New VW Taigun baby SUV revealed

This is the latest incarnation of the VW Taigun, a developing concept designed to preview how a small SUV could be based on the Up city car.

The original version of the Taigun was revealed at last year's Sao Paulo motor show in Brazil; the new incarnation is being shown at the New Delhi motor show, a sign that VW is eyeing up developing markets for the eventual production car.

A further clue to this is the adoption of a spare wheel mounted on the latest concept's rear door; this is a popular customer requirement in markets like Brazil and India, but is considered undesirable in Western Europe.

The Taigun is 3859mm long (3995mm with the wheel); that's around 25cm shorter than a Nissan Juke, but longer by a similar amount than the Up. The Taigun is 81mm taller than the city car, too, at 1570mm.

The concept gets a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine, producing 109bhp and 129lb ft of torque from 1500rpm. The car is front-wheel drive, and gets a six-speed manual transmission. VW claims the Taigun can reach 62mph from rest in 9.2sec and a top speed of 116mph, and deliver combined fuel economy of 69mpg (110g/km of CO2 emissions).

The engine is significant because it's the new addition to Volkswagen's three-cylinder line-up. The 109bhp motor will feature in the face-lifted VW Polo and a high-performance version of the Up, badged 'GT'. It is also likely to end up in the current generation of Golf.

The Taigun's cabin makes clear use of Up parts, particularly around the instrument panel, but it gets a more distinct fascia design that includes a central TFT infotainment system and air vents which incorporate their controls in central dials.

VW claims it is 'interested' in the reaction of showgoers in Delhi, but the Taigun is already almost certain to make production in the next couple of years.

It's likely that the project would still retain the flexibility to have a conventional hatchback (as shown on the original concept) and a spare wheel hidden from view, potentially allowing VW to make the car available in Europe as well as India and Brazil.