Although the Polo remains South Africa’s best-selling passenger car, VW’s product strategy is rapidly changing.
The German company is aware that more South Africans are demanding compact SUVs and crossover-type vehicles. As such, VW is not even bothering with the new Golf8 in South Africa, except for GTI, as a special order vehicle.
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With its current product portfolio, the gravel travel theme is clear: T-Cross, T-Roc and Tiguan now constitute the bulk of VW’s South African passenger vehicle sales, that aren’t Polo.
Exciting news for local followers of the brand is that VW will be introducing yet another compact crossover to its line-up next year. The company’s local marketing department has confirmed that South Africa will be a destination market for the new Taigo.
Built on the same MQB platform as Polo and T-Cross, the Taigo features a sloping roofline. The execution of a sloping roofline SUV was first popularised by BMW, with its X6, but has become a much-emulated design trend over the last decade.
From the styling studio images that VW has released, it is clear that Taigo will have a more purposeful look than T-Cross. But there will be sacrifices for owning the more daring design.
With a tapered profile, the Taigo’s rear passengers will have less headroom and its luggage capacity will also slightly reduce. Not by much, but if you are someone who uses all the available luggage space in your compact crossover or SUV when traveling this could become an issue.
Cabin architecture and infotainment features should be an exact carryover from the T-Cross. The same logic should apply to its core all-terrain capabilities. This should see the Taigo have 185mm of ground clearance, making it a superior gravel travel vehicle to VW’s larger T-Roc.
Engine specifications have not been detailed, but expect the same small-capacity turbopetrol units found in Polo and T-Cross. This should give Taigo buyers the option of a 1-litre triple or 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine.
Feature image: Volkswagen
