Rumour: Volkswagen Taigun compact SUV India bound

The Up! platform has spawned a compact SUV in the form of the Volkswagen Taigun, which was showcased in concept form at last year's Sau Paulo Motor Show. According to AutoWeek, the German car maker has green lighted the Taigun compact SUV for emerging markets across the globe including India and Brazil. Initially, the Taigun is slated to go into production in two countries: Sau Paulo in Brazil and Chakan in India, both of which happen to be the locations of Volkswagen factories.

Also, Russia could be the third country to be involved in the Taigun's production. 2016 is the estimated time line for the Taigun's production variants to hit roads. In the past, Volkswagen India has stated that fresh investments would be made in India only after 2015. Until then, the German car maker is expected to make do with periodic refreshes and new variants of its existing range of cars sold in India.

So, a 2016 time line for the Volkswagen Taigun compact SUV seems likely. A sub-4 meter compact SUV, the Volkswagen Taigun could be positioned squarely against the Ford EcoSport crossover. Other rivals for the Taigun could include the upcoming Suzuki Jimny replacement (Maruti Suzuki XA Alpha for India) and the Fiat Panda Trekking. Dimensions wise, the Taigun measures 3.86 meters in length, 1.73 meters in width and 1.57 meters in height.

These dimensions mean that the Taigun will give Volkswagen enough room to squeeze in another compact SUV, which will occupy the space between the Taigun and the Tiguan. There has been word about the MQB platform, which will underpin the next generation 2015 Polo, also supporting a compact SUV. The Taigun's positioning only seems to make that possibility stronger. A 1 liter-3 cylinder turbo petrol engine and a small capacity, turbo diesel engine are the two engine options likely to be offered on the Taigun.

The car will come with a front wheel drive layout as standard. Both manual and dual clutch DSG automatic gearbox options could be offered on the compact SUV. Volkswagen India has been testing the Up! hatchback extensively on Indian roads. The rationale behind all this testing is to explore the possibility of localizing a large number of parts of this hatchback, in order to make the platform suitable for the Indian car market. The Volkswagen Taigun could be the beneficiary of this localization exercise.

Despite having cars such as the Polo hatchback and the Vento sedan in big volume segments, the German car maker is yet to make a significant mark in the Indian market. A big impact product such as the Duster for Renault or the Figo for Ford is what Volkswagen needs and the Taigun could be just that product given the growing preference for compact SUVs in the Indian car market.