Volkswagen Virtus Spied Testing In India; Previews Vento's Successor?
We all know that Volkswagen is working on the replacement of the Vento sedan in India. Slated for a launch towards of the end of 2021, the new Volkswagen sedan will be will be underpinned by the MQB AO-IN platform which has been specifically developed for India. This will be an all-new sedan from the grounds up and apart from the 1.0L TSI engine, nothing will be carried forward on the successor of the Vento. Volkswagen's sister company, Skoda, has said that the replacement for the Rapid in India will not carry the Rapid name. It will be an all-new, bigger sedan instead. We could expect a similar approach to be adopted by VW as well.
The current-gen Vento and Rapid are similar under the skin, and the same will be true for the successors of both the cars. If Skoda has said that the replacement for the Rapid will be a brand new car, its safe to assume the same from Volkswagen as well. Now, the Volkswagen Virtus has been spotted testing in our country undisguised. While the Virtus itself is unlikely to come to India, it does give us a few clues on what we could expect for the VW's India-specific Vento’s successor. Incidentally, the Virtus too is based on the global-spec MQB-AO platform and debuted in 2017 in South America.
Also Read : Volkswagen Polo and Vento Prices To Go UP From January 2021
So Volkswagen could be testing the Virtus in India to see how the platform responds to Indian driving conditions or it could even be testing certain India-specific components. There is a possibility that some bits from the Virtus could make it to the India-specific sedan as well. In terms of design, the Virtus is borrows bits from a variety of other Volkswagen models. For example, the front-end seems inspired the sixth-gen Polo sold abroad while the rear-end resembles the Passat.
The Virtus is also quite a bit longer than the Vento with a length of 4480mm and a wheelbase of 2650mm. The India-specific Vento replacement will thus definitely be larger than the current Vento. The Virtus also comes well equipped with features such as a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, automatic climate control, auto-dimming rearview mirrors and more. Under the hood, the upcoming Vento successor will be powered by the 110hp/175Nm 1.0L TSI engine with a 6-speed manual and 6-speed torque converter gearbox.
The MQB-AO platform is also capable of handling the larger 1.5L TSI petrol engine from VW's stable and that too could be thrown in on higher-spec variants or for a more performance focused model. The Volkswagen Vento successor is expected to debut around Diwali 2021, and that's the same time we are expecting the Rapid replacement as well. Expect a premium over the Vento’s current INR 8.93 lakh to 13.39 lakh (ex-showroom) price range. It will continue its rivalry with the likes of the Honda City, Hyundai Verna and the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz.
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[Image Source - Rushlane]