Hailed by many as one of the best cars last year, the Volkswagen Virtus is certainly a handsome one. It features great proportions, a clean, very VW silhouette with straight lines and a muscular stance. In fact, I can go on and say that of the current batch of sedans in the segment, the Virtus will age much better. In the beautiful shade of blue that our long-term review car comes in, it looks particularly impressive.

With the mightier 1.5-litre turbo petrol unit on offer, the humble 1.0-litre motor tends to get overlooked. That was the case with the Taigun and certainly is the case with the Virtus as well, but there are several advantages to this engine, especially when paired with the six-speed manual. First and foremost are the fuel efficiency numbers that you can get from this engine-gearbox combo. On a drive from Mumbai to Pune, the Virtus delivered 17kmpl. For a turbo petrol engine, that is a number that’s hard to wrap your head around, especially when you consider all the traffic that a Mumbai-Pune drive takes you through.

The clutch and gear lever too are great to use as well with the clutch being very progressive and easy to modulate. The first two gears are short and the rest are long ensuring that you don’t have to shift gears too often while driving through the city or on the highway. This meant that I could stay in 3^rd gear while keeping up with traffic.

The ride and handling on the Virtus is sublime and it is a definite highlight for me. The low-speed ride is very good and it absorbs most of the bumps that come its way. Very few sharper bumps are transmitted through to the cabin, and more importantly, the Virtus feels rock solid while going through bad stretches of road. As speeds increase, there is a surefootedness that’s been a characteristic of Volkswagen cars. It stays planted at serious speeds and is definitely a keen handler. It has to be mentioned that the Volkswagen Virtus does all this with very good ground clearance. At 179mm, it is comparable to a number of similarly priced SUVs. And that makes driving the Virtus a stress-free affair. On the CBD-Ulwe stretch in Navi Mumbai, there are huge speedbreakers to deter truckers from speeding. I saw a couple of sedans from rival brands having to gingerly drive over these breakers. But not the Virtus. The fact that it does so, with the ride and handling prowess that it demonstrates, is something to be celebrated.

On the inside too, I have been thoroughly impressed so far. The materials, while not exactly soft touch, have been put together very well. The seats are large and comfortable with the rear seats being particularly spacious. There is also a 521-litre boot – did I mention that the Virtus is the largest in its segment?

The Virtus’ Topline trim that we have on test here comes with all the goodies that includes a 10-inch infotainment display, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, an eight-speaker sound system, a display for the instrument cluster and ventilated front seats. The couple of gripes I have with the cabin are relatively minor – Android Auto and Apple CarPlay sometimes take a while to get connected, and there is no TPMS system (instead there is a tyre pressure warning system which doesn’t tell you what the pressures are). There’s six airbags and it is reassuring to note that the Virtus sold in India got a 5-star Latin NCAP safety rating.

Over the next month and a bit, we will be putting the Virtus through some longer drives. I expect it to continue impressing us. Stay tuned, as we report on the Virtus and our other long-term vehicles.