Skoda India recently launched the Slavia premium sedan which will take on the Honda City. Reports now suggest that the Volkswagen Virtus is slated to hit the Indian market in the month of May 2022. Also, the Virtus has been spotted several times testing in India under heavy camouflage.
The sedan is expected to replace the ongoing Vento in the VW lineup as a premium sedan. This ups the game of VW in the premium sedan segment to take on the segment leaders such as Honda City and the Hyundai Verna.
Volkswagen MQB A0 IN platform
Volkswagen’s MQB A0 IN platform
This will be the 4th car under the brands India 2.0 strategy. Similar to the Skoda Slavia, the Virtus will also share the same MQB A0 IN platform. This also underpins the newly launched SUVs, Skoda Kushaq and the Volkswagen Taigun.
The India 2.0 strategy mainly focuses on maximum localization (up to 95%) on its cars. This gives them the edge to price their cars aggressively. The new platform meets all the new regulations introduced in the Indian market. With the extreme flexibility, the MQB A0 IN platform provides, the brand has the freedom to build hatchbacks, sedans and SUVs on the same platform.
Volkswagen Virtus Design
Volkswagen Virtus 2022 spied under heavy camouflage
Image Source: AutoX
The Virtus is already sold in a few international markets. However, we expect the sedan to have an overall update for the Indian market. Under the camouflage, we could spot a narrow grille with sweptback headlamps and LED DRL’s. A slightly pronounced bonnet with a similar fog lamp assembly and alloy wheels seen on the Slavia.
Coming to the dimensions, the Virtus is definitely bigger than the Vento. It measures 4482mm in length, 1751mm in width and 1472 mm in height and a wheelbase of 2651mm. This makes it 92mm longer, 52mm wider, 5mm taller than the Vento. Wheelbase wise it is 98mm longer than the Vento. This shows VWs intentions of improving the overall dimensions for a spacious interior to compete against the segment leaders.
Volkswagen Virtus features and engine
We can expect Volkswagen to borrow most of the features from the Taigun SUV and Skoda Slavia. It includes a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system, 8-inch fully digital instrument cluster, wireless charging, automatic climate control and more.
Like the other new cars from the Volkswagen group, Virtus will also feature 2 TSI petrol motors. A 1.0-L TSI engine produces 110bhp and 178Nm of torque and a 1.5-L TSI engine produces 150bhp and 250Nm of torque. Both engines are mated to a standard 6-speed manual transmission. However, the smaller engine gets an optional 6-speed automatic transmission and the bigger engine gets the 7-speed DCT.
Pricing and competition
At this point, it is hard to guess the price for the Virtus. Being a premium sedan we can expect it to cost slightly more than the Vento which is priced between ₹ 10.00 and 14.14 Lakh (Ex-showroom). The Virtus will go into production somewhere between March and April 2022. And is expected to be launched at the beginning of May 2022.
As for the competition, the Virtus will directly compete against the Skoda Slavia, Hyundai Verna, Honda City and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz.
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