Volkswagen Taos – compact SUV to debut in October

Volkswagen is preparing to debut a new SUV named Taos, and the forthcoming model will be positioned below the Tiguan when it makes its official debut on October 13 this year, said the automaker it its official teaser. This is aimed specifically at the North American market, and being named after the town of Taos, New Mexico, its was chosen to resonate with American customers.

This will be underpinned by Volkswagen’s modular transverse engine layout MQB architecture, which should make the Taos front-wheel-drive as standard, with 4Motion all-wheel-drive expected as an option. In China, the Volkswagen Tharu assumes that sub-Tiguan position in the brand’s line-up of SUVs, and that measures 4,453 mm long, 1,841 mm wide and 1,632 mm tall with a 2,680 mm wheelbase.

This, in turn, sports a wheelbase that is 85 mm longer than that of the T-Roc, also an MQB-based crossover, which was launched for Europe in 2017. Details regarding powertrain will likely emerge next month, though it is likely the American-market Taos could be powered by the firm’s 2.0 litre turbo four-cylinder petrol, or the smaller 1.4 litre unit.

The Volkswagen Taos will enter production next year, reports Car and Driver, and prices are expected to start in the region of US$20,000 (RM82,590). On a side note, Volkswagen also points to a prior connection to the town of Taos long before the emergence of this upcoming SUV.

Taos was also home to John Muir, an engineer-turned-mechanic who authored How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step procedures for the Compleat Idiot, that was first published in 1969 and illustrated by local artist Peter Aschwanden. Muir’s book has helped keep various legacy Volkswagen models running, ranging from Beetles and Buses, to Type 3 and Type 4 models.

GALLERY: Volkswagen Tharu

GALLERY: Volkswagen T-Roc

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