very seriously. In fact, in time the German carmaker aims to have an SUV offering in every 'relevant' segment.
The T-Cross Breeze concept, which made its world debut in Geneva on Tuesday, is jam-packed with clues about VW's forthcoming Polo-based crossover.
Forget that the concept is actually a convertible, that's just a distraction and even if the company does end up offering an open-top version, the volume-selling models will certainly be conventional five-door tin tops. So try to imagine that format with toned down versions of the concept's front and rear ends and you have VW's new baby softroader.
Given that the current Polo hatch is near the end of its life cycle, it makes sense that the forthcoming SUV version will be based on the next-generation model, which migrates onto VW's weight-saving, modular MQB platform.
The concept's 1-litre TSI turbopetrol engine also provides a glimpse at what will power the future Polo family. It's a new generation engine that produces 81kW and powers the front wheels through a seven-speed DSG gearbox. What, you weren't expecting a bundu basher were you?
The T-Cross showcar's interior concept takes things a bit further into the future, however, with a set-up that replaces the switches and buttons with touch-sensitive surfaces.
However, VW refers to this human-machine interface “an early glimpse at where production models are heading in the medium-term” so expect the new Polo family to sport conventional button-and-switch dashboards, with subsequent models possibly moving over to the touch-interface systems at a later stage.
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