What South Africa can expect: Volkswagen Tera detailed in Brazil

The Citizen

7 days ago

Production at the Kariega Plant will seemingly start in mid or late-2026 before the commencing of sales in 2027.
Shown globally in March, the Volkswagen Tera has officially gone on-sale in Brazil. Image: Volkswagen do Brasil
Its world debut having taken place in March, Volkswagen has released complete details of the all-new Tera in Brazil that will debut under a different name in South Africa in 2027.
Finer specifications
The 'third model' Wolfsburg will produce alongside the Polo and Polo Vivo at its Kariega Plant in the Eastern Cape, the Tera's market launch in the South American nation this past weekend sees the disclosing of several details not known until now.
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A joint venture product between South Africa, Brazil and India where it premiered last year as the Skoda Kylaq, the Tera is based on the same MQB A0 platform as the Polo and measures 4 151 mm long, 1 777 mm wide and 1 504 mm wide.
Entry-level Tera will have starting price, directly converted to Rands, of less than R330 000. Image: Volkswagen do Brasil
Riding on a 2 566 mm long wheelbase, the Tera has a reported boot capacity of 350-litres with the rear seats down, and, in Brazil, will be positioned above the Polo but below the Nivus known in Europe and South Africa as the Taigo.
Spec
Likely to become Volkswagen's smallest SUV in developing markets as production of the T-Cross is expected to end in 2026 due to the arrival of the all-electric ID.2X, the Brazilian-spec Tera will be made at the São Bernardo do Campo plant and come in four trim grades; base, Plus, Comfort and Comfort+.
Range-opener rides on 15-inch steel wheels with plastic covers as standard. Image: Volkswagen do Brasil
In terms of specification, all model are fitted as standard with six airbags, Automatic Emergency Braking, cruise control, LED headlights, Driver Attention Alert, rear parking sensors, electric windows and mirrors, a height adjustable steering column, Post Collison Braking and a height adjustable steering column.
On the base and Plus, the digital instrument cluster measures eight-inches, as does the 10-inch infotainment system with integrated wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Depicted Comfort variant rides on 16-inch alloy wheels and step-up Comfort+ on 17-inch wheels. Image: Volkswagen do Brasil
Key differences are 16-inch steel wheels with plastic covers for the Plus as opposed to the base's 15-inches, and a leather-wrapped multi-function steering wheel.
Building on the Plus, the Comfort gets 16-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry and push-button start, paddle shifters and Adaptive Cruise Control as standard, with a wireless smartphone charger and climate control forming part of the optional comfort package priced at R $1 400 or a directly converted R4 418.
Base grade gets a digital instrument cluster and the 10-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. Image: Volkswagen do Brasil
At the range's summit, the Comfort+ nets the climate control and wireless charger, plus the bigger 10.25-inch instrument cluster, a reverse camera, 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels and ambient lighting.
An optional driver assistance package with Blind Spot Monitoring and Lane Change Assist can be had for an additional R $2 839, which, directly, converts to R8 959.
N/A or TSI
On the power front, the Tera retains the Volkswagen Group's familiar 1.0-litre three-cylinder engines, but with or without turbocharging.
Depicted Comfort+ has a darker upholstery interior trim, as well as the 10.25-inch instrument cluster as standard. Image: Volkswagen do Brasil
For the latter, outputs range from 56kW/92Nm when using petrol to 62kW/101Nm on ethanol. The sole transmission is a five-speed manual.
With the TSI suffix, the 1.0-litre serves-up 81kW/165Nm when paired to the manual 'box and 85kW/170Nm paired to the six-speed Tiptronic.
Brazil pricing
Note: Pricing has been directly converted to Rands and thus excludes the various taxes locally assembly models will be slapped with once sales start.
In terms of pricing, the Tera range is as follows:
Tera 1.0 – R $103 990 (R327 493)
Tera 1.0 TSI Plus – R $116 990 (R368 434)
Tera 1.0 TSI Comfort Tiptronic – R $126 990 (R399 927)
Tera 1.0 TSI Comfort+ Tiptronic – R $139 990 (R440 867)
Production likely to start in 2026
Hinted by Volkswagen South Africa at its annual product Indaba in February as possibly showing itself in pre-production guise next year before the commencing of sales, operations at the Kariega Plant have already started after the halting of production last month for the installation of 100 robots, refurbishments to the paint shop, body shop and final assembly area.
Part of a record R4-billion investment announced last year, the local market Tera will seemingly go on-sale in early 2027 as production looks set to formally start either in the middle or towards the end of 2026.
As such, expect pricing to only be announced then.
Information from motor1.com Brazil.
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