Kia e-Niro-rivalling electric SUV finally hits the road in prototype form, with styling close to concept
We’ve waited to see one since 2017, but at long last the Volkswagen ‘ID Crozz’ electric SUV has been seen on the road in disguised prototype form.
Set to go into production after the ID 3 hatchback next year, the Kia e-Niro rival has yet to receive its official production name. The expectation is it will follow its sibling with a numerical name.
Despite the typical camouflage, the new EV appears to retain much of the same exterior themes of the ID Crozz concept car, which was first shown over two years ago and then reworked for the 2017 Frankfurt motor show.
Two versions of the ID Crozz will be offered: a coupé-SUV in the vein of the original concept and this straight SUV model with a more conventional roofline and tailgate design. We can also see it has conventional rear doors, ditching the sliding items of the 2017 car. It’s not yet clear if the coupé variant will also adopt this approach, but it’s likely.
Originally revealed at the Shanghai motor show in April 2017, the latest incarnation of the ID Crozz concept receives altered front end styling which, according to Volkswagen brand chairman Herbert Diess, brings it more in line with the definitive production version than the original concept.
The ID Crozz will be built in Europe, the US and China, cementing its status as a truly global model and a crucial kingpin of the brand’s rapid EV rollout.
“As early as 2020 we aim to sell 100,000 all-electric Volkswagens [per year],” said Diess at the concept’s 2017 unveiling. “But this is just the beginning. By 2025, annual sales could increase ten-fold to one million vehicles.”
Volkswagen had already shown ID hatchback and ID Buzz concepts, which will lead to production models. Diess said the new electric car line-up will be offered alongside traditional combustion engine and hybrid-powered Volkswagen models.
The ID Crozz is a crossover that aims to combine the dynamic lines of a modern day sports car together with the all terrain capability of a dedicated off-roader. It’s said to offer interior space on a par with the Tiguan Allspace – a new long wheelbase version of Volkswagen’s best selling SUV model, together with a claimed 515 litres of luggage capacity.
The ID Crozz concept is 4625mm long, 1891mm wide and 1609mm high, putting it in between the five-seat Tiguan and seven-seat Tiguan Allspace in terms of dimensions. It will have a wheelbase of 2773mm.
The MEB-based ID Crozz is powered by the same zero-emissions driveline used by the original concept, featuring two electric motors – one mounted within the front axle, and one at the rear – powered by an 83kWh lithium ion battery housed within the floor structure. The front electric motor sends its 101bhp and 103lb ft to the front wheels. The rear unit delivers 201bhp and 228lb ft to the rear wheels, giving the car a combined output of 302bhp and 332lb ft of torque.
This is just under 100bhp more than the powertrain used by the rear-wheel-drive ID hatchback, intended to offset a likely weight increase. The ID Crozz is set to have a range of more than 311 miles, with no specific figure yet quoted. No performance figures have been revealed, though Volkswagen says it intends limiting the production version’s top speed to 112mph.
With its large battery mounted low down within the floor structure and the electric motors also housed within the axle assemblies front and rear, Volkswagen also claims the ID Crozz possesses a front-to-rear weight distribution of 48:52. Wolfsburg officials are already talking up the dynamic qualities, suggesting the new platform and chassis provide a “large spread between handling and comfort”. The ID Crozz has been built to offer a choice between manual and autonomous driving modes.
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Source: Autocar
