New Volkswagen concepts cause a stir

The Geneva Motor Show is the event of choice for top manufacturers to parade their very best new ideas, designs and concepts. The buzz from the Geneva show can spread around the world in minutes, which is great news for companies whose products are wowing the crowds. But, as Volkswagen found out this week, the show can be a double-edged sword. The renowned German manufacturer used the Geneva Motor Show to launch two new concepts; ‘Tex’ and ‘Go!’. The cars are the first VWs to feature the designs of the Italdesign Giugiaro studio, which was bought by VW in late 2010, and the work of lead designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.

The Go! is a small people-mover while the Tex is a sporty three door and the look of both cars is smooth, sleek and minimalistic. Like many of Volkswagen’s most recent releases, both cars feature electric motors – a sign of things to come as VW pushes towards its all-electric ‘E-Motion’ range in the next few years. The Tex boasts a plug-in hybrid system with a 1.4 litre turbocharged engine and an 85kW electic motor, along with 400Nm of torque to take it from 0 to 100km/h in around six seconds.

The Go! is all electric but VW assures drivers they will get as much as 240km out of its front and rear split battery packs. The low costs in running the Go! make it an attractive proposition for drivers, who may also benefit from government incentives for green travel and very reasonable car insurance premiums from the likes of moneysupermarket car insurance.

Giorgetto Giugiaro, who designed the original 1974 VW Golf, hailed his MPV design for leading the advances being made in electric car technology. He said: “Go! is an MPV that continues that subject, owing to its improved ergonomics and passenger room, while keeping the smaller exterior size that has distinguished a large part of my career.” The new designs were produced under the concept of “solutions for the urban mobility of tomorrow” but early reaction from motor enthusiasts has been mixed, to say the least.

The deep windows with plastic panels, rear-mounted spoiler, narrow grille and ultra slim headlights seen on both designs did not go down well at all with visitors to AutoExpress.co.uk. Comments on the site’s discussion of the new VW’s included: “My lord. These so called renderings have NO personality in them whatsoever.

Some one should be fired for this.” Other posters agreed, with one saying: “What we are seeing is nothing new, very disappointing from a manufacturer that always seemed to have new, fresh ideas in designing cars. Very lazy from the boys in Wolfsburg!” However, it was not all bad news for VW, with one comment heralding the designs as “a breath of fresh air after the increasingly over embellished current designs shown at their worst by Ford and BMW.”

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