The Volkswagen Fox is a subcompact car designed and produced by Volkswagen of Brazil, sold in Latin America from 2003 until 2021 and in Europe from 2005 until 2011. It was built as a three-door and five-door hatchback, and the family grew to include the Fox Xtreme, an adventure version known before 2017 as the CrossFox, and a small MPV and estate line sold as the Suran, SpaceFox, SportVan or Fox Plus depending on the market.
Volkswagen Fox at a glance
| Maker | Volkswagen do Brasil |
|---|---|
| Production | 2003–2021 in Latin America; 2005–2011 in Europe |
| Bodies | three-door and five-door hatchback |
| Platform | PQ24, as on the contemporary Polo |
| Position | between the Gol and the Polo |
| European engines | 1.2 three-cylinder of 40 kW, 1.4 of 55 kW, 1.4 TDI of 51 kW |
| European debut | AMI Leipzig Motor Show, April 2005 |
| Drag coefficient | 0.32 in Europe |
| Safety | four stars in Euro NCAP; Latin NCAP 2015: four stars for adults, two for infants |
| Adventure version | CrossFox, renamed Fox Xtreme in 2017 |
| MPV and estate | Suran, SpaceFox, SportVan or Fox Plus |
| Name history | the NSU Fox was a 1949 motorbike; VW bought the rights in 1969 |
History of the Volkswagen Fox
The Fox was designed and built in Brazil and positioned between the low-cost Gol and the Polo, using the PQ24 platform of the contemporary Polo. In Mexico the car was called the Lupo, a play on the surname of the then president Vicente Fox, but it was dropped after a short run of 2009 models because of poor sales and replaced, along with the aged Pointer and Derby, by the Novo Gol; the SportVan was quietly discontinued in Mexico in February 2010, leaving only the CrossFox. A new 2010 model was revealed in Brazil in October 2009 and the car was restyled again in 2014. In a basic Latin American configuration the Fox scored four stars for adult occupants and two for infants in the Latin NCAP test of 2015.
In Europe the Fox arrived at the AMI Leipzig Motor Show in April 2005 as a three-door only, with three engines: a 1.2-litre three-cylinder of 40 kW (55 hp) and a 1.4-litre four of 55 kW (75 hp), both inherited from or new for the Polo, and a 1.4 TDI of 51 kW (69 hp). Its drag coefficient was 0.32, twin airbags and anti-lock brakes were standard, and it earned four stars in the Euro NCAP crash test. The car replaced the Lupo as the entry model in Europe and was sold with a long options list to keep the base price low; Volkswagen stopped selling it there in 2011, when the up! took its place.
The name itself is older than the car. Volkswagen acquired the rights in 1969 by purchasing NSU, whose original Fox was a motorbike first seen in 1949, and the name had already been used for special-edition Polos in some markets and for the Audi 80 sold in Australia and the United States in the 1970s. Between 1987 and 1993 Volkswagen of America also sold a Fox, a variant of the Brazilian Voyage built as an entry-level subcompact with a 1.8-litre engine of 81 PS, four- or five-speed manual gearboxes and no automatic, power steering or anti-lock brakes; in South Africa the name was used for a model based on the first-generation Jetta. The adventure version of the modern car, the CrossFox, has front-wheel drive only, mixed-use tyres and a slightly raised suspension and is built in Brazil for Latin American markets.
Design and features
- Brazilian design: developed and built by Volkswagen do Brasil on the Polo’s PQ24 platform.
- Two continents: sold in Latin America from 2003 to 2021 and in Europe from 2005 to 2011.
- CrossFox and Fox Xtreme: an adventure version with raised suspension and mixed-use tyres.
- SpaceFox and Suran: the MPV and estate derivations, sold under several names.
- Safety: four Euro NCAP stars and four Latin NCAP stars for adults.
Volkswagen Fox versions
- Fox hatchback (2003): three- and five-door versions.
- CrossFox / Fox Xtreme: the adventure model, renamed in 2017.
- Suran, SpaceFox, SportVan, Fox Plus: the small MPV and estate versions.
- North American Fox (1987–1993): a Voyage-based subcompact with a 1.8-litre engine.
- Mexican Lupo (to 2009): the local name of the Fox.
The Fox sat between the Gol and the Polo, and in Europe it was replaced by the up!. More cars are in the Volkswagen collection.
Video: 2008 Volkswagen Fox. Start Up, Engine, and In Depth Tour.
Video by MegaRetr on YouTube.
Sources
- Volkswagen Fox, English Wikipedia: production, markets, engines, safety, name history
