Volkswagen Taigun And Virtus To Get Major Updates Soon: Details

Volkswagen first launched the Taigun mid-sized SUV in India during 2021, and a year later, the Virtus full-size C-Segment sedan followed. While the German car giant has been updating both the Taigun and Virtus with feature additions such as powered seats, sub-woofer, ambient lighting, etc. the biggest of these changes – a full facelift – will come in 2025. In 2025, the Taigun will turn 4 and the Virtus will turn 3 years-old in the Indian market, making a facelift an absolute necessity.

What are the two big changes?

Both cars will receive two major updates. 1. A panoramic sunroof and 2. ADAS. Both these features are now common in cars priced between Rs. 10-20 lakh, and are very popular among buyers as well.

Volkswagen has been talking to existing owners of the Taigun and Virtus, and has figured that both panoramic sunroof and ADAS are features that owners would like to have in their cars. While these features can’t be retrofitted to the existing range of cars, Volkswagen will introduce them in the facelifted models.

Apart from these features, both the Taigun and Virtus are also expected to get mild styling changes on the outside, and different trims on the inside. The idea is to keep the cars fresh for another 2 to 3 years before which all-new models will arrive to replace them.

In terms of mechanicals, the current set of engines and transmissions will be carried over to the facelifted Taigun and Virtus. There are no plans to introduce hybrid engines on both cars for now. Similarly, electrification for both cars has also been ruled out for the existing generation.

The Taigun and Virtus currently feature two strong engines, both of them turbocharged. The lower trims are powered by the 1 liter-3 cylinder TSI motor with 120 PS of peak power and 178 Nm of peak torque while higher trims get the 1.5 liter-4 cylinder TSI motor with 150 PS-250 Nm outputs. While 6 speed manual gearboxes are standard with both engines, the smaller motor gets a 6 speed torque converter gearbox as an option while the bigger engine gets a 7 speed twin clutch DSG automatic gearbox on top end trims.

Notably, nearly 60 % of Taigun and Virtus sales for Volkswagen comes from the GT Line trims, which indicates that customers prefer fully loaded versions of these cars. Notably, this is also a reason why Volkswagen is introducing the panoramic sunroof and ADAS on the facelifted models as the company expects that a lot of customers would opt for the Taigun and Virtus once these features are added.

However, Volkswagen will continue to sell the lower trims of the Taigun and Virtus even after the facelift as there is a large segment of the market that’s price sensitive. Having lower trims also allows Volkswagen to prices these cars very attractively, driving customers to showrooms.

What next after the Taigun and Virtus Facelifts?

Tayron! Volkswagen plans to replace the current-generation Tiguan with the Tayron SUV that’s already been introduced in the Chinese market. The Tayron will be brought into India through the completely knocked down (CKD) kit route to keep costs in check.

The SUV is likely to be offered in both 5 seat and 7 seat variants, and will take on the likes of the Skoda Kodiaq on the higher-end and the Hyundai Tucson on the lower end.

Like the current Tiguan, the Tayron is expected to use a turbo petrol engine, with a dual clutch automatic gearbox as standard. There are no plans to bring back a diesel engine into any of the cars that Volkswagen will sell in India. The Tayron is expected to be launched in India by the end of 2025.