Geneva 2016: Volkswagen T-Cross Breeze – The Future of VW SUVs

Volkswagen’s latest concept, called the T-Cross Breeze is all set to take centre stage on the Volkswagen stand in Geneva. 

Dr Herbert Diess, Volkswagen’s chairman said, “Our T-Cross Breeze is the first open-top SUV in its class and, at the same time, an affordable, cheeky cabriolet with a raised seating position that gives you a perfect view. At the moment the T-Cross Breeze is purely a concept, but we can well imagine putting such a convertible on the market as a production model.”

Equipped with an 81 kW/110 PS 1.0 litre TSI petrol engine producing 175 Nm of maximum torque from just 1,500 rpm, The engine drives the front wheels via a 7-speed DSG dual clutch gearbox. Thus equipped, the SUV convertible, weighing just 1,250 kg, needs a mere 10.3 seconds to reach 100 km/h and reaches a top speed of 188 km/h. Fuel consumption and CO2 values are similarly compelling at 5.0 l/100 km and 115 g/km). In combination with the 40 litre fuel tank, the concept car has a theoretical range of 800 km – easily enough to drive from Geneva to Cannes or Venice on a single tank of fuel.

At a length of 4,133 mm, the T-Cross Breeze is slightly longer than a CrossPolo. It boasts a long wheelbase of 2,565 mm, resulting in short body overhangs. Excluding the door mirrors, the concept car is 1,798 mm wide – significantly up on existing cars in the Polo class – while the passengers in the T-Cross Breeze also sit considerably higher up. The total height of the new Volkswagen is exactly 1,563 mm when the soft top is closed.

Inside, the T-Cross Breeze’s cabin is very futuristic, making use of next-generation human-machine interface (HMI) and developing an entirely new control interface that, one day, aims to completely do away with buttons and switches.

The convertible SUV builds the conceptual bridge to the BUDD-e, which is also being presented in Geneva and saw its debut at the CES in Las Vegas in January. With the exception of the control stalk, the power window switches and the buttons for opening and closing the soft top, all of the controls in the T-Cross Breeze are touch-sensitive surfaces or executed as completely new “by-wire” solutions.

Gesture control also forms an integral part of the operating interface. The new HMI, with its coupled displays, is detached from the dashboard in a style similar to that of the zero-emission BUDD-e. 

Looking for a Volkswagen? Find one now at Carlist.my