Volkswagen Virtus and Taigun no longer offer 6-speed manual gearbox option with 1.5 liter turbo petrol engine in India
Volkswagen India has made changes to the powertrain line-up of its Virtus and Taigun. The company has removed the option of manual transmission from variants with 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine. After this change, now the 1.5L TSI engine in both Virtus and Taigun will be available only with automatic gearbox in India.
Until recently, some variants of the Virtus and Taigun were available with the 1.5-litre TSI engine as an option with a 6-speed manual gearbox, but this has now been removed from the official line-up. In such a situation, customers who prefer manual gearbox will now have to choose the 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine, which produces 110 PS of power and 175 Nm of torque.
This engine is still available in 6-speed manual as well as automatic transmissions. At the same time, no mechanical changes have been made in the 1.5-liter turbo petrol engine. This engine produces 150 PS of power and 250 Nm of torque and is offered as a more powerful and enthusiast-focused option in the Volkswagen and Skoda portfolio.
The popularity of automatic transmissions is continuously increasing in India, especially in high-powered petrol cars, where customers are giving priority to driving convenience along with performance. This also helps Volkswagen clearly differentiate its engine options. It is noteworthy that Virtus is currently India’s best selling midsize sedan.
Since the Skoda Kushaq and Slavia also share the MQB A0 IN platform and engine line-up with the Virtus and Taigun, it is possible that the manual gearbox option may be discontinued with the 1.5L turbo petrol engine in the future, although there is no official confirmation on this yet. It is definitely clear that Skoda is preparing to launch Kushaq facelift soon, which has been indicated by the teaser.
The Kushaq facelift will see cosmetic changes and interior updates, while its sibling Taigun may also get similar updates in the coming time. Additionally, Volkswagen is also going to bring the 7-seater premium SUV Tayron to India via the CKD route in the next few months, which will be based on the global Tiguan and will be powered by a 2.0-litre TSI petrol engine.
