Volkswagen showed its T-Prime Concept GTE in a world premiere at Auto China 2016 in Beijing, as it and all major automakers appear ready to flood the world’s largest auto market – and others – with SUVs. This SUV is most assuredly headed for sale in North America.
T-Prime is a full-size sport utility vehicle with a sophisticated plug-in hybrid powertrain and all-wheel drive. Inside, there is an interesting curved infotainment display that merges with the already quite common interactive displays and controls in expensive vehicles. The upshot is a claimed new human-machine interface (HMI) that is said to be intuitive, precise, and fun-to-use. We’ll see.
Technically, the T-Prime Concept GTE is based on VW Group’s modular longitudinal platform (MLB); it covers full-size models with longitudinally-mounted engines and gearboxes. The concept vehicle is 199.6 inches long. By means of comparison: the SUV is 0.4 inches longer than the ill-fated first-generation Phaeton sedan its forerunner. The T-Prime, which is equipped with two individual rear seats, has a width of 78.7 inches and is 67.2 inches tall.
Turbocharged Hybrid Powertrain
The concept car is powered by a 375 horsepower plug-in hybrid drive, incorporating an electric motor, turbocharged gas engine, and battery pack, which can charge externally or while driving. With a sufficiently charged battery (14.1 kWh capacity – no breakthrough here) this SUV—like all Volkswagen GTE cars—always starts in the electric E-Mode. It permits up to 31 miles of zero-emission driving in metropolitan areas.
GTE mode incorporates the electric motor that is integrated into the housing of the 8-speed automatic gearbox and the 2-liter four-cylinder turbo engine. The electric motor develops 134 horsepower, with maximum torque of 258 lb.-ft. The TSI has an output of 248 horsepower and 273 lb.-ft.
In boosted GTE mode (kickdown), the full system power and 516 lb.-ft. of system torque are available. The T-Prime Concept GTE is equipped with permanent all-wheel drive, which distributes power to the front and rear wheels via a limited-slip differential that is also integrated into the 8-speed automatic gearbox.
In hybrid operation when the high-voltage battery is discharged, fuel consumption is 29 mpg in combined mode. However, using energy from the charged battery, the combined fuel consumption in the NEDC cycle for plug-in hybrid models is 87 mpg. In GTE mode, the T-Prime Concept GTE accelerates to 60 in 6.0 seconds and has a top speed of 139 mph.
There are two ways to externally charge the lithium-ion battery of the T-Prime. The charging cable is plugged into a 240-volt outlet. From a completely flat state, the battery will fully charge at a charging power of 3.6 kW in eight hours. It is also possible to recharge at public charging stations at a power of 7.2 kW. Then the battery is fully charged after two hours and 30 minutes.
The T-Prime Concept GTE can be driven in three different modes: E-Mode, Hybrid, and GTE: The system is designed to use battery energy first, so it starts off in E-Mode. While driving in E-Mode, the driver can intentionally activate the gas TSI – the Hybrid mode – by pressing the accelerator pedal beyond a defined pressure point. The driver can return to the zero-emission E-Mode via touchscreen at any time – provided that the battery still has sufficient charge – in this case, the all-wheel drive is also active.
The GTE mode can also be activated via touchscreen. The driver brings out the most agile character of the SUV in this mode. The accelerator pedal, gearbox and steering traits are now tuned for response, not efficiency. In boosted GTE mode, the TSI and the electric motor also work together to access the full system power and maximum system torque. As soon as the driver releases the accelerator pedal, all drive sources are shut off and decoupled from the drivetrain, provided that the battery is sufficiently charged. In this form of coasting; the electric motor operates as a generator and feeds the energy recovered from braking into the lithium-ion battery pack. In this case as well, the TSI is shut off and decoupled.
SUVs Galore
Volkswagen, like most other automakers, will offer a SUV in every market segment it can profitably assault. The VW SUV plan expands this spring with the global market launch of the new Tiguan, which will also be offered with an extended wheelbase in certain markets. Following above it are a new mid-size SUV for the U.S. and China. The successful Touareg continues, and a vehicle in the style of the T-Prime Concept GTE will appear. Beneath the Tiguan, two new SUV model series will make their debut simultaneously: in the Golf class, there will be an SUV inspired by the T-Roc concept. The T-Cross Breeze that was presented in Geneva Motor Show hints at the direction that will be taken in the sub-compact Polo class (SUV).
If this makes for a complicated showroom floor with overlapping offerings, so be it. SUVs sales are growing globally – all the more in the segment of the large C-SUVs to which the T-Prime Concept GTE belongs. Forecasts for China predict an 18% expansion between 2017 and 2023; in Europe and Russia growth might reach 26%. Around the globe, annual volume of very expensive SUVs will reach the milestone of two million unit sales around 2020. With the new T-Prime Concept GTE, Volkswagen is now responding to this trend.
