Volkswagen Polo-based compact SUV to be manufactured in India

German car maker Volkswagen has been working on a new compact SUV based on the Polo hatchback for quite some time. The new compact SUV is expected to enter the market in 2018. Emerging reports say that the company will locally manufacture this SUV in India.

At the ongoing Paris Motor Show, Juergen Stackmann, member of the board of management, Volkswagen told Autocar India, "We are in the process of trying to localise the compact SUV in India."

Localisation will help Volkswagen to keep the pricing in check. VW compact SUV will be pitted against Hyundai Creta in India. The new compact SUV is expected to be based on the MQB A0 platform. This will also underpin the next-gen Polo hatchback.

The design of the compact SUV will be extracted from the T-Cross Breeze concept that Volkswagen unveiled at the 86th Geneva Motor Show in March. What Volkswagen claims is that the new compact SUV is the beginning of a broad SUV offensive and perfectly suited for everyday use. VW says that the compact SUV's cabin will be similar to the BUDD-e concept, which means the number of buttons and knobs inside the cabin will be minimal.

VW compact SUV has been rumoured with 1.0-litre turbocharged direct injection petrol engine developing 110bhp of power and a peak torque of 175Nm. The engine will be mated a 7-Speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox transmitting power to the front wheels. India-spec is likely to get the 1.2-litre TSI four-cylinder engine developing 110bhp and a retuned 1.5-litre TDI mill developing 116bhp.

It was reported that the company quashed the previous compact SUV concept, Taigun, for production. The new SUV essentially is a replacement for Taigun.