Volkswagen Virtus launched at Rs 11.22 lakh

Volkswagen has made a comeback in the Indian sedan segment with the Virtus. The all-new Virtus is a made-for-India vehicle under the India 2.0 strategy of the VW Group that Skoda Auto is heading. The new Virtus is available in four trims and only petrol engine options. The price starts at Rs 11.22 lakh, ex-showroom. The Skoda Slavia starts at Rs 10.99 lakh, ex-showroom. But compared to the top-end variant of the Slavia, the Volkswagen Virtus GT gets a lower price tag.

The Slavia top-end 1.5 DSG gets a price tag of Rs 18.31 lakh while the VW Virtus GT, which is a similarly specced variant costs Rs 17.91 lakh.

The all-new Volkswagen Virtus is based on the MQB A0 IN platform, which also underpins the VW Taigun, Skoda Kushaq and Skoda Slavia. The new Virtus is bigger than the Slavia in dimensions. It also replaces the discontinued Jetta from the lineup. The top-end GT Line of the car offers features like a boot-mounted spoiler.

VW has divided the variants of the Virtus into the Dynamic Line and Performance Line. It is similar to the VW Taigun. There are three variants under the Dynamic Line. Only the 1.0-litre turbo-charged petrol engine is available with the Dynamic Line variants. The top-of-the-line Performance Line gets only the GT Plus variant. It gets the 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine and only an automatic DSG transmission.

Like the Skoda Kushaq and Taigun, the Slavia and the Virtus will share a lot of parts between them. However, the Virtus is longer than the Slavia by 20mm. There are significant changes in the front-end to differentiate between both cars. The Volkswagen Virtus definitely looks sportier compared to the Slavia, especially because of the additional features like a boot-mounted spoiler.

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The dashboard of the new Volkswagen Virtus dashboard looks quite classy and sporty. It gets a sharp-edged instrument binnacle that houses the 7-inch fully digital instrument cluster. The GT variants get highlights of contrasting red stitches all over the upholstery.

VW will offer a long list of features with the Virtus including all-LED headlamps, an eight-speaker system, single-pane sunroof, climate control system, automatic headlamps, and rain-sensing wipers, ventilated seats, push-button start, 60:40 split seats with the GT, cooled glove box and more.

The new Virtus will also come with stability control, hill-hold, tyre deflation warning, electronic differential lock, multi-collision braking and even six airbags with the top-end variants.

Petrol engine options only

Volkswagen will offer two engine options with the Virtus. These are the exact same engines available with the Skoda Slavia, VW Taigun and the Skoda Kushaq. The 1.0-litre TSI engine generates a maximum power of 115 PS and a peak torque of 178 Nm. VW offers a six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic transmission with this engine option.

The more powerful 1.5-litre TSI engine will be available with the GT variants of the car. It generates a maximum power of 150 PS and a peak torque of 250 Nm. The more powerful 1.5-litre TSI will be available only with a seven-speed DCT. The 1.5-litre engine gets a cylinder deactivation feature. It deactivates two cylinders when there is minimal load on the engine. This increases the fuel efficiency of the car.

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