Volkswagen Taigo
New small coupé SUV will be offered exclusively with petrol engines On sale Late 2021 Price from £22,000 (est)
YOU MIGHT REMEMBER the scene from Pulp Fiction where it’s revealed that the Mcdonald’s Quarter Pounder is named something completely different in France: the Royale with Cheese. It’s not just fast food outlets that rename products for different regions, however, because car makers are at it as well. While the Volkswagen Taigo is new to the UK market, it has been on sale in South America and Mexico for a year or so, badged as the Nivus.
As a stylish small coupé SUV, the Taigo is intended to act as a rival to the likes of the Nissan Juke and the slightly larger Citroën C4. It carries more aggressive styling than the T-cross small SUV on which it’s based and features standard LED headlights and a thin light bar that runs across its front grille.
There are three engine choices at launch, all of which drive the front wheels. Kicking off the range is the same 94bhp 1.0-litre turbo petrol that we currently recommend in the T-cross, while above that are 109bhp and 148bhp versions of that same engine. Gearbox options are five or six-speed manuals and a seven-speed automatic.
Inside, the Taigo is similar to the T-cross, coming with a 6.5in infotainment touchscreen and 8.0in digital instrument cluster as standard.those screens can be upgraded to 10.3in and 9.2in respectively, bringing infotainment that’s always online and unlocking features such as music streaming and wireless integration for Apple Carplay and Android Auto phone mirroring.
Available driver assistance kit includes a system called Iq.drive, which bundles together adaptive cruise control and lanekeeping assistance and allows the Taigo to control its own speed and positioning on the motorway. Standard automatic emergency braking can recognise pedestrians and cyclists as well as other cars.
The Taigo will be offered in Life, Style and R-line trims in the UK. Judging from previous experience, it’s likely that Life will strike the best balance between kit and affordability.
Prcies are expected to start at around £22,000, putting it between the T-cross (which costs from £20,950) and T-roc (£24,545). That means the Taigo will be more expensive than most rivals (the Juke starts at £18,840 and the C4 from £21,260).