The 2021 Volkswagen Nivus has made its
debut ahead of going on sale in Brazil at the end of next month. Argentina will
get the new model by the end of 2020. Designed and made in Brazil, the
coupe-roofed compact crossover will also be made and sold in Europe in the
second half of 2021.
The Nivus sits on Volkswagen’s MQB A0
platform that also underpins several group products, including the current Polo
and the T-Cross, VW’s junior SUV. The Nivus measures 4,266 mm long, 1,757 mm
wide and 1,493 mm tall, with a 2,566 mm wheelbase.
The latter is identical to the
sixth-generation Polo hatchback that first surfaced in 2017. However, the Nivus
is longer than the Polo (4,057 mm) and T-Cross (4,199 mm) and has the biggest
boot of all at 415 litres (115L more than the Polo and 42L more than the
T-Cross). Of course, the main difference between the Nivus and T-Cross is the
new car’s roofline, which slopes down from rear doors onwards. The T-Cross is a
conventionally-shaped small SUV.
The dashboard is largely similar to the
T-Cross’ but with slight changes to the shapes of the side AC vents and centre
console. The VW logo is also the latest one. It’s properly modern in here with
two 10-inch screens in the cockpit – one is the Active Info Display instrument
panel and the other belongs to the new VW Play infotainment system.
The latter, developed in Brazil, is a
touchscreen with “virtual buttons” and is anti-scratch. Services, streaming and
apps are promised, and there’s 10GB of memory. VW Play is compatible with
Android and Apple smartphones and is the first car in Brazil with wireless
mirroring, Volkswagen says. Notable equipment include adaptive cruise control,
autonomous emergency braking, LED headlights and daytime running lights, Driver
Alert System, Kessy keyless entry and start, reverse camera and 17-inch alloys.
The hatch can be opened using a virtual button in VW Play.
Under the hood is Volkswagen’s 1.0 litre
TSI engine, branded as 200 TSI in Brazil. This EA211 family turbocharged engine
has three cylinders, 128 hp and 200 Nm of torque, and is paired to a six-speed
automatic transmission. Power goes to the front wheels, no 4Motion here.
Typically for Latin America, it’s flexfuel ready.
