[karan561]

Skoda is working on a new crossover SUV called POLAR & will be based on the Volkswagen Taigun Concept.

The Polar will be underpinned by the VW MQB Platform and will be positioned right under the Yeti

Will be available in both front-wheel and all-wheel drive variants.

Expected to hit the market in 2015

Source: http://www.autoevolution.com/news/20...red-62753.html

[EagleEye]

Now that's a mean looking machine! If it launches in India around the price of the Duster, it's bound to be a reasonably good seller. Only thing is, 2015 seems to be a little late to try and crash the party.

[hrman]

Wow. I had posted about Skoda not concentrating on a Ecosport rival on another thread and here is this news.
The model looks great. They need to price it reasonably well to make any inroads. And of course, getting their after sales service right. I agree, 2015 is too late. 2014 is more like it!
Good move though to bring this model in.

[carwatcher]

2015!!! Too late to create any impact.
By then I am 100% sure MUL, Hyundai & Fiat, not to mention others (maybe Honda & Toyota) would have launched atleast one product each from this segment successfully.
This more looks like hatch on stilts or overgrown hatch.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by karan561

Skoda is working on a new crossover SUV called POLAR & will be based on the Volkswagen Taigun Concept.

The Polar will be underpinned by the VW MQB Platform and will be positioned right under the Yeti

Will be available in both front-wheel and all-wheel drive variants.

Expected to hit the market in 2015

Source: http://www.autoevolution.com/news/20...red-62753.html

Lovely looker indeed. Almost like a smaller, 'badder' little Q3!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

2015!!! Too late to create any impact.
By then I am 100% sure MUL, Hyundai & Fiat, not to mention others (maybe Honda & Toyota) would have launched atleast one product each from this segment successfully.
This more looks like hatch on stilts or overgrown hatch.

- I think it can swing both ways.
- Knowing VAG, its safe to assume it may be a premium offering.
- Secondly, the limit set by premium compact SUVs is sub 15L.
- If thats the case, then with their superb, 1.6L Diesel, and fit and finish, Duster kind of cars would be blown out in the wind,
- Only option for Duster in that case is it move to to 12L OTR territory for the top end and come up with a 4x4 for a delta.
- Ecosport kind of vehicles would crouch further and surely get stiff competition from the likes of Maruti
- However knowing VAG group I can also easily think these guys can also potentially target the 15-20L OTR range under the garb of being premium.
- Argument being if a Duster can sell at 14L top end, Skoda should do much higher.
- But I hope they do their home work on pricing only after market dynamics and price corrections stabilize in this product segment

What ever may be the case, they sure know how to design a car, that puts a song in your heart!

[Marauder]

Originally Posted by EagleEye

Only thing is, 2015 seems to be a little late to try and crash the party.

Actually,2015 is early and an optimistic prediction considering that the Taigun,the car on which this would be based on is slated to be launched in India in 2016.In all probability Taigun will launch first.Also,I think in the article it might be mentioning international launch date which would mean that it would be launched in India around late 2016.

[karan561]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Lovely looker indeed. Almost like a smaller, 'badder' little Q3!

That SUV is quite a looker and quite rightly said it is looking like a meaner Q3.

Also i was wondering with the current trend of "Badge Engineering" a Skoda badged Taigun is a possibility too;



^ Image Source: http://www.motorionline.com/2013/04/...ini-crossover/

[iSpoke]

Originally Posted by carwatcher

2015!!! Too late to create any impact.
By then I am 100% sure MUL, Hyundai & Fiat, not to mention others (maybe Honda & Toyota) would have launched atleast one product each from this segment successfully.

Honda is already gearing to launch new Jazz in 2014 in India, and if web sources are to be believed they will also launch an Urban SUV based on Jazz platform which they demonstrated in Detroit show.

Originally Posted by ampere

What ever may be the case, they sure know how to design a car, that puts a song in your heart!

One hundred percent true!

Originally Posted by Marauder

Actually,2015 is early and an optimistic prediction considering that the Taigun,the car on which this would be based on is slated to be launched in India in 2016.In all probability Taigun will launch first.Also,I think in the article it might be mentioning international launch date which would mean that it would be launched in India around late 2016.

Agree, it looks the international launch schedule. We are yet to see the Citigo in India!

[S@ndy]

• Impressed! This small cheeky looking-car is sure to give a tough fight to Ecosport. But wait! I read, the year of possible launch is 2015! And even it's brother Taigun could be in the market till then. Isn't it too late for this?
• The most important chore for all members of VAG group is to improve their after-sales service and customer satisfaction rates. I see many people complainin' to VW on their facebook page which isn't a good indication.
• They gotta keep the length below 4m and fully utilise their MQB platform to give a tough fight to Duster and Ecosport. Also, a good price will only pay dividends to it's sales numbers.
• Skoda, it seems, is on a product onslaught to regain it's market share. But, they gotta expand their network to fight more-established players like Ford, Renault etc.
• Quality interiors should be offered in keeping with their tank-like build status. IMHO, interior quality of Ecosport is much better than Duster but still not that great!
• Give it a tailgate mounted stepney and a good price! Indians will love you for that! Just ask Ecosport which managed to sell approx. 4000 units despite it's launch at the end of the month.
• Give it a rugged appearance (if not 4x4) to entice customers to showrooms. We Indians have a soft spot for rugged vehicles with a tailgate-mounted stepney.
• Try to launch it as early as possible to cash in as many profits as you can!

Keep revvin'
S@ndy

[Mohan Mathew A]

Beautiful car. If it is based on the Taigun then it i suppose it will be priced more or less on the lines of Ecosport and not cross the 12 lakh barrier.
VW is also supposed to be developing a polo based SUV based on the next generation polo which will sit between the Taigun and Tiguan. That, i suppose, will take the price band from 10 to 15. So skoda will probably have their own version of this too.
Will make sense for them to then launch the next generation Polo, Vento and the Polo based SUV and also the corresponding Skoda models since all of them are going to be on the MQB platform as it will create economies of scale and hopefully keep the price low

[EagleEye]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

Beautiful car. If it is based on the Taigun then it i suppose it will be priced more or less on the lines of Ecosport and not cross the 12 lakh barrier.

You forget that this is going to be a Skoda. You saw how the Fabia was priced, so expect nothing less from this. I expect it to be in the Duster territory (or slightly more).

[k_ajay]

The compact SUV space is definitely getting more interesting.

The Skoda Polar is certainly a looker and since Yeti already sits in the 17-19L price bracket, this one should be between 12 to 16 (it's going to be coming with both FW and RW drive). For their build and quality, the vehicle will sure will top notch. Pricing will be the key.

Honda's SUV is also interesting and if the production makes it to 90% of the concept (like Ford managed with the EcoSport), then they have a good product too. The ground clearance seems to be in abundance and also the rear profile seems similar to current CRV, so I'm assuming it should be production capable.

Like it's been said on several threads at TBHP, we should keenly 'watch this space'.

[MaxTorque]

The SUV looks a good. But has Skoda confirmed this development? I was checking on web but could not find any reliable source. It's just an artistic impression so we have to wait and see what is the real deal (if at all it is true).

[mobius 1]

The car looks magnificent !

IMO it would be more of a competitor to XUV 500 than to EcoSport/Duster.
Definitely looks too good to be priced below 10L.