NCR in India has a "wonderful law" of banning diesel vehicles over 10 years on the road - on the pretext of them causing extreme pollution - irrespective of their actual pollution levels, PUC (Pollution Under Control) certificate, their technical fitness, their real roadworthiness etc. Well, that led me half heartedly to begin wondering what to buy (and should I buy at all) to replace (sadly) my still strong Suzuki Swift Diesel - a car that's seen 2,22,000 kms in last 13 years and is still going strong. Well since we are talking about VW here and not Suzuki, let me shift gears :)
I test drove a few petrol compact SUVs (Jeep Compass, Skoda Kushaq 1.0) and even the hot hatch around (Hyundai i20 NLine) before test driving the Taigun 1.5 GT+. Yes I was confused on what segment and really was trying fit my feel for the vehicle than my need. Finally, I zeroed in on the Taigun by VW. It was slated to arrive in India ever since 2014 as I remember but finally did on September 23 this year. The curcuma yellow was not the first choice but with Kirti's prodding and my mind running across options - I went for it as it really felt suiting the straight lines and the stance of the Taigun. Was planning buy a manual transmission since the automatic compact SUVs I drove left me disappointed with their lag in pickup while in auto transmission. But the DSG mixed with 148 horses and 250 NM of torque on this VW Taigun GT+ made me smile. Then the claimed mileage of 18kmpl sounded decent too (looked promising with the 2 cylinder mode option that automatically and beautifully works to cut off 2 out of 4 cylinders when there isn't a need - i.e. cruising, descents etc).
Picked the Taigun on October 7 and mostly been driving it around town in traffic with few highway sprints. Versus go in narration of what I feel good or bad about it, let me try do what the auto mags do - put it all in a table kinda maybe :) Mind it this is coming from someone who drove a diesel hatch for 13 years over 2,22,000 kms. So my comparison is really an apple to orange one. Anyways here goes -
What | Good | Not So Good |
Sales Support (Viraj Automobiles, Noida (UP)) | Prompt, helpful, willing to address weirdest of questions and requests, transparent on cost of ownership | It's painful 30 kms away from me. Hope VW get enough sale here to warrant opening a center in Greater Noida :-) |
Road presence | Creta, Seltos - sorry you don't seem anywhere near this baby in terms of attention quotient | Compass - you still make me letch at you |
Driving | Definitely a delight - smooth sailing from D2 to D7 | There's that initial minimal lag in auto mode but once approx. 2000 rpm mark is crossed (D1 to D2), this behaves so well |
Paddle shifting | Beautiful on the fly - while in auto mode I can simply begin tapping the paddles to make it manual and get that power surge if need be | Can't think of any |
Ground Clearance | 188mm is more than good for those bad city roads and pot holes. 20mm+ over my Swift makes me think so too :) | None till now |
Mileage | Been improving from 9-10 kmpl in first tankful to now 13 kmpl in the second. The 2 cylinder mode is amazing - just does not make one feel it's cutting off 2 cylinders when it does - only the display tells you it did so. So cruise - and it's gonna return 20+kmpl I'm sure. The auto engine start-stop function helps a lot too. | Ofcourse I wish it could return 30kmpl going by the gas prices which pinch so much :( |
Interiors | Straight lines, decent, sober, not confusing, minimal buttons, mostly touch, integrated LCD which is so good | Seats seem hard than usual, no ventilated seats on top end GT+, passenger seat should have got height adjustment too - it's just low. The roofline is little shabby around the sun roof, the light switches damn hard to operate and the big embarrassment - a slot for sunglass holder near the IRVM but it's just a mould - no holder! |
Leg Room | Ample both front and rear | None |
IRVM & ORVMs | Look awesome specially when they turn in when you lock the vehicle | Small, too small - hard to see traffic behind - again I'm comparing these to my Swift |
Lights | Just too good, I thought initially the rear light cluster was over done but no sir - they just are so cool. The LEDs on front are so VW - love them. Key reason I chose VW Taigun GT+ over Skoda Kushaq 1.5 variants | None |
Seatbelts | Smooth like butter | The locks are little hard to reach on the front seats. On the Swift they were much more accessible |
Wheels | The alloys look cool and the red calipers too | I wish we had option for broader ones. Would have definitely opted for wider rubber. But maybe that'll be when I change them after they wear out |
Infotainment system | Looks very slick, very well integrated with the center console | You don't get real time tire pressure, the VW apps are just 4 and mostly stay unused, Android Auto is not reliable - that's not VW prerogative I think but well. It does not use the on unit SIM for internet but wants use my mobile hotspot instead.. duh! |
Build quality | Solid all around. And a super solid thud of the doors. So satisfying to hear. | The hood is not able to take 62.6 kgs of weight without caving in - that's my weight LOL :) And I think the Swift can hold me without the hood caving in .. that's possibly due to the small surface area and curve on the Swift and not it's thickness. |
NVH | Oh this is so silent, outside noise is muted and I can hear music at minimal volume with each clink, each note sounding crystal | I wish the window visors were offered as options - they would help roll down the windows a bit and yet not make the wind make the noise. Visors still aren't available at the dealer - they say they'll get them on order |
Well I really look forward to drive this baby almost every day if I can and wish to take it out on a long long drive and specially in the hills where I can twist and turn it to my heart's desire and really test out it's handling.
Please share your thoughts, critic, feedback and any questions in the comments section below.
Cheers,
Anupam
Comments