Topic: 2007 VW Marrakesh

[Bullet Blue]

A compact SUV from VW?

2007 Volkswagen Marrakesh Gets the Go-Ahead
By: Phil Lienert
Date Posted 10-10-2005
After much deliberation, Volkswagen recently announced that it had made a deal to build a new compact SUV at its plant in Wolfsburg. Expected to be called the Marrakesh, this smaller companion to the Touareg will be built on the same platform as the fifth-generation Golf. Engines will probably be similar to those offered on the Golf, with both four- and six-cylinder power plants a possibility as well as a turbodiesel if VW can get it to pass strict U.S. emissions laws.

The 4Motion all-wheel-drive system will also be borrowed from the next-generation Golf, but like most other SUVs in the compact class it won't be a hard-core rock crawler like the Touareg. It's expected that the Marrakesh will cost between $25K and $35K, putting it in direct competition with the BMW X3 and Land Rover Freelander.

Look for the 2007 Volkswagen Marrakesh to debut at either of Europe's two major auto shows next year, in Geneva and Paris. The car is expected to go into production in 2007, with American sales starting shortly thereafter.


Spy Shot:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=107459?tid=edmunds.h..insideline.promo.8.*

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Tho info is fuzzy, I think they're actually two cars coming/in development.

The jacked Golf Plus, or Cross-Golf with SUV-like styling, and then the baby Touareg sibling which would be more from-the-ground-up new.

Time will tell I guess.

I believe they were to actually unveil the new SUV in Frankfurt just like the Eos, but Bernard said shorty before unveiling that the costs on it were too high, and he didn't want to unveil it before he could strip some $1,800-2,500 per vehicle in costs - labour and components. I fear I may no longer like VWs after what he does to them. They need to be affordable, but I know they'll never be as affordable as the Korean or Japanese cars, so there needs to be materials/perceived quality and genuine Euro character to them. Can't half-ass it in an effort to cut costs, as it shows. VW pays the highest labour among Euro automakers, so there is some cost savings to be had there tho.

[safristi]

2007 Marrakesh..".I say Bruce the've made a real HASH of it Wot...!~!!!!!"......

[johngenx]

Would some serial killer please target ALL those at VW that are, and might ever, be responsible for naming their products.

For some reason, German car companies cannot do it.  They cannot name cars.  BMW and Mercedes learned this long ago, and they just decided to stick with numbers and letters and forget the idiotic names.  But, no, not VW.  Porsche went with the alpha-numeric thing too, and they were doing fine.  They had the occasional name, but for the most part, left it alone.  Well, that changed and now they have a giant SUV spice rack and an "entry" level car that is all about packaging.

[wing]

LOL John, so true. Or how about the 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet S  Long enough?

[Snowman]

VW reminds me of GM in some ways. Reacting rather than innovating… a little too late to make an impact in the mid-size lux segment….or make any money.

[johngenx]

VW reminds me of GM in some ways. Reacting rather than innovating… a little too late to make an impact in the mid-size lux segment….or make any money.

Good analogy.  Honda might seem the same way, what with arriving late with the mini-van, SUV and now pick-up.  But, Honda comes in with a category-killer!  Their products swoop in and sell like no tomorrow, and they buy big warehouses to store all the profits.  Honda comes late to the party with a cheerleader that can rock the house,  VW comes late with the fat chick that needs to wear a helmet everywhere she goes...

[ktm525]

VW has a catagory killer in their midst called the Touareg TDI, it just costs double of what it should.

[asdf]

It's expected that the Marrakesh will cost between $25K and $35K, putting it in direct competition with the BMW X3 and Land Rover Freelander.

VW trying to go up market again?  More like out of the market.  IMO, they would be better off if they priced it a few thousand more than the CRV and Rav 4. 

[Bullet Blue]

It's expected that the Marrakesh will cost between $25K and $35K, putting it in direct competition with the BMW X3 and Land Rover Freelander.

VW trying to go up market again? More like out of the market. IMO, they would be better off if they priced it a few thousand more than the CRV and Rav 4.

But now the Rav4 is bigger and has more seats. Granted, they are probably unusable seats, but the RAV4 still comes out as being the winner in my opinion if you compare the two. Then again, we'd have to know more info on the marrakesh before making any comparos.

[johngenx]

VW trying to go up market again?  More like out of the market.   

Yeah, that way they can introduce an Audi version that is less money, has more equipment, longer warranty and a much better dealer experience.  It's VW's little inside joke on VW customers...

Ya could've had an Audi, ya moron...

[Bullet Blue]

Some more pics and previes of VW models in 2008. There seems to be a mazda5 fighter too?

http://www.germancarblog.com/2005/10/vw-picture-gallery-of-all-upcoming.html

[bassix]

Would some serial killer please target ALL those at VW that are, and might ever, be responsible for naming their products.

For some reason, German car companies cannot do it.  They cannot name cars.  BMW and Mercedes learned this long ago, and they just decided to stick with numbers and letters and forget the idiotic names.  But, no, not VW.  Porsche went with the alpha-numeric thing too, and they were doing fine.  They had the occasional name, but for the most part, left it alone.  Well, that changed and now they have a giant SUV spice rack and an "entry" level car that is all about packaging.

LOL... as long as it is not as ugly as a Cayenne!

[bassix]

Some more pics and previes of VW models in 2008. There seems to be a mazda5 fighter too?

http://www.germancarblog.com/2005/10/vw-picture-gallery-of-all-upcoming.html

A new Scirocco? Wow... gotta hold out on buying anything until that hits the Canadian market!

[Snowman]

“LOL... as long as it is not as ugly as a Cayenne”

I take more pleasure in watching a dog crap on my lawn than looking at the new Cayenne……Porsche has truly lost their way.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Some more pics and previes of VW models in 2008. There seems to be a mazda5 fighter too?

http://www.germancarblog.com/2005/10/vw-picture-gallery-of-all-upcoming.html

VW already has the Mazda5-battling Touran. Best selling vehicle in the segment.

The current Sharan is a much larger maxivan. But that computer-generated Sharan looks damn good to me.