Volkswagen Taigun

The Volkswagen Taigun sits in the middle of the carmaker’s India lineup and shares the same platform, engines, and features as its twin – the Skoda Kushaq. It is a product focused on performance and sportiness, but it does not offer the “complete package” which its segment rivals bring to the table. The question is – should you pick the Taigun for its exciting performance, or should you go for its rivals which offers an overall experience? Find out here.

• The Volkswagen Taigun has a classy look with a dash of sportiness to match its performance centric appeal.

• It does look smaller when compared to its rivals, but still manages to attract people towards it.

• VW offers it in two trims: Chrome and Sport. Chrome is the normal variant with chrome treatment all around, whereas in the Sport trim, all the chrome elements get blacked out.

• What I like the most is the face, which gets a slim grille nearly integrated in between the LED headlamps.

• It looks aggressive, sporty, and ready for some action.

• The front sports LED projector headlamps along with LED DRLs, LED fog lamps, and connected LED tail lamps.

• At the side, you will notice that it looks small, and very similar to its Skoda twin.

• But it gets 17-inch alloy wheels, which properly fill the wheel wells, and suit the sporty design.

• The lower variant of the Taigun gets 16-inch alloys and steel wheels.

• At the back, the most noticeable design element is the connected LED tail lamp setup encased in a gloss black body.

• It has a slim bumper, neatly placed chrome/blacked out elements, and a desirable-looking rear end.

• VW offers the Taigun in 8 exterior shades: Reflex Silver, Candy White, Wild Cherry Red, Rising Blue Metallic, Lava Blue, Carbon Steel Grey, Carbon Steel Grey Matte, and Deep Black Pearl.

Design & Quality

• The 2025 VW Taigun has a dual-tone cabin which is prominently white.

• It gets a textured painted black strip on the dashboard, and brushed aluminium inserts all around.

• The red ambient lighting makes this cabin look more sporty at night.

• When it comes to cabin quality, this cabin gives us mixed feelings.

• The semi-leatherette seat upholstery, climate control panel, and the plastics on the dashboard feel nice to touch.

• But once you start using more buttons, like light switches, lock/unlock buttons, and headlamp switches feel tacky and of low quality.

• Most of the cabin feels nice and fit and finish is solid, but the overall cabin does not give the feeling you’d want from a Volkswagen.

Driving Position

• The Taigun gets the option of driver seat height adjustment along with both tilt and telescopic steering wheel adjustment, which makes it easy to find your ideal driving position.

• The driver seat offers good side support and it holds you in place.

• You also get good visibility from the front seats.

Passenger Comfort

• While Taigun’s segment offers cars which are proper 5-seaters, the Taigun is not one of them.

• Due to its less width, and shape of the seats, it only offers good space for two passengers at the back.

• The middle passenger will sit slightly upright due to the bulge in the seat back, and constant quarrel for shoulder room will make long journeys uncomfortable.

• However, for two passengers, the rear seat has enough headroom, kneeroom, and legroom, along with a generous amount of underthigh support.

• The seat also holds you well and offers balanced cushioning which is good for both short and long journeys.

Storage Options

• Like most cars, the Taigun covers all the basic storage options.

• You get 1-litre bottle holders in all four doors, a decent sized glovebox, two cupholders in the front, and centre armrest storage.

• Rear passengers get seat back pockets and two cupholders in the centre armrest.

• For charging options, there are 4 type-C ports (2 in the front and 2 in the back) along with a 12V socket in the front.

Features

• The feature set of the Taigun is good, but not as extensive as some of its rivals.

• You get a 10-inch touchscreen which has a sharp and sporty-looking user interface, and it works smoothly without lag.

• This system also supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which work as intended.

• There is an 8-inch digital driver’s display as well, which has neat-looking graphics and also offers multiple themes.

• VW has also offered a wireless phone charger, but it does tend to heat up your phone pretty quickly.

• The front seats are ventilated which do a good job of cooling the seat base and back without being too loud.

• Other features include automatic climate control, a single pane sunroof, and cruise control.

• Standard safety features of the Taigun include 6 airbags, electronic stability control (ESC), rear parking sensors, ABS with EBD, and ISOFIX child seat anchors.

• Higher variants include a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) and a rearview camera.

• The rearview camera works well during the day, but in low light conditions, it becomes a little grainy.

• It has also been tested by Global NCAP where it received a 5-star safety rating.

