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After mystery and anticipation, Volkswagen has announced the official name of the new base crossover for Brazil and South America. Called Tera (a reference to the tradition of using the letter "T"), the model will be launched in 2025 and is expected to expand the brand's share in the competitive small crossover segment, placing it below the Nivus and T-Cross.
The new VW will thus be sold abroad in Europe as a direct competitor to the Fiat Pulse and Renault Kardian, both of which are very successful in Brazil.
Design
Visually, the Tera is based on the new design language from Volkswagen do Brasil and inspired by recent premieres in the European and North American markets. You can even call it a children's Tiguan.
Previews and teasers have already shown that the front end will have a bumper with blacked-out elements to contrast with the body and headlights with LED lighting (including daytime running lights at the top).
At the back, a black horizontal panel connects the taillights, and silver applications will appear a little lower on the bumper. There is no solid LED light bar at the rear for cost reasons.
Technical details
The Tera will be built at the Taubaté (SP) plant and shares the MQB-A0 platform with the Polo, T-Cross, Nivus (known in Europe as Taigo) and Virtus. In terms of dimensions, it's tipped to be around four meters long – shorter than the T-Cross and Nivus – and will have the Polo's 2566mm wheelbase. For comparison: competitors Pulse and Kardian have 2532 mm and 2604 mm, respectively.
Under the hood, the main engine will be the 1.0 TSI engine that is widely used in VW models in Brazil. According to rumors, the engine will have a configuration of 116 hp. (the same as the Polo) to differentiate it from its Nivus and T-Cross cousins, which use a more powerful 128bhp version. The transmission will be manual in entry-level versions and 6-speed automatic in higher trim levels.
