New VW small bakkie shows face in Brazil, but will it come to SA?

It’s taken all of eight years for the new Volkswagen small bakkie to show itself in production-ready form in Brazil last week.

Called the Tukan in its home market, the so-called half-tonner goes into production next year as the discontinued Saveiro’s replacement. While the latter was a single cab, the Tukan will be offered as both single and double cab.

Despite the Saveiro never been offered in South Africa, there is a possibility that the Tukan can still become the first local VW small bakkie since the erstwhile Caddy which was based on the Golf Mk 1.

VW small bakkie shares platform with Polo

The Tukan is expected to ride on the MQB A0 platform which underpins both the Polo, Polo Vivo and the new compact crossover/SUV the Tengo. The latter will soon be built alongside the Polo and Polo Vivo at the VW assembly plant in Kariega. Adding another model in the form of the Tukan is therefore a feasible option for Volkswagen.VW

Volkswagen Group Africa is likely only to announce its plans for the Tukan after the start of Tengo assembly.

VW did not provide any interior images as the models shown at the event were reportedly locked after being shown. More details are expected before the end of the year before it enters production.

According to reports, the Tukan’s rear suspension has a leaf spring design only. It was previously alleged that a torsion beam could be one of the proposed options on lifestyle variants.

Three powertrains mooted

Three engine options have been mentioned. The normally aspirated 1.6-litre from the Saveiro, a flex-fuel version of VW’s familiar 1.0-litre TSI shared and 1.5 TSI Evo engine with 48-volt assistance. Transmissions that have been mentioned include a five-speed manual, six-speed Tiptronic and a new eight-speed Tiptronic.