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Volkswagen has been touting its late-to-the-party mid-size three-row SUV, to be built alongside the Passat in Chattanooga, for years now. A concept version called the CrossBlue first appeared three and a half years ago. But now, it's finally real, and we've just driven a preproduction prototype of the company's answer to the Ford Explorer and the Toyota Highlander. One reason it has taken so long is that the Tennessee factory had to be expanded and equipped for this North America?focused machine. We also toured the plant where test cars are now being assembled. Full production is expected to start in mid-December, with the SUV appearing in dealerships early in the second quarter of 2017 as a 2018 model.
You'll notice we haven't named this SUV yet. That's because VW has yet to do so. Officials said they have a name in mind and clarified that the SUV will wear a different name in North America, its primary market, than it will in export form. VW said it was negotiating with another automaker on a name; reading between the lines, it could be that the badge they want for our model is an out-of-use trademark.
Built on VW's MQB platform, the production model retains a character line running the full length of the vehicle above the wheels, but it's less accentuated than it was on the Cross Coupe GTE concept-a follow-up to the original CrossBlue-that was displayed at the 2015 Detroit auto show. The distinctive line looks better than it did when overstated on the concept and is probably easier to produce for the sheetmetal supplier Gestamp, which is co-located at the Chattanooga industrial park surrounding VW's factory. The car we drove was camouflaged on both ends, but we saw the complete body-in-white and, briefly, one finished and uncovered vehicle during our factory tour. In stance and dimensions, it resembles the Ford Explorer but with Passat-like details and cues.
Also different from the concept is the D-pillar/liftgate portion, which is more upright, as expected. The liftgate opens conventionally with a release above the license plate, rather than employing a swiveling VW badge as both the release mechanism and handle in the clever manner of the Golf's hatchback. We couldn't open the liftgate on our drive because the camo interfered, but it had a power-operated lift mechanism that kicked in when we tried the release.
Getting into It
Entry to the driver's seat is via an easy, carlike motion, much like getting into a Toyota Highlander, with less of a step up than is required for the Explorer. The example we drove was a V-6?powered all-wheel-drive model, and our experience was limited to gravel roads and an excursion onto groomed off-roading trails in Tennessee's Prentice Cooper State Forest, about 45 minutes away from the factory. The base model will be front-wheel drive with VW's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which makes 200 horsepower in the smaller Tiguan; the car we drove had the 3.6-liter narrow-angle V-6, which generates 280 horses in today's Touareg and Passat. VW hasn't released final power ratings for this application, but we don't expect them to vary far from those figures. We anticipate zero-to-60-mph times will be in the low-eight-second range with the four and in the low sevens for the V-6. In comparison, the Explorer's top engine, a 365-hp 3.5-liter turbocharged V-6, delivers 60 mph from a stop in six seconds flat, while the Highlander's naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V-6 does the deed in 7.3 seconds (we have yet to test the 2017 Highlander with its updated V-6). The Ford and Toyota SUVs are the top sellers in the segment and VW's primary targets, although for driving pleasure we prefer the Dodge Durango and the Mazda CX-9. VW is leaving the door open to a possible diesel variant of its new SUV, but those might all be left to export markets. More likely is a hybrid in later model years, but officials would not indicate whether they had in mind a conventional hybrid like that used in the Toyota Highlander or a plug-in like the one VW showed in that 2015 concept. If we had to put money down, we'd bet on the latter.
Seen side by side, VW's new three-row vehicle looks only a little larger than the Touareg, but it is much more spacious inside, largely because the engine is mounted transversely (it's longitudinal in the Touareg). The one we drove had a 60/40 split-folding second-row bench seat and eight-passenger capacity; we expect VW also will offer center-row captain's chairs for a seven-seat configuration, given that its primary competitors do so. The new VW also is meant to sell at prices closer to the heart of the U.S. market for such large crossovers, starting in the $30K range where the Touareg has been hampered by being a more premium vehicle with stickers typically in the $50K neighborhood. VW will continue to offer the Touareg in America, but its hopes for expanded sales volumes rest in this new model. It will be joined on the lower end by a long-wheelbase, three-row version of the new Tiguan and, in some future model year, by an even smaller crossover. The current two-row Tiguan may continue alongside the new, longer one until that smaller vehicle is ready.
The new SUV (it will be easier to keep this all straight when it gets a name) has a Passat-inspired instrument panel and a flat-bottomed steering wheel with controls for the IP's center-mounted information screen and audio system. It all looked like standard MQB hardware, but most of the rectilinear dashboard was camouflaged, and we never saw the infotainment system display at its center.
Driving the Whatever It's Called
A console-mounted dial offers selections among all-wheel-drive modes: Snow, Sport, On-Road, and Off-Road; the latter is customizable, presumably via a touchscreen menu, and we were told it had been set up specifically for our drive on the trail through the forest. As in the Golf-based Alltrack wagon we also sampled briefly on these gravel roads, the all-wheel-drive system is on-demand most of the time, sending torque to the rear axle only in low-traction situations. In these pavement-free circumstances, we never got to experience it in front-wheel-drive mode, although we did manage a mile or two of 45 to 50 mph in Sport mode, which tightens steering response and amends the throttle and transmission programming.
On the gravel roads, the vehicle we drove felt solid, quiet, and smooth in operation with comfortable seating and with good sightlines outward, excepting only the rear quarters, where the windows were partially covered by camouflage. Acceleration was more than sufficient for the conditions and felt on par with or a little better than a Highlander, but not as vigorous as that of the Ford Explorer Sport-just as you might expect. Steering and handling reminded us immediately of the Passat, while the brakes felt strong.
On the off-road trails through the woods, the all-wheel-drive system performed well, and the vehicle exhibited long, supple suspension travel, which is useful in rough terrain. The trail didn't present any challenges that had us wishing for the greater abilities of a trail-rated Jeep, but it was more extreme than most owners will ever attempt and narrow enough to drive the parking sensors nuts with warning beeps as we progressed at appropriately cautious speeds. The suspension height is not adjustable, and while hill-descent control worked well and appropriately in response to brake and throttle inputs, there's no button to engage it on command. This is not a vehicle for dedicated off-road adventurers, but like several others in the segment, it performed beyond our modest expectations.
In other respects, too, VW seems to be on target. For instance, the center bench reclines, and it also folds forward and slides to ease entry to the third row from either side, with a cleverly designed release handle atop the seatback that can be flipped forward or backward to simplify use from outside or from behind the seat. There's room enough to leave an empty child safety seat installed in the second row while folding the seat forward to access the third row. And both back rows can be folded flat for an expansive cargo hold. A tall adult can sit in the wayback seats with the center row slid forward one notch from its rearmost position, which also leaves enough legroom for a six-footer in the middle row. Cargo space behind the third row looks ample for a family-size load of groceries and not as cramped as in some three-row SUVs, although, as noted earlier, we couldn't open that liftgate and had to eyeball it from the seat side.
Expect VW to be aggressive about marketing its new family mobile, for which it has high hopes to expand U.S. sales volume. The automaker has added 26 percent more floor area to the factory, which had previously been expanded for the midterm update of the Passat, and it's now populated with more than twice as many robots (850 versus 420). The company is adding 700 plant workers in preparation for the launch of the new SUV and envisions employment will rise to 3500 from today's 2400 if all goes according to plan. The new capacity will be 250,000 vehicles annually, well beyond last year's total output of 87,156 Passats. It's a big play, so it is probably appropriate to be careful about giving this mainstream SUV a more palatable name than Touareg.
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