Volkswagen has developed a vehicle that combines a car, pickup and beach baja. Using elements from the VW Amarok, the Baja Bug and the front end of a Golf here is the Volkswagen Saveiro Cross, a pickup from Brazil that has protective body cladding like an Audi allroad and now even comes in crew cab configuration.
Pickup trucks are, for lack of a better word is a commercial/workhorse vehicle which can also be used as a lifestyle vehicle. People buy them even though they don’t need to and if Volkswagen ever decided to randomly offer this thing in Europe or ASIA, we knew a few people who would jump at the chance to own one.
This new version is called a Cabina Double, meaning double cab in south American lingo. Not only have their extended the cabin and wheelbase, but Volkswagen has raised the roof a bit in order to provide sufficient headroom in the back.
The Saveiro might look like a Golf, but it’s actually based on the same platform as the Gol, a small hatchback sold in Brazil. Old technology means that you are not going to find any TSI engines here, just a 1.6-liter that makes 110 hp and 154 Nm on regular petrol or 120 hp and 156 Nm on ethanol, a popular fuel in South America. The only gearbox option offered is a 5-speed manual and a 6-speed auto gearbox from the Polo sedan could easily be used for the ASIA market if need be. For now there is no indication of its arrival in our region and we wait to see if this changes.
