Test drive Volkswagen Teramont

The world's largest Volkswagen calls itself either Atlas or Teramont, it pleases with its spaciousness and surprises with its appearance. It seems that this crossover would vote for Hillary, but, unlike her, it is convenient for everyone and therefore is doomed to success.

Accidental meetings do not happen by chance. In San Antonio, Texas, we suddenly saw Timofey Mozgov, the main Russian basketball player on the other side of the ocean. The LA Lakers center walked out to chat from a nearby hotel and easily cut off all the trivialities about cars that were cramped for him. “Well, Smart was too small,” this huge Russian finally took pity on me. Within a day, I was driving an Atlas / Teramont, the largest crossover Volkswagen has ever built.

In fact, a car that Mozzie would definitely fit in without any problems is called Teramont - in the first letter T, like all Volkswagen crossovers and SUVs. Under this name, the crossover will be released on the Russian and Chinese markets, and in the USA it will receive the name Atlas solely from the fact that it is difficult for Americans to pronounce “Teramont”. Of course, the Russian people even pronounced "expropriation" on time and without hesitation.

For Americans, it was created in the first place, because the Touareg, according to their American logic, is cramped and expensive. But there is another reason why the appearance of Teramont is so important to them.

As Western sitcoms teach, for a man there is nothing worse than the phrase: "Honey, it's time to buy a minivan." Further, according to the canons of the genre, he wanders doomedly into a car dealership, and past, as luck would have it, then a Challenger growls, then a shiny German convertible rustles with rubber on 20 discs. On the way, he does something stupid, but everything ends well, and the woman is sure to be right. Titles.

So, Teramont is a real salvation in this situation. The Germans made a disguised minivan - a totally family car that doesn't look like that. Deliberately rough, typically American outline and colossal dimensions make it their own even in the country of pickups, and seven seats already in the basic configuration and suspension with ostentatious softness of Barack Obama guarantee agreement with his wife. One seat will be taken away from you for a surcharge - and then Teramont will become a six-seater with two “captain's” chairs in the second row, which will bring it even closer to classic cars for moms.

"Is it something between the Amarok and the Touareg?" - they asked me in bewilderment on instagram'e on the very first day of the test drive. Teramont, indeed, has something in common with the Volkswagen pickup, but no, dear subscriber. Don't be surprised, in a way, this is a Golf. This is the brightest demonstration of what the scalable MQB platform is capable of - from a regular C-class hatchback to a hefty five-meter crossover.

Thanks to this "cart", Teramont does not travel like a family at all. It does not roll in corners, exactly like Volkswagen, it steers academically and sounds solid - no plea for mercy at maximum revs. All this is true for the all-wheel drive version with a 3,6-liter gasoline VR6 with 280 hp. and an 8-speed classic "automatic" - we did not get any others for the test. This engine is familiar to us, for example, from some versions of the Superb and Touareg. True, the standard for the Tuareg 8,4 s to a hundred, and with a deformed 249-horsepower variant, it does not seem at all similar to the sensations, and we do not yet have official data on overclocking.

In Russia, unlike the United States, only four-wheel drive options will arrive, and only with 8-speed "Aisin" gearboxes - no DSGs. A more affordable and potentially more popular version will be equipped with a two-liter 220-horsepower turbo engine, which, in particular, is installed on the top versions of the Tiguan - and there is just a "robot". But again, the crossover's focus on the US market can be traced - here the impulsiveness of the DSG is not held in high esteem. As for the all-wheel drive system, Teramont does not offer hardcore off-road solutions: by default, the drive wheels are front, and the rear wheels are automatically connected through a clutch at the right time.

Teramont will not have air suspensions in principle, and adjustable shock absorbers will only be in the Chinese version. We and the Americans got exclusively spring classics, which is great, because the crossover's suspension works perfectly. Yes, it is possible that you cannot find absolute Asian Zen at the joints and holes here, but, we repeat, Teramont steers very sensibly and does not swing in turns. In general, it does not create the impression of a too large car for the driver, but, which is very correct, it fully gives this understanding to the passengers.