• The 385-litre boot capacity offered in the Taigun is less compared to its rivals, but it has enough space for your family trip’s luggage.

• Due to the deep design of the boot, you can easily fit an entire suitcase set (small, medium, and large), and you’ll still have space left for one small soft bag.

• If you’re hauling large items, you can fold the rear seats as they get a 60:40 split, but you won’t get a flatbed.

• VW offers the Taigun with two engine options: a 1-litre turbo-petrol and a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol.

• Both engines get a 6-speed manual transmission, and for automatic variants, the smaller engine gets a 6-speed automatic transmission, and the bigger one comes with a 7-speed DCT (dual-clutch automatic transmission).

* 6AT – 6-speed torque converter automatic

* 7DCT – 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission

1.5-litre Turbo-petrol

• This 4-cylinder engine is well refined and keeps any vibrations at bay.

• The power delivery is smooth, quick, and the acceleration will keep you on your toes.

• There is more than enough power for your city commutes, and driving in the city is easy.

• Overtakes are effortless whether you’re driving in the city or on the highway.

• Getting to high speeds takes no time and it makes you enjoy the acceleration and triple digit speeds.

• This engine also sounds good under hard acceleration and gives you the feeling of driving a sporty car.

• You can pick the manual as the clutch is light and the gear shifts are slick as well.

• But for more convenience and a more sporty driving experience, we’d recommend the DCT.

• It changes gears on time, downshifts quickly when you need it to, and the paddle shifters give you more control for your exciting drives.

• But, the downside of this engine is its low fuel efficiency. In the city you can get around 11-12 kmpl with the automatic, and on the highway it will be around 16 kmpl.

• The manual offers slightly better efficiency than the automatic.

1-litre Turbo-petrol

• Being a 3-cylinder engine, there are some vibrations in the footwell that you’ll have to face.

• It also delivers power smoothly and quickly, but the drive is not as exciting as the bigger engine.

• Overtakes are easy be it in the city or on the highways, and getting to triple digits will not take much time.

• While you do get quick acceleration with this engine, you should go for the 1.5-litre one if you want a fun and exciting driving experience.

• Here as well, we’d recommend the 6-speed automatic for its quick gear shifts and a more convenient overall drive.

• Fuel efficiency of the 1-litre turbo petrol engine is similar to the bigger unit.

• Taigun’s ride quality depends on the wheel size you get with your chosen variants.

• With 16-inch wheels, the ride is more comfortable and you can easily take small potholes without much being translated into the cabin.

• With 17-inch wheels, the ride is on the stiffer side and you feel a lot of cracks in the unevenness of the road.

• In both cases, deeper pothoes should be taken at a slower speed to avoid any unnecessary passenger movement inside the cabin.

• Nonetheless, the Taigun manages to keep the passengers comfortable in most cases, and the cabin movement is also well controlled in your regular city drives.

• On the highways, it becomes very planted and stable, and handles undulations very well.

• But its bigger highlight is the handling and how it behaves on corners.

• The steering wheel has the right amount of weight and is very responsive, which makes it easy to take fast corners.

• It also remains stable while taking quick turns while carrying speeds, which inspires confidence.

• If you want a car which can give you an exhilarating driving experience, the Taigun will be a good choice.

The Taigun is not trying to convince you that it's a family car. It is a product focused on performance, handling, and providing an exciting and fun driver experience, while still offering you traits like space, comfort and practicality without much compromise: enough to be acceptable for your family. 

But, if you're looking for the best features, space for 5-passengers, great fuel efficiency, and an overall comfortable ride quality, the Volkswagen Taigun isn’t the car for you, and it also doesn’t want to be.

Other Options To Consider

Hyundai Creta/ Kia Seltos

Reasons To Consider

• Best features in the segment

• Better rear seat space

• Option of diesel engine

Reasons To Ignore

• Driving dynamics are not as good

• More expensive top-spec variants

Maruti Grand Vitara/ Toyota Hyryder

Reasons To Consider

• Only hybrid options in the segment

• Great fuel efficiency

• Better features

Reasons To Ignore

• Limited boot space in hybrid variants

• No turbo-petrol engine option

Honda Elevate

Reasons To Consider

• Most affordable model in the segment

• Gets better cabin quality 

• Offers a comfortable ride

Reasons To Ignore

• No turbo-petrol engine option