Taigo made his debut after Nivus in Europe and arrived in South Africa in 2022. Image: Volkswagen.
Launched three years ago in South America, but in 2021, under the name Taigo, a more rugged edition of the Volkswagen Nivus would have been approved for arrival in 2024 after the demise of the Polo GTS.
Intended to retain the nomenclature in question, the Nivus GTS will have European Taigo R-Line styling and will have sportier bumpers and door sills, GTS-specific 18-inch alloy wheels and, as standard, an illuminated grille, Matrix. Intelligence quotient. LED headlights and imitation rear diffuser.
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Underneath, the suspension will be revised and the Chassis Dynamic Control formula will be added, as well as the XDS electronic front differential.
Like the Polo GTS, the Nivus GTS will get external details, namely a black headliner, GTS branding, sports seats with GTS embroidered backrests and red stitching, a multifunction steering wheel wrapped in artificial leather and a new gear knob.
At the front, the 1. 4 TSI flex-fuel engine will be retained, reduced from 94 kW/200 Nm to the same 110 kW/250 Nm as in the Polo GTS.
In addition to the 85 kW/200 Nm produced by the South African Taipass’s three-cylinder 1. 0 TSI, the torque of the Nivus GTS will continue to be transmitted solely to the front wheels, but via a six-speed Tiptronic gearbox. High-speed DSG.
While there are no known functionality figures, the Nivus GTS is expected to exceed two hundred km/h and reach one hundred km/h from a standstill in less than nine seconds.
For comparison, the Polo GTS reaches 100 km/h from 0 in 8. 3 seconds and reaches a top speed of 206 km/h, while the European-spec Taigo, equipped with the new 110 kW/250 Nm 1. 5 TSI. The Evo Mill will reach 210 km/h and reach 100 km/h from 0 in 8. 5 seconds.
Given its engine displacement, the South African Taigo is, unsurprisingly, the least dynamic, with a top speed of two hundred km/h and a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 10 seconds.
In announcing the GTS, motor1. com Brazil also claims that the launch “scheduled for 2024” will coincide with the first middle-aged facelift of the Nivus, which will bring a number of external and internal tweaks to the rest of the range.
No further details are known at the moment, nor is the option for the South African Taigo to get the 1. 4 TSI engine used in the Tiguan and some Audi models.
Unlike the Nivus, which comes from the São Bernardo do Campo factory in São Paulo, the Taigo is made at the Pamplona plant in Spain, and the dashboard of all right-hand drive models on the market comes from the Kariega plant in the Eastern Cape.
However, if approval is granted, it is to be hoped that the GTS moniker will be eschewed in favor of another descriptive moniker.
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