In Geneva next month, Volkswagen will reveal its take on the sporty compact SUV with the VW Concept A design study. Though there was no use of the word in the press material, the Concept A is a crossover vehicle, mixing coupe and off-roader.

VW's design house has done a top notch job on the styling of the Concept A, moving on the recent Volkswagen face from the Passat and Polo, and adding interesting metal sculpting, especially in the curves of the bonnet and the rear haunches. Mimicking the silver snout of the VW Passat and R32 Golf, the Concept A's grille extends downwards to incorporate the underbody protection.

At the rear, shapely lights meld into the prominent wheelarches and disguise the hatchback opening line. The concept's rear hatch is conventional, but below it is another drop-down door, allowing easy loading of cargo. The VW Concept A appears to be ready for production, though Volkswagen is tight-lipped on this for the moment. There is certainly room in the VW line-up for at least one more SUV, and the Concept A would sell well globally.

It's only a matter of time before somebody other than Mazda produces a car with rear-opening back doors, and the VW Concept A is the latest show car to feature this design, allowing unimpeded access into the snug four-seat cockpit of the concept. Inside are four patent leather-lined bucket seats, contrasting with silver trim. We particularly like the way the designers have integrated the ventilation outlets with the unusual netting design of the dashboard. Emphasising the car's sporty nature appears to be a manual gearbox, complete with a clutch pedal, though the press material states that the Concept A is fitted with the six-speed DSG double-clutch automatic manual 'box.

Other points of interest are the concertina-style soft-top (which folds all the way to the back of the car, but detracts from the overall appearance in our opinions), and the fitment of VW's new TSI engine under the bonnet utilising a turbocharger and a supercharger to maximise performance and minimise emissions and fuel consumption from an engine of modest capacity.

Shane O' Donoghue - 17 Feb 2006