Volkswagen Lavida

On the inside, the Volkswagen Lavida mirrors the theme of the blend of sophistication with a premium fit and finish levels of the exterior, giving it a luxurious appeal despite it having a very simple design. That being said, the interior cabin layout looks a bit sober and plain, when compared to the cabins of its competition cars.

The flat bottom multi-functional steering wheel looks nice with a piano black finish, however, the instrument console behind it with very simple looking analog dials and a monochrome MID in the middle looks a bit mundane. The tapering down theme for the AC vents in the middle of the upper layer of the dashboard adds a sense of continuity, and so does the sleek silver line flowing across the dashboard below the AC vents.

The wide center console of the dashboard of the Volkswagen Lavida houses the large touchscreen infotainment system in a trapezoidal housing, with another trapezoidal housing below it featuring the panel of automatic climate control. Other salient features of the cabin of the Volkswagen Lavida include an electric sunroof, leather upholstery, push-button start with keyless entry, powered driver’s seat and cruise control.

On the lines of all the cars from Volkswagen (at least most of them), the Volkswagen Lavida has a very clean and crisp design with many geometric design elements to make it look sharp.

The wide looking front grille of the Volkswagen Lavida, which gets thick horizontal chrome slats in it, is flanked with large and angular headlamps. These headlamps get premium looking LED projector bulbs. The front bumper too looks quite premium with its long trapezoidal fog lamps, with sleek chrome garnish running across the width of the bumper. 

The side profile of the Volkswagen Lavida looks clean and proportionate, with a sleek character line across the shoulder line and a thin chrome strip on the window frame. The machined alloy wheels, with their multi-spoke design, further try to increase its premium quotient.

At the back, the Volkswagen Lavida has got some deeper inspiration from the bigger Volkswagen sedans, which is quite evident from its tail lamp design, which here also get tail lamps. A thin chrome garnish at the bottom of the boot lid complements the neat and clean design of the overall car. The dual exhaust ports on the left side of the rear add some sportiness to the otherwise sophisticated design.

The Macpherson independent suspension at the front and composite torsion beam semi-independent suspension at the rear of the Volkswagen Lavida have been tuned for a perfect balance to impart a cushioned ride quality and good driving behavior behind the steering wheel. The space at the back of the Volkswagen Lavida is slightly toned down due to the big central tunnel flowing, thus limiting the knee room for the middle passenger.

Under the hood of the Volkswagen Lavida is placed a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which belts out a maximum power output of 130 PS and a maximum torque output of 225 Nm. This engine is paired to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox as the only transmission option available.

The list of safety equipment standard in the Volkswagen Lavida includes front, side and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD, tire pressure monitoring system, reverse parking sensors, reverse camera, electronic stabilization program and hill hold control.

With an impeccable build quality and potent powertrain under its hood, the Volkswagen Lavida feels like how a proper midsize luxury sedan should. However, this feeling could have been made stronger, had it was equipped a bit more richly and the interior cabin had a bit more flair and modernity in its design.