A big congratulations to Volkswagen India for securing a 5-star safety rating for their Taigun under Global NCAP’s new testing protocols. This clears a lot of things because when Skoda-VW’s MQB-A0-IN offerings were first launched, a lot of people thought that these Indianised vehicles may not be as safe as their global products. Of course, there are still some bits in the cars that do feel Indianised and that reminds me of the door squeaks which keep nagging me.
The other day I had taken the car for a drive with my family and we were talking and not listening to any music. The doors of the car kept squeaking on every uneven road and speed breaker that I encountered and that did get slightly annoying. When you’re listening to music, these noises aren’t audible at all and you forget about them. This is my only grouse with the Taigun, honestly.
The best time to drive in Mumbai is post 1 AM when the entire city is asleep (actually no, there are traffic jams even at 3 AM sometimes). But yes, the roads are relatively empty and you can open up the windows and sunroof, and enjoy a nice drive with some good music playing. That’s exactly what I did last weekend after returning from Bangalore after driving the Innova HyCross.
I had a late dinner, changed into something comfortable and took off on a midnight drive because I hadn’t got time to drive the Taigun properly in the last couple of weeks. What a drive it was! The Taigun stretched her legs on the Western Express Highway and I took a round of the Bandra Worli Sea Link and got back home. The beauty of Mumbai is that you find good places to eat even at 2 AM and some piping hot coffee in this relatively cool weather was good.
The Taigun is continuing with its daily duties as usual and it has been quite uneventful. It is a very pleasant experience driving this car every time and the cabin feels quite sorted to me. The infotainment connects wirelessly to my iPhone in a jiffy but I have noticed that it disconnects randomly at times.
The 1.5 TSI engine feels at ease whether you’re gunning the throttle or just feathering it. The vehicle delivers amazing fuel economy when you drive it easy, and getting 16-17 km/l isn’t very difficult. Of course, this number drops in traffic and not only this, the DSG also has a tendency to feel quite jerky at speeds 5-20 km/hr. A smoother experience in traffic would add to the comfort levels. We also had a Kushaq 1.0 AT in our long term fleet and while that engine isn’t as powerful as this 1.5, the 1.0 AT combo works well in traffic.
We have a wedding in the family this month and I’ll be using the Taigun extensively for last-minute shopping trips so I’ll finally get a chance to use the car’s boot for once. Till date, I’ve never used this car’s boot nor have I been driven around while seated at the rear so I think I’ll try that too. And talking about the seats, I think the front passenger seat is placed a bit too low (somewhat like a sedan) and I noticed this in our Kushaq too.
So that’s it for this time. I’ve driven the car for roughly 2100 kms in the last 2 months (the car was with Volkswagen for a couple of weeks for their Taigun Anniversary Celebration) and I am hoping I’ll add at least another 1000 kms on the odo this month. Will talk more about the rear seat experience and some other bits of the car in the next report.
