Volkswagen India has announced that it has started production of the upcoming Virtus sedan at its Chakan plant in Maharashtra, India. The Virtus is based on the MQB AO IN platform which the Taigun SUV is based on.

Like its Skoda sibling, as well as the Taigun, the Virtus will come with two turbo-petrol engine options – the 1.0-liter, three-cylinder TSI unit that makes 115hp and 175Nm and the 1.5-liter, four-cylinder TSI unit that develops 150hp and 250Nm.

The new Virtus will be available in two distinct lines – Dynamic, which includes all the 1.0 TSI variants, and Performance, which includes the 1.5 TSI variants. There will be two gearbox options available on the 1.0 TSI variant – a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed torque converter automatic. The 1.5 TSI will only come with a 7-speed DCT gearbox.

The Virtus claims to be the biggest mid-size sedan that you can buy. It measures 4,651 mm in length, 1,507 mm in height, and 1,752mm in width. The wheelbase is 2651 mm which is the best-in-class and similar to the Skoda Slavia. The Virtus features a clean and understated design that we have come to see in other Volkswagen cars.

Fully-kitted Virtus will get a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system, an 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster, wireless phone charging, connected car tech, ventilated front seats, a sunroof, ambient lighting, a cooled glovebox, and auto headlamps and wipers. The Virtus comes with a host of safety features such as brake disc wiping, ASR, MSR, Electronic differential lock with XDS and XDS+, three-point seatbelts for all the rear passengers, multi-collision braking, 6 airbags, TPMS, HHC, ABS, and EBD, and TCS.

The Virtus will be replacing the aging Vento and will go up against the likes of Skoda Slavia, Honda City, Hyundai Verna, and Suzuki Ciaz.