Volkswagen Taigun 1.0 TSI AT Topline Long Term Review: City report

The long term VW Taigun has had its hands full commuting and has already done almost 1000km since last month, and all of it has been in the city. So, let’s take a look at how the Taigun has fared.

Let’s start with the insides first. If you spend almost two hours commuting, the seats better be comfortable, and luckily in the Taigun, they are. In fact, the seats are fantastic and offer good support all around, so there are no aches of any sort even after spending long hours behind the wheel. However, there are a few small things that could have been better.

Like the horn button. Now, the horn is most used primarily in the chaotic conditions of Mumbai. The Taigun’s horn pad isn’t flat, and the spot where you use the thumb to honk is at an angle that makes your thumb slip each time. Now I’m pretty sure there is nothing wrong with my thumb, and just a more flattish horn pad would have made honking a non-slippery affair.

The Taigun is a feature-loaded car, and it also gets wireless charging. This feature does help when you are running low on juice and when you don’t have your cable handy. However, the Taigun’s wireless charger does not get cooling function because of which the phone gets extremely hot and you wonder what might happen if you leave it on the wireless charging pad for an extended period of time.

What is absolutely fantastic, though, is the 10-inch infotainment system. Nice sharp graphics, smooth interface and the wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are an absolute boon and connect in no time at all. Even the six-speaker audio system will keep the most ardent audiophiles happy, making even the dullest of commutes cheerful.

On the driving front, the Taigun comes across as a playful SUV. The steering feels great, and cutting through traffic is no problem at all. But this playful character comes at a cost and that is the stiff suspension set-up. The Taigun is like a pogo stick in the city and can get pretty uncomfortable when the roads are bad.

The suspension just does not have any give when you go at slow speeds over concrete joints, poorly done up manhole covers and potholes. It’s only when the speeds are above 60kmph that the Taigun starts getting better. To deal with the stiff ride, I am running 3PSI lower than the recommended air pressure, but that takes a toll on the fuel efficiency.

Speaking of fuel efficiency, the one-litre TSI engine tries hard, but in hardcore traffic conditions, the Taigun struggles to reach even 11kmpl. The max one can achieve in extreme traffic conditions is between 10-11kmpl. But then these figures should improve substantially once we get on the highway. Since we are on the topic of driving in traffic, what was also noticeable is how loud the brakes get when driving in bumper to bumper traffic.

The Taigun also gets hill hold which activates on inclines and avoids rolling backwards, however, we have noticed there is a pad scrubbing noise which can get quite irritating when braking in bumper to bumper traffic. But that apart, there is no problem with the brakes, and the Taigun can shed speeds quickly.

Next, we will be doing a highway report and talk about how the Taigun does on the open stretches regarding handling, fuel efficiency, and ride quality.

Product Details

Make: Volkswagen

Model: Taigun

Version: 1.0 TSI AT Topline

Kilometres this month: 880km

Fuel Efficiency: 10.2kmpl

Price: Rs 16.89 lakh (when tested)

Photography – Kaustubh Gandhi