First prototype, C-SUV could impress even though European markets and drivers.

On the map of car manufacturers appeared a new name, and this is TOGG. It is a consortium of five Turkish companies, which are, as it appears going to specialize in production of electric cars and, in particular, to the difference of the original information, on the Friday afternoon theTOGG have not revealed one, but  two cars, in addition to the announced SUV also a foor door sedan, which is supposed to be, strangely enough, is based on the platform of the Saab-a 9-3. But the main attention was still focused on the first.

C-SUV was presented by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and thus adding some additional weight to the event, although it doesn't have a name yet, since the vehicle is still a prototype, which will go in production in the year 2022. It will offer low cost in maintenance, while at the same time quite solidne performance.

Under the bodywork provided by the Pininfarina design studio, there is a modern propulsion, consisting of two electric motors, which together produce 294 kilowatts of power. On the other hand, the power supply will be provided by a battery pack with an otherwise unknown capacity, which should allow up to 480 kilometres of range and a quick charge with 150 kilowatts power output. It will therefore provide similar to the characteristics as Jaguar i-Pace albeit in top-spec, while the basic version of the car will be equipped with only one electric motor and will offer up to 300 kilometres of autonomy with one charge.

Modern will not only be a drive train, but also a cockpit and the technologies used in it. It will offer three horizontal screens, dedicated to gauges, navigation, an infotainment system, which will, like the Porsche Taycan, or Honda's Urban-e, extend across the entire dashboard. Interestingly, the system will be able to operate through a directional key on the vehicle's centre console.

But a large part of the technology is hidden from the eyesight. It will be able to drive autonomously in slow traffic and the engineers promise that the car will eventually, thanks to the flexible architecture, offer the technology for autonomous driving of the third generation. However, the vehicle itself will be updated remotely, over the cloud, and the V2X technology will be supported, which means that the vehicle will be able to return the electricity back to the power grid.

The Turks presented, at least according to the prototype, a vehicle which could, apart from the (primary) domestic at an appropriate price be very suitable for the European market. After all, at the very beginning, they plan to produce 175,000 vehicles a year, but more data will have to wait at least a little longer.

Dec. 28, 2019 Driving photo: Profimedia