Volkswagen Cars in India

Volkswagen is an 81-year-old automaker with the second-highest manufacture and sale of cars of different body types across the world. Their headquarters are situated in Wolfsburg, Germany.

The German Labour Front founded the Volkswagen (People’s Car) brand in 1932, which focussed solely on the production and sale of high-end luxury vehicles that were extremely expensive for the common German citizens. A year later, Ferdinand Porsche wanted to design and build a dynamic vehicle that would be affordable and suitable for a family. Using his personal ideas as well as others, he built a “Beetle”-shaped car with an air-cooled rear engine, torsion bar suspension and aerodynamic rounded bonnet named it “Volksauto”.

After Adolf Hitler got involved in the workings of the company in 1934, he wished to build and introduce cars that could seat a family - two adults and three children. Hitler joined hands with Ferdinand Porsche to utilize designs for the cars, and three years later in 1937, the “Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH” (Company for the preparation of German Volkswagen Ltd.) was founded, which was later changed to ”Volkswagenwerk GmbH” in late 1938. Porsche’s trusted team member Edwin Komenda developed the design for a car, which later on became one of the most iconic and legendary vehicles to be offered by Volkswagen, the Beetle.

As the World War II ended, and America and Britain emerged victorious, the company fell in the hands of the British officer Ivan Hirst, who instead of dismantling the factory and cars, decided to restart the production of vehicles with the help of his German assistant Heinrich Nordhoff. By 1946, the company under Hirst’s care was manufacturing around 1,000 vehicles every month despite the damages sustained by the factory’s structure during the war. In 1950, when Volkswagen launched their “Type 2” model, it took the automobile markets by storm. Better known as the Transporter, VW Bus, VW Camper or Microbus, this model became a legendary vehicle and is still revered by people across the globe. As a new production base was established in Hanover to build Transporters, it was the birth of present-day Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand.

The following decades saw the emergence of Volkswagen as an automobile star with the launch of Volkswagen Passat, Scirocco, Gold and Polo, and Volkswagen purchasing NSU Motorenwerk AG along with the historic luxury brand, Audi Union. As the end of the millennium approached, Volkswagen was already onto the third generation of Volkswagen Golf and had spread its reach to North America and most of Europe. Volkswagen also made its presence known in the world of motorsports as their American branch launched the Formula Super Vee competition, which produced Formula One Racing legends like Niki Lauda, Jochen Rindt, Nelson Piquet, Keke Roseberg and Jochen Mass. They also won the world rally championship back-to-back for four years with their Volkswagen Polo R WRC with driver Sebastien Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia.

 

Volkswagen Car Photos

 

Currently, Volkswagen offers six models distributed across three automobile classes – Sedans, Hatchbacks and Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs or Sport Ute) in the Indian market. The Volkswagen car Images and Volkswagen videos say it all - the elegancy, the styling and class of Volkswagen automobiles.

Sedans

Volkswagen Ameo | Volkswagen Vento | Volkswagen Passat

Hatchbacks

Volkswagen Polo | Volkswagen Polo GT | Volkswagen Polo GTI

SUVs

Volkswagen Tiguan

 

Volkswagen Cars – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

1. What is the general range for Volkswagen prices in India?

Volkswagen car prices vary from Rs. 5.94 - Rs. 8.90 for the lowest priced model Volkswagen Polo and goes up to Rs. 29.99 - Rs. 32.99 for its highest priced Volkswagen car Passat.

 

2. What is the average fuel efficiency of the Volkswagen models in India?

Volkswagen cars offer a decent fuel economy. Volkswagen Ameo has an average fuel efficiency of 20.94 kmpl, the Vento returns 19.68 kmpl, the Volkswagen Passat has a mileage of 17.42 kmpl, the hatchback Polo offers an average mileage of 19.01 kmpl, the SUV Tiguan returns 17.06 kmpl while the Gran Turismo variant Polo GTI has a mileage of 16.34 kmpl.

 

3. Which safety and security features have been installed in the Volkswagen new cars?

Volkswagen spares no expense while building their vehicles and bestows them with the latest safety and security systems, like driver airbag, co-occupant/passenger airbag, side airbags, Antilock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), electronic stability program, engine immobilizer, central locking, speed-sensing automatic lock, child lock safety, hill assist, brake assist, traction control, power door lock, turn indicators on ORVMs, rear wiper, cornering lights, rear parking sensors and camera, paddle shift, and cruise control.

 

4. What is the difference between Volkswagen Polo and Polo GTI?

The Volkswagen Polo GTI is the Gran Turismo edition (GT edition) of the Volkswagen Polo. It varies from the normal edition in engine capacity, transmission system, acceleration, top speed and fuel efficiency. Polo GT has been built for fast yet comfortable long distance touring while other editions of Polo are more suited for city commute and occasional long drives. Polo GTI boasts a 1798 cc engine generating 189 bhp of power and 250 Nm torque. The top variant of VW Polo has a 1498 cc engine that generates 108 bhp of power and 250 Nm of peak torque.    

 

5. What kind of comfort and convenience features are available in the Volkswagen vehicles?

The top spec iterations of Volkswagen cars offer the best comfort features in the interior as well as exterior design, like climate control, air conditioning and heating, push start/stop ignition button, paddle shifters, keyless entry, 12V power outlets, steering adjustment, steering infotainment controls, average fuel efficiency indicator, low fuel warning, door ajar warning, lumbar support, armrests in the cabin, high-quality upholstery, electrically adjustable rear view mirrors, and fog lights.

 

6. Are Volkswagen cars expensive to maintain?

There is a common understanding among car buyers that Volkswagen cars are generally expensive to maintain. The truth is that though the Volkswagen car parts are a bit costlier due to them being generally imported, the overall cost of maintenance of Volkswagen cars is comparable with other cars in the same price range in their respective segments.

 

7. Which Volkswagen car has the best acceleration and highest top speed?

In India, the Volkswagen car with the highest top speed is the Volkswagen Passat that reaches 250 kmph with an acceleration from 0 to 100 kmph in 8.8 seconds. The respectful VW Polo GTI follows the Passat as it tops out at 237 kmph clocking in at just 7.2 seconds as it leaps from rest to 100 kmph. So, VW Polo GTI is credited with the best acceleration while the VW Passat has the highest maximum speed.