Finally, after teasing for so long, the German automotive giant Volkswagen has fully revealed its most affordable SUV—the Tera. This subcompact SUV’s grand reveal took place at the Rio de Janeiro Samba School Parade at the Marquês de Sapucaí in Rio de Janeiro. Presently, the company has only revealed the exterior and interior design of the Tera, and the mechanical details will be revealed in the coming period. As for the official launch, it has been slated for the first half of this year.
Exterior
First off, let's talk about the Volkswagen Tera and its bold new design. The Tera, which is the brand's smallest SUV that will be first offered in Brazil and then come to India, gets an aggressive yet classy exterior design. At the front, it gets a thin grille with a large Volkswagen insignia at the center. Along with it, the headlights of the Tera are sleek LED units that feature a broken-off LED DRL as well.
The front bumper of this subcompact SUV gets a large section in the middle with U-shaped elements. It also has two air dams on both ends of the front bumper. Moving on to the side profile, the Tera gets a macho yet sporty silhouette. The main highlights are the 10-spoke directional diamond-cut alloy wheels.
Apart from this, the SUV gets standard pull-type door handles, roof rails, a short antenna on the roof, and thin side claddings. Its roofline, although not completely like a coupe, still has a slanted design, making it look very unique. Moving to the rear, the Tera gets an integrated spoiler, LED taillights, a chunky rear bumper, and a set of rear wipers and washers.
Interior Design
Moving on to the interior of the Volkswagen Tera subcompact SUV, the main highlight of its cabin is the simple and elegant layout, which is very functional. There is a large 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system in the middle, which is a freestanding unit. Then, just underneath this screen, are the two trapezoidal central air-conditioning vents, and below these vents is the automatic climate control system.
This SUV also gets a digital instrument gauge cluster, and the steering wheel is the same one we already get in the Virtus and Taigun in India. Apart from these, the interior gets brushed silver elements along with high-gloss black accents all around, which add to the premium appeal of this subcompact SUV. The overall interior theme is black and features leatherette upholstery.
Volkswagen Tera: Powertrain Options
At the moment, Volkswagen has not fully revealed the details of the Tera’s powertrain options. However, as it is based on the MQB A0 IN platform, it will most likely share the same engine options as its siblings, the Virtus and Taigun. The primary engine option will be the 1.0-litre TSI three-cylinder petrol engine, which makes 118 bhp of power and 178 Nm of torque.
It will come mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox and will also have an optional 6-speed torque converter automatic. The Tera could also get the more powerful 1.5-litre TSI EVO four-cylinder turbo petrol engine as well. This motor makes 150 bhp and 250 Nm of torque.
Pricing for the Tera in India will be similar to the Skoda Kushaq, and it will compete with other popular subcompact SUVs in the country. These include the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Brezza, Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Mahindra XUV 3XO, and many others.