Teased in a single sketch earlier this month as a five-seat version of the North American Atlas, the Cross Sport retains the same front appearance as its sibling bar the LED headlights and daytime runners integrated into the grille, with the biggest difference being the coupe-like rear end that makes it 4 846 mm long in overall length, 1 734 mm tall and 2 029 mm wide.
Riding on gloss polished 22-inch alloy wheels and underpinned by the same MQB platform, the Cross Sport’s interior mirrors that of the Atlas in design, but adds more leather surfaces, a new gear lever, wraparound style 10.1-inch touchscreen display and the 12.3-inch Active Info Display. At the base of the centre facia sits a smaller display with touch-sensitive controls for the climate control system.
Up front, the Cross Sport comes powered by the same 206 kW 3.6-litre VR6 engine as the Atlas, but with the addition of two electric motors to produce 265 kW. Mated to a six-speed DSG with drive going to all four wheels, Volkswagen claims a top speed of 209 km/h and 0-60 mph (96 km/h) in 5.4 seconds. The 18 kWh lithium-ion battery pack meanwhile allows for an all-electric range of 42 km.
Volkswagen has also hinted that a mild-hybrid version could be made available by pairing the VR6 mill to a smaller two kilowatt-hour battery pack for a total output of 231 kW, meaning 0-96 km/h in 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 209 km/h.
In the Cross Sport, a total of five driving modes are offered; E-Mode, Hybrid, GTE, Off-road and Battery Hold / Charge, while the 4Motion Active Control, selected by a rotary dial, has seven modes with “On-road” settings being Eco and Comfort and “Off-road” consisting of Rocks, Sludge & Sand and Gravel and two further individual options in Sport and Snow.
Production will start alongside the standard Atlas and Passat at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga Plant in Tennessee next year, but like the left-hand drive only former, don’t expect the Cross Sport to arrive in South Africa anytime soon.
