The VW Tera, which will be the German marque’s new entry-level SUV, is set to be revealed on 2 March 2025 in Brazil, reports Motor1.com.
The Tera will be produced in the Latin American nation and it’s expected that it will also be built in South Africa from 2026 onwards.
For at least a year or more, we have known that VW Group Africa (VWGA) plans to start assembling a new budget SUV at its Kariega plant in the Eastern Cape that’s currently the sole producer of the venerable Polo hatchback for the entire globe.
In February 2024, MD of VWGA Martina Biene confirmed that the new A0-segment SUV will begin production in 2026 or 2027, and it will feature a petrol engine and sit on the same MQB platform that props up the Polo.
While it will be called the Tera in Brazil, it’s expected to have a different name in South Africa – though we can be certain that it will still start with a T.
Everything we know
The Tera will be VW’s new SUV entry point and is thus going to be smaller than the T-Cross.
Being based on the Polo, the Tera boasts a wheelbase of 2,552mm and is expected to have a similar width and length to its hatchback sibling.
For reference, the Polo measures 4,074mm long with a width of 1,751mm and a height of 1,451mm. Meanwhile, the larger T-Cross comes in at 4,135mm long, 1,760mm wider, and 1,573mm tall.
The Tera is anticipated to sit somewhere between these measurements, similar to something like the Nissan Magnite and Suzuki Fronx.
VW Tera spy shot. Source: Motor1.com
VWGA has confirmed that the Tera will be available with a petrol engine.
Given its kinship with the Polo, the crossover should be shipped with the 1.0-litre, turbocharged block found in the base version of the hatchback that is good for 70kW and 175Nm.
This same powerplant also does duty in the T-Cross where it develops a higher 85kW and 200Nm, however, to keep costs down, we reckon the Tera will only be equipped with the lesser powerful unit.
Expect a five-speed manual transmission in the base models and a six- or seven-speed auto in the pricier variants.
The Tera is VW’s big attempt to reclaim budget market share it has lost in recent years as it shifted focus to seizing the luxury car segment with limited success.
It’s thus anticipated to undercut the T-Cross by a significant amount, especially since it will be built within our borders, the latter of which currently starts at R471,400.
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