India is a compact SUV loving country and certainly the Ford EcoSport has seen the love and admiration. With plans to spoil Ford’s party, Volkswagen has brought the Taigun compact SUV to the 2014 Auto Expo ongoing in Delhi. While the model on display is a concept (but Asian model), it certainly tells us what the production version of the Volkswagen Taigun would look like.
The Volkswagen Taigun is based on a stretched version of the New Small Family Platform (NSF) that underpins the Up! hatchback as well. The compact SUV looks every bit from the Volkswagen family and has carried over the family design that we have seen on most of the new generation VWs. With its bold and clean lines, the styling is firm yet understated and will surely work for the Indian audiences. The concept on display gets a candy blue paint job giving it a young and cheerful vibe.
The concept version of the Volkswagen Taigun carries a twin split grille in front that extends into the headlight cluster. It also gets LED lights up front and the rear with roof rails. The concept car on display has 17-inch alloy wheels and gets rugged under body and side cladding to look like a rugged SUV. The interiors on the Taigun concept boast of high tech gadgetry and surely looks futuristic. You get a smart infotainment system, individualised air-con vents capable of controlling fan speed and an array of smart features. While the dashboard has been finished up in white, the upholstery gets a two tone treatment. The compact SUV offers a high driving position, don’t expect oodles of space inside, but should be capable of seating five in decent comfort. While much of the features won’t make it into production to keep the prices down, the understated look is a sure welcome.
The Volkswagen Taigun concept is powered by a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine capable of producing 108 BHP of power, and chances are high that this engine will make it to the production version when launched in India. We do get the 1.2 four-cylinder TSI mill producing 105 BHP powering the Polo, which could also be used to power the Taigun and is tried and tested to suit Indian conditions. For a diesel heart, VW already has the 1.2-litre TDI motor performing diesel duties, but is developing a new family of diesel engines and a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder engine is said to be India bound on the Taigun.
The Taigun concept tucks in at 3859 mm and if launched with the same dimensions will also comply with the excise duty regulations that will let Volkswagen price it aggressively. The Volkswagen Taigun will make its production debut in 2016 and will be competing against the likes of Ford EcoSport, Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano, Maruti’s XA-Alpha and Honda’s compact SUV in the Indian market. Expect the prices to start at Rs. 7 lakhs for the petrol motor going up to Rs. 10 lakhs for the top of the line diesel variant. The car is under contemplation for the Indian market.
