How soon will this entry-level Volkswagen crossover land locally though remains to be seen.
While Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) has officially confirmed recently that there will be no new Polo arriving here to replace its rather long-lived predecessor, there are nevertheless rumours of a new entry-level VW will be landing locally soon. And that model will apparently be the Taigun compact crossover, which incidentally is set to make its debut in India sometime soon too.
Just doing a bit of housekeeping regarding the global Volkswagen crossover range first, the Taigun is to be the latest in an increasingly long line of SUVs beginning with T that sport the VW badge. These include the likes of the T-Cross, T-Roc, Taigo, Taos and of course the Tiguan as well as the Touareg.
What makes the Taigun unique however among the VW SUV family is that it was meant to be the German automaker’s first crossover that has been specifically designed for India. This therefore means then that while it is based on the same MQB A0 platform alá current Polo, this particular model is instead more akin to the India-exclusive Skoda Kushaq that was recently unveiled over there recently.
Now if all that doesn’t make sense up to now however, just think of the Taigun as VW’s answer to the Proton X50 and Perodua Ativa. In fact, this made-for-India German crossover slotting neatly actually within the two popular Malaysian offerings in terms of size. Measuring in at 4,200 mm in length, 1,760 mm in width and having a wheelbase of 2,651 mm.
In terms of other specs too, the Taigun is actually rather closely matched to those alternatives from Proton and Perodua. Kicking things off with interior kit first, the highlights within this compact VW crossover apparently will most probably be the twin-screen layout consisting of a fully-digital instrument cluster and a 10-inch central infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
It has also been reported that certain variants of the Taigun over in India will net ventilated leather front seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, interior ambient lighting, a wireless charging pad and an electric sunroof. As for its dash design meanwhile, this VW crossover borrows the straight-edged layout that was first seen on the aforementioned Skoda Kushaq.
Borrowed too from the Kushaq will be what lies under the hood of the Taigun, as this compact VW crossover is set to feature a 115 PS 1.0-litre TSI turbocharged three-cylinder and larger 150 PS 1.5-litre boosted four-pot that comes with cylinder deactivation technology. Both power plants sends power to the front wheels in India through a six-speed manual transmission as standard, though a six-speed automatic and 7-speed dual-clutch DSG transmission option is also available for both these petrol engines respectively.
Moving swiftly onto the exterior aesthetic of the Taigun on the other hand, this compact VW crossover looks very much like a shrunken Tiguan. Coming complete with a similarly butch face of its larger sibling, not to mention a similarly boxy side profile too.
Volkswagen however does seem to have injected a bit more of a youthful spirit with this smaller SUV. Such is evidenced by the slightly more ID.4-esque 17-inch swirly alloy wheel designs tucked underneath those chunky plastic arches, as well as the rather cool-looking full-width smoked LED light bar round its rump.
Having just said all this though, it is worth highlighting once again that the Taigun has yet to be officially launched in India. So prices for this compact VW crossover is still very much up in the air at the present moment, with the conservative estimate being Rs 9 lakh (RM 51,000) to Rs 17.5 lakh (RM 100,000)
Let it be clear too that there is no official word from VW Malaysia yet in regards to the launch of this compact crossover locally. Hence there really isn’t a vague answer as to how much it will cost, or when exactly will it be arriving over here.
Taking this rumour at face value for what it is however, the Taigun will certainly serve as a competent competitor to the Perodua Ativa and Proton X50. This does beg the question though as to why is Volkswagen Malaysia bringing this India-market crossover to compete against these cars in the first place, instead of bringing in the posher Euro-spec T-Roc and pit it against the likes of Mazda CX-30 and upcoming Honda HR-V?
