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February 9, 2023

The Cross Santana Is Volkswagen PH's Newest Family Member


After all that speculation surrounding on a model they teased on social media, Volkswagen Philippines decided to unveil a completely different model instead. Meet the 2023 Cross Santana.

Backtracking on their promise to move away from their “great Chinese experiment,” it seems the German brand badly needed an entry in the growing hatchback/wagon-based crossovers. And so, Volkswagen got a Santana GTS and slapped on black wheel arches and black door claddings as well as a front bumper overrider and roof rails to make an entry-level crossover. It also gets a raised suspension (no mention on how many mm’s it’s gained) and unique blacked out wheels.

At P 1.098-million, it slots below the P 1.340-million T-Cross, but get this, they get the same engine. The 1.5-liter MPI 4-cylinder engine in the Cross Santana produces 110 horsepower and 150 Nm of torque. It’s then mated to a 6-speed automatic driving the front wheels.

Safety features include 6 SRS airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability program, and rear parking sensors with a rear camera.


Volkswagen Philippines hasn’t provided any photo of the interior, but based on their description, it’s pretty much the Santana GTS down to the leather/fabric combination seats with red stitching, sun roof, and a 7-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Like all other Volkswagens, it comes with a 3-year / 100,000 kilometer warranty and a free one-year 24/7 Emergency Roadside Assistance.

How do you feel about the 2023 Volkswagen Cross Santana?

29 comments:

  1. Lol
    What a bunch of nutballs

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  2. So.. from tharu to t cross facelift to this. 😂😂😂😂 from sad to downright hilarious

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  3. VW is really scraping the bottom of the barrel to find a car to sell.

    If I am not mistaken, this was launched 2016 in China, and based on the current 3rd gen Santana sedan that was launched 2012. How low can VW PH get...

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    1. Dude the Santana line is even discontinued in China HAHAHAH. VW is just using us as a dumping ground for unsold China-spec Volkswagens. What a face-palm moment for VW PH and Ayala with controversy after controversy. Although I expect the T-Cross announcement to come at a later date, this is just an announcement that is just unnecessary. If they continue to do these sorts of stuff, might as well close shop.

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    2. pretty sure the Cross Santana stopped production in like 2019 lmao

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  4. Everyone else is eager to launch EVs while VW PH is launching rubbish 😂

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  5. I'm willing to bet that these are just unsold Santana GTS units that they modified to look like the Cross Santana. VW Philippines is such a failure and at this point, they should just close down.

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    1. Notice how the official press photo is different from the China-spec Cross Santana. Are they gonna sell these 2018 units as 2023 just like how they sold 2015 dieselgate-reject Golfs and Jettas as brand new 2017 models?

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    2. VW Philippines only sold 604 units last year below Peugeot with 620 units. Premium/Luxury brands even way ahead with VW in terms of sales. VW Philippines strategy is a disaster for the brand in the country.

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    3. Majority of those 604 units are Ayala employees with their car plans.

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  6. Mas makaka benta sila nito compare sa Santana GTS, good strategy for this one hopefully they can sell more units of this model though parang outgoing na din ito at mahirapan ito mag compete sa chinese brands in terms of specs and features in terms of value for money. Nice try na din VW.

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    1. It leaves a bad taste with consumers. You're selling EOL units. if you're keeping the cars for 5-10 years, how about the parts and support?

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  7. VW Philippines have so many bad decisions with their models they offer to the market. They never learned to lose potential sales momentum.

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  8. Maybe their bosses are no longer hungry due to fat bonuses and benefits

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  9. At this point, the only reason VW Philippines exists is it's a big tax write off for the Ayala Group. Impossible they're earning money when not even one Ayala subsidiary uses VW as fleet cars or even service vehicles. This is like the auto industry version of the Mel Brooks movie The Producers.

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  10. The Santana sedan, sold here as some premium "German engineered" small car, has always been the "pang-Taxi" car in China.

    Pero kahit doon tinigil na yan. Phase out na since 2018 ang Santana Taxi.

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    1. so masmaniniwala ang tao sa sinasabi mo na magre-retool ang SAIC para gumawa ng DISCONTINUED model para sa Pilipinas na nakabenta ng 604 TOTAL units of VW? hahahahahaha sana binabayaran ka ng VW para sa ka ta nga han mo, boi.

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  11. If they were miles better why only 604 units, hmm something’s wrong here.

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    1. Maybe what he mean is bitter😂😂😂

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  12. I hope Volkswagen drops their local distributor, because this is just embarrassing.

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    1. Yeah, just like what hyundae korea did to hari, now hyundae sales in ph is resurging

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    2. Hula hula and assume pa more👶👶👶

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  13. Bakit ba galit na galit ang mga wigo users na yan. Inggit ba kayo sa vw cars namin

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  14. I plan to buy a Santana Cross. Is it made in China?

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  15. It's okay I guess that only a handful of VW owners are driving around PH. The reason why I opted for VW is that it gives me immense joy and happiness whenever I see my VW Car (2017 Jetta) shinning brightly in my eyes in the sea of "Jap" cars in the parking lot. :-)

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