By: IOL Motoring Staff
These are the first pictures of the Volkswagen Golf Sportsvan concept - successor to the Golf Plus wannabe MPV - 'leaked' from Wolfsburg just a day before its world premiere at the Frankfurt motor show on Tuesday 10 September.
The near-production concept is based, like the new Golf, on the MQB platform, but with a larger, more practical body styled to follow the look of the Golf, as well as VW's bigger vehicles.
At 4338mm long, the Sportsvan is 134mm longer than the previous Golf Plus and 83mm longer than the new Golf - but 224mm shorter than the Golf Estate. Its 2685mm wheelbase is 48mm longer than that of the Golf, creating more interior space, and it's also 80mm wider at 1870mm and 126mm higher at 1578mm (not including the roof rails).
SPACE SHIP
Boot capacity is 498 litres - 74 more than the Golf plus and 118 bigger than the new Golf - increasing to a cavernous 1512 litres with the rear seats folded.
Standard safety kit includes an automatic post-collision braking system that brakes the vehicle after a collision to minimise the chance of a second impact, and a pre-crash system that detects the possibility of a collision, pre-tensions the seatbelts and closes the windows and sunroof.
Driver aids include adaptive cruise control, front distance sensors and city emergency braking and a blind spot monitor for the area behind and to the sides of the car, ensuring safer exits from parking bays.
NUTS AND BOLTS
The Sportsvan will be offered in Europe with a choice of three turbodiesels - two 1.6-litres tuned for 66 and 81kW respectively, and a 110kW two-litre unit - and one petrol engine, a 1.4-litre TFSI tuned for 62, 81, 92 or 119kW - your choice.
Idle stop and battery regeneration are standard across the range.
The production Sportsvan is expected to go on sale in Europe in the second quarter of 2014; we're waiting on a reply from VWSA as to whether and when it will be released in South Africa.