Volkswagen's Chinese arm, the joint venture it has had with SAIC since 2014, has unveiled the 2022 Volkswagen Lamando L. It is built on the German marque's MQB Evo platform, and it is a four-door coupé-styled sedan. Do not expect to see it elsewhere outside of China.
Although it is a model that is only offered in China, it comes with interesting styling, if not attractive. The regular Lamando is still available, as this “L” version is considered to be a new body style in the range.
As you can see, this sedan comes with inspiration from the ID range, by adding an LED light bar between the headlights, as well as an illuminated VW badge.
The silhouette looks better than most sedans and sportier than the Jetta it shares its platform and size with. On the back, Volkswagen's Chinese arm has chosen to link the taillights with an illuminated ornament, and the VW logo is also illuminated, but in red.
We do not know, at this point, if it lights up red when the brake is pressed. The latter may be a bit too much, but we just offered a potentially tacky tuning idea for free. It might not be legal everywhere, so be informed before going forward with the plan.
Unfortunately, Volkswagen fitted this model with an ornament that mimics chrome in the lower part of the rear bumper, and it has room for exhaust surrounds, which are pointless if the exhaust is concealed behind the rear bumper. This fake exhaust trend, along with the fake chrome surrounds of elements that are never offered, needs to stop.
Viewed from its profile, VW's Lamando L comes with frameless side windows and looks sportier than you would expect. You may see it as the Jetta's coupé-styled brother that you will never get outside of China. Its trunk gets opened along with the rear window, just like on the Škoda Octavia, which means that it is more practical than a conventional sedan.
On the inside, it comes with two TFT screens, one of which is a touch screen unit for the multimedia system. The technology level is what you might find in a Volkswagen Golf 8, from what we can discern, and that includes the small, shift-by-wire gear selector for the automatic transmission.
From a technical standpoint, this model comes with a 1.4-liter TSI unit that provides 150 horsepower, and it is available at launch with a seven-speed dual-clutch DSG transmission. It can sprint from 0 to 62 mph (100 kph) in 8.5 seconds, so it is no drag racing queen, but it is enough for most, as is the top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph), as claimed by SAIC VW. The fuel tank has a 51-liter capacity, while the trunk offers as much as 1,395 liters of storage (with the rear seats down).
Unlike other models offered by the VW Group in Europe and other markets, the 2022 Volkswagen Lamando L comes with a multi-link rear suspension as standard even though it only has 150 horsepower under its hood.
Back in Europe, many models that use the MQB EVO platform come with a torsion beam rear suspension in the less-powerful versions. Many automakers do the same, but it appears that VW thought that its customers in China might tell the difference.
If more sedans were sold in other markets, Volkswagen might have considered offering this design on other continents, built in a different factory. However, that is not the case, and even the Passat's sedan variant will be axed.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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