VW Taigun set for launch in India

VW’s Taigun is likely to be the first car on the Up platform (codename: PQ12) to come to India. The Taigun concept, based on a stretched version of the VW Up’s NSF (New Small Family) platform, made its debut at the Sao Paolo International Motor Show in October last year and previews VW’s future SUV face. 

Measuring 3859mm (just under the crucial four metre mark) in length, the concept features a 108bhp, three-cylinder, turbocharged 1.0-litre petrol motor. The engine bay of the Up is currently not wide enough to take a four-cylinder engine, but it could be modified to recieve the new 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel that VW is developing for India.  However, it’s also likely that by the time the Taigun is launched in India VW will have launched a new range of state-of-the art compact diesel engines which would include a compact three-cylinder unit. VW’s R&D boss, Dr Ulrich Hackenberg told Autocar India. “A future three-cylinder 1.4-litre diesel is a possibility for the Taigun and we are looking at it.” 

There will be no four-wheel-drive version of this compact SUV as the NSF platform has been designed to be exclusively front-wheel drive. However, the Taigun will feature an Electronic Stability Program.