VW Taigun Compact SUV heading for production

The Volkswagen Taigun – a compact SUV based on the VW Up! – is heading for production after VW revealed a concept in 2012, and could be heading for the UK.

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South America has long had a love affair with little SUVs as the perfect way to negotiate their urban landscapes (there was a Ford EcoSport in Brazil long before the latest model), so the Sao Paulo Motor Show in 2012 was a good place for Volkswagen to reveal the VW Taigun, a little urban warrior based on the underpinnings of the VW Up!

It was a good-looking and appealing effort from VW to tap in to the very compact SUV market, with a real family look (a Tiguan on a boil wash), peppy little 3-cylinder 1.0 litre engine delivering 108bhp and a 0-62mph of 9.2 seconds (with 60mpg economy) and enough room to carry stuff and people thanks to an extra 50mm in the wheelbase compared to the Up!

Now it looks like the Taigun is heading for production after VW’s Chief designer, Klaus Bishoff, told Autoexpress that he deeply believed the Taigun would be heading for VW showrooms very soon, and could be sold in the UK and Europe as well as in emerging markets.

So you can add the Taigun to the list of VW’s SUV offerings, and with new versions of the Tiguan and Touareg (perhaps based on the CrossBlue Concept) and a Polo based SUV on the way too, it looks like VW are covering all the bases.