Volkswagen Lamando

People at Volkswagen have a very particular way of designing cars. They conceive a whole new visual identity each eight years, more or less, and release it at a more famous model, such as Golf or Passat. Then, they spread it over the rest of the lineup during the following years with the least possible variations – parts like headlights or windows are on the verge of being interchangeable between some models. Until now, most of that was restricted to sections, like front or rear. But how about when a brand new Volkswagen can be mistaken for another from pretty much any angle you look?

When the Germans showed New Midsize Coupé concept, earlier this year, everyone thought of it as an anticipation of Jetta’s future incarnation. The truth would only appear some weeks later, when the company revealed which were the real plans for the vehicle: not only will it take longer to receive a new generation, as it will also have a family of its own, getting even more distant from Golf. Volkswagen’s intention is to take advantage of the fact that the sedan has much better acceptance in America and China, while “the Golfs” work better when following European standards. This is very similar to what PSA and Renault started to do few years ago: Mégane, 308 and C4 reached their current generations leaving the sedans to be conceived outside Europe.

These different market performances come from each public’s tastes. As far as mid-size cars are concerned, people from America and Europe diverge about how the car is used, how much are acceptable prices, and even what image does it have. All this ends in having two groups of requirements to meet, and the very Volkswagen learned the hard way how hard it is to do it with only one car – Jetta’s fifth generation followed European preferences, but ended too expensive for the American standards and not interesting enough for the others. The current one went the other way, but ended in a lower level of overall quality. Therefore, Lamando appears as NMC’s production version in order to work as the “sophisticated counterpart”. A Jetta CC, if you will.

Everything in this strategy could work just fine, until you actually see the newcomer. Lamando does look very good, featuring good proportions and imponent design elements, but it also looks too much like Jetta – not to mention any other Volkswagen. The company missed the opportunity to release a four-door coupé, which could work as a more casual option just like CC does with Passat. Sure, it is always possible to carve each one’s space in the market with the equipment lists (and their subsequent price ranges), but the truth is there is not too much freedom: if Lamando costs much more than Jetta, it will be much better to take a Passat. Where the sedans differ the most is the platform, because only Lamando is underpinned by MQB, but it will not last long.

In China, Lamando will be Shanghai-VW’s concoction, while Jetta is already produced there by FAW and sold as Sagitar. The new car is expected to use 1.4L and 2.0L engines, both from the TSI family and combined to the DSG double-clutch, seven-speed transmission. Since the intention is to compete with slightly more expensive models (the company even points Mercedes-Benz CLA as a direct rival), you can expect interesting equipment lists even for the entry-level trims. After appearing at this year’s Chengdu Auto Show, Lamando will go on sale next November, with an initial price of 180,000 yuans. The company does not confirm anything yet, but there are chances that Lamando ends going elsewhere too, being produced in Europe and/or Mexico.