There is a lot of legroom in the second row, the seats move forward / backward and the backrests are adjustable for tilt, and the third row in the Teramont is, kiddingly, the most comfortable I've ever ridden. There are cleverly designed footwells under the second-row seats, there is enough space even for adult passengers and the rear side windows are wide enough not to cause claustrophobia. But, like all the third rows of cars, on which I had the good fortune to be, instead of a normal armrest, there is a recess for unnecessary items, into which an elbow falls. One way or another, it's a sin to complain - out of 40 minutes in the gallery, I did not experience a single minute of discomfort.

Is that annoying noise from the wheel arches, but here it is not in the third row. Qualitatively isolated from extraneous sounds as a whole, here Teramont gave a blunder - on a gravel road, noise fills the entire interior. However, we drove a crossover with 20-inch wheels, while the standard version on 18 wheels should be quieter.

The interior is decorated very simply, but neatly - in the United States, the Teramont price tag starts from a ridiculous, by local standards, 30 with a little thousand dollars for a front-wheel drive version and obliges to be democratic. But there are two USB ports in the front and the same in the back, a cool multimedia touchscreen in the center console, identical to the Skoda Kodiaq, and a drawn dashboard, and a cat (two) will fit in a box under the driver's right hand.

And Teramont also has pleasant ambient lighting inside and LED headlights, already available in the basic version, outside; for additional money, he will be able to park himself and protect his passengers by all means available to modern electronics. True, the front cameras are located too low and in Russia they will instantly be covered with mud.

By the way, about the boxes - the volume of the trunk, even with a seven-seater seating, reaches 583 liters, and if you fold the two rows of seats that form a flat floor, then 2741 liters. However, there was not enough space for a spare wheel.

In general, this is the most American Volkswagen I have ever seen, and its registration is also purely American - Teramont is assembled in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Perhaps a gray-haired Texan in a pickup truck with a "Trump" sticker, who cut us off on the way to the airport, will even buy it for his wife. By all indications, this crossover would vote for Hillary, but, unlike her, it is convenient for everyone and therefore is doomed to success.

And not only in the USA, but also in Russia, although we do not have a comedy problem with minivans - like minivans themselves. Firstly, it is the largest of its very, very conditionally combined small segment, be it the Honda Pilot with the Nissan Pathfinder or the Ford Explorer with the Toyota Highlander. Secondly, it should be cheaper than most of them. We will find out the prices closer to November, when Volkswagen will start accepting orders for Teramont in Russia, but it is already clear that it will be in the price niche between Skoda Kodiaq and VW Touareg. The first one starts from $ 26 and the second - from $ 378.

It is very important that Teramont is not the heir of some of the well-known models, but a completely new Volkswagen in a segment new to the concern, which has not existed for a long time, and already now it has provided excitement around the crossover. Yes, you still have to get used to the American-style squared wheel arches, but it's worth it. The Germans got both a family car and a man's car, which is a rarity in itself, and they raised the bar of comfort, expressed primarily in the space for passengers, to the eye level of the center Lakers.

Body type	Universal	Universal
Dimensions: (length / width / height), mm	5036/1989/1778	5036/1989/1778
Wheelbase, mm	2979	2979
Ground clearance, mm	203	203
Cargo space, l	583 – 2741	583 – 2741
Curb weight, kg	No data	2042
Gross vehicle weight, kg	No data	2720
engine's type	Gasoline supercharged	Gasoline atmospheric
Working volume, cubic meters cm.	1984	3597
Max. power, h.p. (at rpm)	220/4500	280/6200
Max. cool. moment, Nm (at rpm)	258/1600	266/2750
Drive type, transmission	Full, AKP8	Full, AKP8
Max. speed km / h	186	186
Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h, s	No data	No data
Fuel consumption (mixed cycle), l / 100 km	No data	12,4
Price from, $.	Not announced	not announced