Sporty GTS finally revealed as Volkswagen debuts updated Nivus

Showcased four years ago after an extensive teaser campaign and delays brought on by the pandemic, Volkswagen has unveiled the refreshed Nivus in Brazil, in addition to providing the first sighting of the previously rumoured performance GTS.

New outside

The model that provides the base for the Taigo Wolfsburg assembles at its Pamplona plant in Spain, the Nivus’ exterior rework comprises new LED headlights connected via an illuminated light bar, redesigned bumpers, a thinner grille and restyled taillights.

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Along with a larger lower air intake, a new satin silver faux skidplate resides underneath the bumper, with diamond-cut 17-inch alloy wheels being a new standard addition on the Highline that drops below the GTS in the overall range ranking.

Due to go on-sale next year, the mentioned flagship boasts model specific two-tone black-and-silver 18-inch alloys, a honeycomb lower air intake, sportier bumpers and door sills, and GTS badges on the grille, bootlid and doors.

Completing the exterior is a realigned colour catalogue of seven hues with two being new, Titan Blue and Turbo Blue – the latter derived from Audi’s RS models. Carried over are Crystal White, Moonstone Grey, Ninja Black, Platinum Grey and Sunset Red.

Subtle interior rework

By comparison, the Nivus’ interior changes are more subtle as apart from new stitch work on the dashboard and upgraded materials, the only other revision involves improved software and connectivity for the 10.1-inch infotainment system.

Unique to the Nivus, the system now offers in-car Wi-Fi and connection to up to 15 devices, while still being Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible.

As for spec, the entry-level Comfortline comes as standard with an eight-inch digital instrument cluster, 16-inch alloy wheels, push-button start and keyless start, automatic air conditioning, a reverse camera plus rear parking sensors, LED headlights and a wireless smartphone charger.

Besides the items already mentioned, the Highline swaps the eight-inch cluster for the bigger 10.25-inch while gaining front parking sensors, folding electric mirrors, rain sense wipers, auto on/off LED headlights and Driver Attention Alert.

Specification of the GTS will only be divulged next year.

In terms of safety and driver assistance tech, six airbags, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Hill Hold Assist and Adaptive Cruise Control are standard on both derivatives.

A new option for the Highline though, priced at R $ 4 470 (R14 081), is the driver assistance pack made-up of Park Assist, Lane Keep Assist, Blind Spot Detection and the semi-autonomous Travel Assist.

1.4 TSI joins

Up front, the biggest highlight remains the GTS that uses the 1.4 TSI engine from the Brazilian-market Polo GTS.

Adapted to run on petrol or ethanol, the unit develops 110kW/250Nm delivered to the front wheels through a six-speed Tiptronic gearbox.

As for the Comfortline and Highline, the 1.0 TSI carries over unchanged with outputs of 85kW/170Nm when using petrol, and 96kW/200Nm when running on ethanol as per the 200 TSI badging.

Similar to the Taigo, which uses the former option, the Nivus 200 TSI’s sole transmission option is a seven-speed DSG.

Uncertain for us

Already on-sale in Brazil priced at R $ 136 990 (R426 619) for the Comfortline and R $ 153 990 (R479 561), it remains unknown as to whether the updated Nivus’ touches will filter down to the Taigo that made its market launch in Europe three years ago.

Although assembled in Spain, right-hand-drive models feature South African input as the dashboard is produced at the Kariega Plant in the Eastern Cape before being shipped to Pamplona for installation.

As a reminder, the South African-market Taigo range spans three variants with pricing of R499 400 for the entry-level Life, R539 000 for the mid-range Style and R564 500 for the top-spec R-Line.

Additional information from motor1.com Brazil.

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