Volkswagen Tera: New small SUV for South America

After a long period of speculation and anticipation, Volkswagen has finally announced the official name of its new entry-level SUV for Brazil and South America. The model, named Tera (referring to the tradition of using the letter 'T'), will be launched in 2025 and is expected to increase the brand's share in the competitive small SUV segment, positioning itself below the Nivus and T-Cross models.

Thus, the new VW will be a direct competitor abroad to Fiat's Puls and Renault's Kardian, which are very successful in Brazil. Visually, the Tera is based on the new design language of Volkswagen do Brasil and is inspired by the latest market innovations in Europe and North America. A small Tiguan, so to speak.

Previews and trailers have already shown that the front end will have a bumper with dark elements that will contrast with the body, and headlights with LED lighting (including daytime running lights in the upper part). At the rear, a black horizontal panel will connect the taillights, and directly below the bumper will be silver applications. The continuous LED light strip at the rear will be omitted due to cost.

The Tera will be manufactured at the Taubaté (SP) factory and shares the familiar MQB-A0 platform with the Polo, T-Cross, Nivus (known here as Taigo) and Virtus models. In terms of dimensions, it looks like it will be around four meters long – shorter than the T-Cross and Nivus models – and will have a 2.566mm wheelbase like the Polo. For comparison: competitors Pulse and Kardian measure 2.532 mm and 2.604 mm, respectively.

SUV A0 Concept

Under the hood, the main power unit will be the 1.0 TSI engine that is often used in VW models in Brazil. The engine is rumored to be in a 116bhp configuration (same as the Polo) to differentiate it from its Nivus and T-Cross cousins, which use a more powerful 128bhp version. The gearbox will be a manual on the base versions, and a 6-speed automatic on the higher versions.

Prices will not be announced until the official market launch, but you can already imagine them. For example, the Fiat Pulse in Brazil costs between 107.990 and 138.990 Brazilian dollars and the Renault Kardian between 106.990 and 138.990 Brazilian dollars. Calculated, this means from 17.000 to approximately 22.200 euros.

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