Volkswagen Virtus Review, First Drive

We’ve finally driven the highly anticipated sedan from VW ahead of its official launch but how different is it from the Skoda Slavia? We give you the low down.

If you’re an 80s or a 90s kid, you know the car that you’ve always aspired for and it was most definitely, a sedan. The sleek, elegant, classy and even sporty sedan is what you wanted to see yourself in once you were all grown up. But the turn of the millennium saw the sedan fade away as other forms of cars became popular and all hope was lost for the sedan until now. Hot on the heels of the Skoda Slavia’s launch, comes in the VW counterpart christened, the Virtus and it shouldn’t take you long to realise that this could very well be that ray of hope you were looking for, that perfect silhouette of a sedan that the Virtus seems to flawlessly mould itself into.

Let me make things very clear right at the beginning. Yes, this is the same car as the Skoda Slavia, they share the same mechanical bits under the skin but despite the cars sharing the same factories and sub-components, the individual identities of the badges the cars adorn have to be maintained. The essence of sitting and driving each of these cars have to resonate with what people have come to expect and associate with their respective brands. Thus, VW put in a good deal of effort into making sure that the Virtus stands out.

The interior for starters looks quite different. The layout is in typical VW style with a wide dashboard highlighted with a shroud surrounding the top half and is exclusively available in red with the Wild Cherry exterior paint scheme that you would've seen advertised everywhere otherwise, you’ll get it in silver albeit looking a tad plasticky. The infotainment and instrumentation screens make up a lovely looking digital cluster that’s functional and easy to use as much as it's attractive to view. The infotainment is loaded with modern wireless connectivity features while there are more modern features abound in the cabin. Two-stage front seat cooling function, wireless charging, nifty touch sensitive air-con controls that can be a bit fiddly at times but still a good feature nonetheless. All these add to conveniences that we’ve come to expect of cars of this category. And then, there’s the exterior styling.

This classic look of a long, low sedan is just so appealing with the modern VW family face giving it a pleasing look. The added elements of the bold, straight lines, combining to make this stretched sporty silhouette, skillfully hiding the 179mm of ground clearance is commendable. Reminiscing the Jetta, the Virtus looks properly sporty, possibly its most essential trait in making the sedan appealing. Chrome lines from the grille connecting the headlamps, blacked-out lower bumper surrounds with a chrome strip on the lower lip, flanked by fog lamps look just right. The almost plain sides carrying a strong shoulder line and the rear styled with blacked-out LED tail-lamps, a lip spoiler adding that hint of sportiness, the Virtus’ exterior design simply cannot be flawed.