Volkswagen Robust utility at the Melbourne Motor Show

By Alborz Fallah | February 27th, 2009

Volkswagen will unveil a ‘concept’ version of their upcoming Robust utility at the Melbourne Motor Show tomorrow.

The surprise reveal is set to take motor show goers by surprise as it’s a vehicle Volkswagen wouldn’t have dreamed of unveiling some 5 years ago.

Set to take on the likes of – deep breath – Hilux, Colorado, D-max, BT-50, Navara, Ranger, Triton and Pikup, the Robust will be the first European utility on the market, something which Volkswagen believe will be appealing to punters.

Volkswagen Group Australia’s PR manager, Karl Gehling, told CarAdvice that with the direction Volkswagen is heading in at the moment – referring to their engine line-up – the Robust is sure to ruffle a few feathers in terms of price, standard fitment, fuel economy and safety.

Volkswagen’s Phil Murray also told CarAdvice that the Robust won’t be a half-witted attempt. It will be a genuine utility with the ability of hauling a commendable load. The Robust will also use a proper 4WD system, placing it directly in competition with the other vehicles mentioned earlier.

We’re all for the development in the Australian market and will keep you posted on Volkswagen’s future plans. Although they’re only revealing a concept, you can expect the final product to look much like what’s on offer at the Motor Show.

Cupid Stunt

Sure it will sell like hot cakes perhaps 2yrs ago but now we’re all getting paranoid about when the politicians expect us to drive the market is smaller than it one was.
I have visions of Pamela anderson in a skimpy swimsuit and the Hoff jumping out of the SAR branded one
Andrew M

Looks very Navara-ish, which is of course a good thing.

lets hope it does break the mould of the typical pig to drive jap ute
Simon

Undoubtedly with VW engine pedigree it should be the trend setter in a crowded market. It’s not bad looking but certainly isn’t exceptional either.
VW will need signup more rural dealers if they want this to take off here. People need to know they can get their car repaired easily, particularly in the utility market.
Neo Utopia

I agree Simon, but most people will buy these will be trendy builders and the like in the metro areas.
Tony

I think a lot of people buy these utes for family use now and they need a model geared to that part of the market, so the car need to have features that are available on most family cars, ie rear disc brakes and VDC/ESP
Paul

heard some disappointing information re: Robust

rear drum brakes
rear lef springs

heard some good -> traction control, ABS, etc..

why can’t VW break the Jap ute mould and build a decent ute with rear coils, full-time 4WD and rear discs?

sigh…

paul.
NacaYoda

I expect real-world fuel economy and power will be fantastic, if the VW diesel vans are anything to measure by. But the price tag might be the major problem with these. We’ll see.
Geoff H

Paul, rear leaf springs are needed for this part of the market! In order for small business buyers (who use utes at the weekend as well) to get a tax concession they need to be able to carry a full 1 tonne load. That’s not something that’s easily achievable with coil springs if possible at all.

What I would like to see is a 5 star safety rating on a crew cab ute instead of 3 star like my Navarra and the rest of the Japanese crew cab utes whilst maintaining the 1 tonne carry capacity and something close to a 3 tonne towing rating with a decent tow ball down force rating which is where many current VW’s fall down.