Volkswagen debuted the Taigun SUV in concept form earlier this year just ahead of the 2020 Auto Expo. Although the company deemed it to be a concept, it was very close to production and gave up us a great preview of what's to come from VW's mid-size SUV that has been specifically made for India. Now, Volkswagen has dropped yet another teaser image of the Taigun SUV, and it still looks ever so similar to the concept. Here’s what you need to know about the VW’s upcoming SUV.

Earlier in December 2020, Volkswagen announced that they will be launching the Taigun in India sometime around mid-2020. VW Taigun's launch will however be preceded by the production-spec Skoda Vision IN that's set to launch in the market in March-2021. Both the SUVs will be based on VW Group's MQB-AO-IN platform which has been specifically developed for India with a very high level of localization. You can thus expect them to priced at par with the segment and given that they are SUVs with a premium badge at a reasonable price, they should do quite well in the market.

The Volkswagen Taigun actually looks very similar to the T-Cross sold abroad and more specifically to the one sold in China. The India-spec model, just like the China-spec model, gets a lot more bling to suit local taste when compared to the European-spec model. But make no mistakes as it will have up to 95% local content. While most body panels feature clean and mature lines typical to Volkswagen, the front and rear bumpers make the SUV stand out with a healthy dose of chrome and black body cladding.

On the inside, the dashboard layout in the Volkswagen Taigun is pretty similar to the one we recently saw in the Volkswagen T-Roc. Fit and finish and quality of materials are expected to be of premium standards as is expected from the brand. It will also be pretty tech-laden with a virtual digital instrument console and VW's latest infotainment software with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The dashboard in the concept car even featured funky colored inserts which really lifts up the cabin. It will also boast of a panoramic sunroof.

Under the hood, the Volkswagen Taigun will have two turbo-petrol engine options - the 1.0L TSI engine from the Vento/Rapid and larger 1.5L TSI engine from the T-Roc/Karoq. The 1.0L engine produces 110 hp and 175 Nm of torque while the 1.5L engine produces 150 hp and 250 Nm of torque. The 1.0L TSI engine is likely to be offered with a 6-speed manual gearbox and a 6-speed torque converter transmission while the 1.5L TSI engine is likely to come with a 7-speed DSG as standard. We expect the VW Taigun to be priced from around INR 10 lakh. Expect a very closely fought battle in the mid-size SUV segment very soon.