Undisguised Volkswagen Teramont SUV Spied in China
Volkswagen’s long-awaited three-row SUV has appeared on a Chinese website completely free of camouflage, months ahead of its expected appearance at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
The Chattanooga-built SUV, which will likely take the Teramont name, draws inspiration from the 2013 CrossBlue concept and is a big part of Volkswagen’s planned American brand revival.
Photos published by the website Auto Sina show an upscale SUV that’s far more boxy, upright and Germanic-looking than the brand’s smaller Tiguan and Touareg utility vehicles. It’s in line with earlier spy shots of the then-unnamed vehicle.
The high-end look continues inside the vehicle, with two-piece center armrests, two-tone interior, and plenty of chrome trim.
A V6 badge could point to the presence of the Touareg’s 276-horsepower 3.6 liter, though that isn’t the only six-cylinder in Volkswagen Group’s catalog. It’s possible that the Teramont will offer a four-cylinder base engine to satisfy environmental regulators and keep entry prices down. The automaker has yet to announce drivetrains for the model.
Teramont production is expected to begin late this year, with the model going on sale early next year.
Volkswagen took a sales beating in the U.S. following the emissions scandal and loss of its diesel fleet; it needs the Teramont to sell, sell, sell. To reverse the sales trend, the automaker plans a large-scale revamp of its lineup to tempt crossover and SUV-crazed American buyers. (Fingers are solidly crossed in Wolfsburg.)
[Images: Auto Sina]
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Nice! Elegant but forceful styling. No tortured creases and buglike headlight assemblies that will look dated in a couple years. If the price is realistic, these should sell well.
Teramont? Think I saw a pair of white tassled loafers on Amazon with that name. Seems fitting for the cheesy shoes, not so much for a vehicle sold here. But it's VW, clueless as ever. I can't wait to see the horrendous marketing and unwatchable TV commercials that accompany it - that give little-to-no information about the product or why I might want to buy it. Worst marketing in the history of the automobile, and it's been going on for decades, through several changes of advertising agencies too. They just seem to refuse to even try to understand this market.