Volkswagen Neeza concept

VW Neeza concept: the lowdown

Volkswagen is developing a Ford S-Max rival – and this Neeza concept gives a clue to its thinking. Designed in China and unveiled at the Beijing motor show, the Neeza is a five-seat crossover MPV. And that’s the exact concept that’s under development by Volkswagen’s R&D team, with a launch target of 2009. CAR Online has all the details of the production car, dubbed ‘Sportvan’ by insiders. The 4.85m-long space cruiser will land in the range between the Sharan II and the Phaeton saloon. It shares key components with today’s Audi A6 Avant, runs four- and six-cylinder engines and has two rows of seats. Expect the base car to cost a few quid less than £20,000. VW isn’t the only company working on a crossover MPV. BMW also has a 5-series based people carrier in the pipeline. For more details and pictures of the Neeza concept, which is named after a hero from Chinese mythology, click next.

VW Neeza: how it looks

Let’s be frank – the Neeza is a total Merc R-class knock-off. The overall concept, glasshouse and pumped up wheelarches echo the Merc’s, as do the unusually small VW grille, headlamps and wraparound rear lamps. Volkswagen describes the Neeza as a cross between sports coupe and an estate with an off-road appearance – which is pretty much how Merc pitches the R-class. Surely VW’s production car will look a lot sexier, though, especially considering the ‘slow start’ Benz sources admit the ugly R-class has made. That’s certainly the view of VW’s designers, who are buzzing about the Sportvan (codenamed VW518). One source described it as dynamic and elegant – ‘an R-class that really works’. Visually, Wolfsburg’s new niche model is less slab-sided than the Touran but nowhere near as ornamental as Merc’s R-class. As for its size, the Sportvan is pretty close to the six-seater Merc.

Under the skin

The Neeza’s long nose hints that the production Sportvan will have longitudinally mounted engines. That’s because VW will use Audi hardware, in an unusual step. The Passat platform wasn’t big enough for the Sportvan, so the R&D team had to look elsewhere within the group. They found the answer in Ingolstadt, where the current A6 will be phased out in 2010. Instead of scrapping the tools, VW decided to adopt and transfer them for the SportVan. This approach saves time and money, and it proves that even in the highly competitive intra-corporate environment synergies do exist. Thanks to the Audi connection, four-wheel drive and MMI will be readily available, adding more powerful engines is the easiest trick in the book, and interesting high-tech options like height-adjustable air suspension could be offered at relatively short notice. Power will be transmitted via a six-speed manual, stepless multitronic auto (front-wheel drive) or a seven-speed DSG ‘box on four-wheel drive models.

The engine room

VW Neeza: the inside story

The Neeza previews some of the Sportvan’s functionality – and the fact it will only have two rows of seats. The Neeza’s perches swivel so that front and rear passengers can face each other when parked, a feature the production car will also offer. Don’t expect those suicide rear doors on the Sportvan, though: the 2009 car is likely to stick with a conventional approach.