VW Cross Coupe telegraphs SUV styling

Easing us into something that by now probably should need no introduction, Volkswagen is displaying its Cross Coupe GTE at the Detroit auto show, with a face that is a close match for the mid-size, three-row SUV it plans to begin building late in 2016 at Chattanooga, Tenn.

That three-row SUV, VW says, "is one of its most important new models in the past five decades." The Cross Coupe is "a preview to this vehicle," and "the front end of the concept car offers a peek at how the production model will look.

The midsize GTE, presented as a concept car though it appears pretty straightforward, as if it easily could be put into production, uses a V-6 plug-in hybrid drivetrain, with 276-horsepower 3.6 VR6 gasoline engine and two electric motors rated 54 hp and 114 hp, tied together with all-wheel drive.

The GTE can go 20 miles in electric-only mode, the automaker says. VW says it would get a rating of 70 miles per gallon-equivalent. It could accelerate from standstill to 60 mph in just 6.0 seconds, considered quick.

The Cross Coupe GTE is the third concept car on the way to the production version of the mid-size SUV. the three -- the CrossBlue presented in Detroit in January 2013, the CrossBlue Coupe shown in Los Angeles in November 2013 and now the Cross Coupe GTE — show off the variety of vehicles that can be produced using the company's new MQB underpinnings.

"Numerous details hint at how we envision a future production SUV model for North America," VW says.

The Cross Coupe has a zero-emissions range of up to 20 miles a. The car has various operating modes: E-Mode, GTE, Hybrid, Off-road and Battery Hold/Battery Charge.