TOKYO MOTOR SHOW: Volkswagen Cross Coupe

VW reveals a chunky, funky hybrid SUV – and future styling directions – at the 2011 Tokyo show

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Shorter than a Tiguan but longer than a Golf, wider by far than either yet standing lower than a Passat wagon, Volkswagen's Tokyo show surprise was the Cross Coupé.

The snub, chunky all-wheel drive hybrid SUV is the first exposure of a car built on the company's upcoming Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform, and will influence future SUV design for the company.

As Volkswagen Member of the Board of Management, Ulrich Hackenberg, explained, the Cross Coupe could even spawn a new model for the brand: "Let me say that we want to test [public opinion] with the car; it's a show car and... we use it to find out what the customers and what the media are [saying] about the car.

"So we can check that and then make decisions whether we can go an additional segment for Cross Coupe SUVs, which are not on the market now. Or we make the Tiguan a little bit more sporty; so it depends. If we make two, then the Tiguan stays upright; if we make one then the Tiguan goes a little bit more sporty."

The four-seat concept employs three power sources: a 110kW TSI petrol engine at the front, and two electric motors, one front and one rear, the former developing 40kW/180Nm and the latter 85kW/270Nm.

The combination provides enough punch to accelerate the Cross Coupé to 100km/h in a swift 7.0 seconds and top out at 201km/h. At the same time, fuel consumption is quoted at a staggering 2.7L/100km with CO2 emissions of 62g/km.

This is partly explained by the VW's ability to run entirely on electric power alone for as much as 45km. Depending on how the car was used, the economy figures would vary wildly.

The driver selects full EV mode via a button on the centre console, while the car reverts seamlessly to regular hybrid mode once the battery charge drops a certain level. The total range, with the hybrid powertrain and EV mode fully factored in, is as much as 855km.

And, while the Cross Coupe also operates as a "normal" hybrid (in that the petrol engine is merely assisted by the electric motors under most circumstances) it is also a plug-in hybrid able to be charged via a normal domestic power supply.

As is fast becoming the practice with hybrids, the VW achieves its all-wheel drive status without need for a mechanical connection to the rear wheels. The bigger 85kW rear-mounted electric motor steps in to do that, in the same manner as the Lexus RX 450h hybrid SUV – or Mitsubishi's Concept PX-MiEV II SUV also revealed at the Tokyo show.

With its electric motors and lithium ion battery pack located in the central floor tunnel, the Cross Coupe isn't light. VW quotes 1748kg all-up with 58 per cent of that over the front axle.

The Cross Coupe's strong suit is its chunky styling. With the cartoonish 20-inch alloy wheels making an intriguing proportional contrast with the narrow side windows, and its next-generation VW design language it looks spectacular from all angles.

Neither angular nor rounded, the shape is purely macho with Jeep-style wheel arches, long bonnet and sharply-chopped front and rear overhangs. VW says the steep approach and departure angles at each end augur well for the odd, tentative bush-bash.

The design is the work of Walter de Silva (Group Chief Designer) and Klaus Bischoff (Volkswagen Chief Designer) and takes the brand's new design DNA an extra step.

According to Bischoff "This will be the new face of the future SUVs of Volkswagen… look at the precision and the surfacing of the car, it feels as if the car is carved out of a block of metal… very sharp, very precise – and we are very proud of it."