Globally, the body form which is now in the driver’s seat of the automobile sector is the SUV. India is also a part of this growing trend in a big way and nearly every car manufacturer out there has one or more examples as a part of their portfolio. Although a little late to the party in the mass-market scheme of things, backed by a new strategy and a fat investment by the parent company, Volkswagen is now ready to unleash its SUV offensive in India.
The first vehicle to roll out as a part of this plan will most probably be the Taigun, which is based on the MQB-AO-IN platform which has been developed specifically for India, and the world. Rivaling the likes of the Creta among others, the Taigun is among four models which were teased by VW’s boss for India, Mr Ashish Gupta, at an event recently. Where the other three are the Tiguan Allspace, the Taigun, and the T-ROC (To be brought in again under the 2,500 cars import rule), the mystery model in the picture below is a vehicle hiding itself under a veil. Since the Elephant is out, it’s time to put on a blindfold and guess what it is.
At first glance, the silhouette suggests that it could be an estate or a crossover, given the fact that its bonnet drops towards the front, the car sits sort of low, and the wheelbase appears to be quite elongated. For how we’ve treated the estate body form in our country though, we don’t think anybody wants to try that sauce again. However, if we allow photography-related trickery to rest for a bit, it could also be the Volkswagen Nivus, and there are good reasons to support this possibility. For instance, the Nivus is based on the MQB-AO platform which is almost identical to the new platform which will form the base for the Taigun.
In terms of size, the Nivus is almost as long as the Taigun, although it has a 90mm shorter wheelbase. But that allows the Nivus to offer a bigger boot (445 litres) compared to the Taigun (373 litres). Like the Taigun, the Nivus is also powered by the 1.0-litre TSI engine, which has been tuned to generate 128 PS and 200 Nm. Last year, there were reports about a 1.5-litre TSI joining the range too but that hasn’t happened, yet.
In terms of equipment, the Nivus carries as much and a little more kit than what we know will be offered with the Taigun. But the question is, if the mystery vehicle is the Nivus, how will it be positioned? Like the Polo and the Vento, Volkswagen could offer two body forms of the same vehicle, where given its styling, the Nivus could be offered as sportier and a slightly more expensive alternative. Or have they already figured the 7-seater game like the Creta and we might see a Taigun with three rows of seating? Enough of this blindfolding, the mask’s making life difficult anyways.