Volkswagen has finally unveiled its upcoming sedan, the Virtus in India! The Virtus replaces the Vento which has been for sale in the country for more than a decade now. For those who don’t know, the Virtus is closely related to the Skoda Slavia which shares its MQB AO IN platform with. Pre-bookings for the Virtus will begin from today and the launch is set to happen soon in May. The Virtus will be offered in two lines based on the engine. The Dynamic line is powered by the 1-litre TSI whereas the performance line comes powered by the 1.5-liter TSI.
Design
The Virtus claims to be the biggest mid-size sedan that you can buy today. It measures 4,651 mm in length, 1,507 mm in height, and 1,752mm in width. The wheelbase is 2651 mm which is the best-in-class and similar to the Skoda Slavia. The Virtus features a clean and understated design that we have come to see in other Volkswagen cars. The front features a thin grille with chrome outlines on the top and bottom. The chrome lines merge into the LED DRLs of the LED headlights which form a C-shape.
The lower half of the bumper features a large black air dam with vertically placed LED foglamps on each side. The side features 16-inch alloy wheels. The rear gets blacked-out LED taillamps and a chrome element on the lower half of the bumper. To add excitement, the GT variant gets a GT badge on the grille and front fenders, blacked-out alloy wheels, a dual-tone roof, black ORVMs, and red brake calipers.
Interior and Features
The Virtus gets dual-tone black and beige interiors. The overall layout is typically Volkswagen with clean lines. You will notice a lot of parts shared with the Taigun SUV such as the multifunction steering wheel, the door handles, the touch-sensitive climate control unit, and the gear knob. The GT variant adds a red panel on the dash and door panels just like the Taigun. Other additions in the GT variant include aluminum pedals, red ambient lighting, and red stitching on the seats.
The center stage is taken up by a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system which comes with wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay. It also comes with 8 speakers as standard. In terms of features, it gets automatic climate control, a reverse parking camera, an 8-inch virtual cockpit display, auto headlamps, auto wipers, auto-dimming inside rearview mirror, auto-folding mirrors, wireless charging, ventilated seats, electric sunroof, cruise control, and keyless entry with push-button start. The boot space is rated at 521 liters.
Safety
The Virtus comes with a host of safety features such as brake disc wiping, ASR, MSR, Electronic differential lock with XDS and XDS+, three-point seatbelts for all the rear passengers, multi-collision braking, 6 airbags, TPMS, HHC, ABS, and EBD, and TCS.
Powertrain
The Virtus comes with two petrol engines which come with idle start/stop technology. The turbocharged 1.0-liter 3 cylinder TSI engine produces 115hp and 178 Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed manual and 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission.
The more powerful engine found in the GT variant is the turbocharged 1.5-liter 4-cylinder TSI engine which produces 150hp and 250 Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed manual or 7 speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission. This engine also comes with cylinder deactivation technology.