Volkswagen's first European-market SUV-coupé is the Taigo, a rakish-roofed crossover that's closely related to the Volkswagen Polo and the Volkswagen T-Cross.
Now on sale in the UK from £21,960, it is offered with a choice of two petrol engines, a 1.0-litre turbocharged triple with either 94bhp or 109bhp, or a 1.5-litre four-pot with 148bhp. Each is available with a five- or six-speed manual gearbox or seven-speed DSG, with efficiency figures ranging from 46.3mpg to 52.3mpg on the WLTP cycle.
The Taigo has been on sale for a year already as the Nivus in South America, and it arrives on our shores largely unchanged, save for a series of tweaks aimed at bringing it into line with the brand's line-up here.
European-market models will be built at Pamplona in Spain, alongside its MQB-A0 platform-sharing siblings.
At 4266mm long, 1494mm tall and 1757mm wide, the Taigo is comparable in size to the big-selling Nissan Juke, while its 2566mm wheelbase almost exactly matches that of the Polo and T-Cross.
With a seats-up boot capacity of 438 litres, luggage space is barely diminished compared with the straighter-backed T-Cross.
The Taigo is positioned as a "trendy crossover" with a "powerful, sporty appearance". Key differentiators over the T-Cross include a roofline that slopes down towards a subtle spoiler at the rear, a new look front end with standard-fit LED headlights, contrasting wheel-arch trim and an extended rear overhang.
Inside, the Taigo bears a strong resemblance to the T-Cross and recently updated Polo. Standard kit includes a multifunction steering wheel, a central touchscreen with Volkswagen's latest 'MIB3' infotainment software and an all-digital gauge cluster.
Touch-sensitive climate controls – as fitted to the Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Tiguan and ID 3 – are an option, as is the IQ.Drive package, which brings a raft of driver aids, including predictive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance, in addition to those fitted as standard.
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It not just VW, cars in general are becoming more plasticky inside what with all the new tech that we simply "must" have apparently, why don't they just concentrate on building them better inside and out?
VWs range has become so averagely bland and indistinguishable from one another. A line up of their models in Polo-Golf sized models are all so similar and dull, each one a few millimetres taller/longer/wider than each other. Clarkson's put down of a Vauxhall Astra (?)being '14 feet of car' surely applies to VW more than any other brand at the moment.
When does a 'sporty' SUV 'coupe' stop being an SUV and becomes just a boring looking hatchback?
"£22,000 for a 1.0 supermini with higher ride height and 95bhp" - none of that sentence is going to encourage me to part with so much money for something like this.