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Volkswagen Tharu Debuts in China, Is the Skoda Karoq With an Atlas Face

Can you guys keep up with all the small crossovers being made by the VW Group? Because this is the all-new Volkswagen Tharu, and it has us very confused.
Volkswagen Tharu Debuts in China, Is the Skoda Karoq With an Atlas Face 6 photos
Photo: autohome.cn
Volkswagen Tharu Debuts in China, Is the Skoda Karoq With an Atlas FaceVolkswagen Tharu Debuts in China, Is the Skoda Karoq With an Atlas FaceVolkswagen Tharu Debuts in China, Is the Skoda Karoq With an Atlas FaceVolkswagen Tharu Debuts in China, Is the Skoda Karoq With an Atlas FaceVolkswagen Tharu Debuts in China, Is the Skoda Karoq With an Atlas Face
There's a ridiculous amount of overlap in this segment, even though VW says its brands will never compete with each other. Skoda presented a new crossover called the Kamiq last month, slotting it below the Karoq. Meanwhile, Volkswagen is offering a sub-Tiguan car in the form of the Tharu, seen here for the first time.

Chinese media is reporting that it's based on the same platform as the Skoda Karoq, which is so new that we still can't pronounce it correctly. That would make this another MQB crossover. Both are going to be made on the same assembly line by Shanghai-Volkswagen, a local joint venture.

As far as we know, the only two powertrain options are a 1.2-liter turbo with 116 HP and a 1.4-liter turbo with 150 HP. In both cases, a 7-speed DSG sends everything to the front wheels.

What about the T-Roc, or the T-Cross, where does this fit in regarding those two? Well, The Tharu is 4,453mm long, 1,841mm wide, 1,632mm tall and rides on a 2,688mm wheelbase. While that's bigger than the Karoq specs we have, we know that China gets a long wheelbase of that anyway.

The Tiguan falls very close to Tharu with its 4,486mm length and 2,677mm wheelbase. But again, the Chinese have a Tiguan L. We can say for sure that the model wouldn't fit within the European lineup, but it might be perfect for America, which would explain why it has the same front-end design as the Atlas.

We think it's a snazzy 4x2. The top-end model has alloy wheels, silver roof rack, a panoramic sunroof and the all-important Beats sound system. We hope to add some interior shots when they become available.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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