Volkswagen India has announced the introduction of the 2023 model year Taigun and Virtus models. The models now comply with the upcoming RDE (rear driving emission) norms, as well as the E20 norms which means the car can run on petrol with a 20 per cent blend of ethanol. These changes are in line with the upcoming BS6 Phase II rules which go into effect from April 1, 2023.
In addition to making the cars cleaner, the company has also updated the features list of both models. In the case of the Taigun, the Highline variant of the 1.0-litre TSI Dynamic Line variant and the GT variant of the 1.5l TSI Performance Line trim, now come with ‘Auto Headlights’, ‘Auto Coming/ Leaving Home lights. On the other hand, the Virtus will now come with rear fog lamps as a standard fitment across all variants.
Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, said, “Product development is a continuous process at Volkswagen and we strongly believe the additional and new feature offerings across the Taigun and Virtus variants will increase their accessibility as well as value proposition for our customers.”
The transition to new RDE norms and the addition of new features will also lead to an increment in the prices of the two cars. In fact, the company has already confirmed that come April 1, 2023, both models with witness a price hike of up to 2 per cent, due to the rising input costs. Right now the Taigun is priced from Rs. 11.56 lakh to Rs. 18.96 lakh, while the Virtus is priced from Rs. 11.32 lakh to Rs. 18.42 lakh (all prices ex-showroom, India).
Both the Tiagun and the Virtus come with a 1.0-litre TSI engine mated to a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic transmission. The cars also get a top-of-the-line trim with a 1.5-litre TSI motor, and while both get a 7-speed DSG automatic, the Tiagun also gets a 6-speed manual version.
