The new Volkswagen CrossBlue concept, unveiled at the Detroit motor Show, reveals how future SUVs from the brand will look – and confirms VW’s intentions to produce a seven-seater that will sit above the Touareg.
Although the CrossBlue is a six-seater, VW says any production model would be offered with room for seven. and given the near-production looks, it won’t be long before the car is on the road in the us and Canada. The model is specifically targeted at the North American market – 29 per cent of all cars sold in the us are SUVs – and as such will not go on sale in the UK.
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Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the board for development, said: “The Touareg is a premium product; this is a car for the sweet spot, the volume market.”
The styling, however, points to the look of the next-generation Touareg and Tiguan, with lots of crisp, straight lines and bold features like the chrome two-bar grille.
VW design chief Klaus Bischoff and VW group design head Walter de Silva worked in tandem with Volkswagen of America to create the distinctive look.
Unlike some seven-seat SUVs, VW claims the CrossBlue has space for adults in all three rows: there’s 947mm of legroom in the second row and 917mm in the third. With all three rows in place, the boot has 335 litres of space; fold the two rear rows, and you get a 2,000-litre load area.
