Special feature: VW Taigun - Take the wheel

It's not everyday that an SUV gets you out of bed early in the morning, pulling you out of dreams of tackling corners with abandon as you head up your favourite mountain road. But when you have the Volkswagen Taigun GT in your garage, you just can't help yourself.

The most powerful SUV in its segment, the Taigun GT is powered by a 1.5-litre TSI evo engine with 150PS of power and a stonking 250Nm of torque, that's available as low as 1,600rpm! If that wasn't enough, VW also offers the Taigun GT with a slick-shifting 6-speed manual, a gearbox that will satisfy the most even the most exacting purists out there.

Now as self-confessed petrolheads, we consider ourselves fans of the manual gearbox though we can't deny the appeal of the brilliant 7-speed DSG automatic also available. Good news then, with just how easy this powertrain is to live with in city traffic, it's an easy recommendation for someone looking for the most involvement from their car, as well as everyday usability, only made better by the creature comforts on offer, with the wireless smartphone integration scoring high on that list. On the engine front, a strong bottom end makes sure that the Taigun GT can be piloted with near-zero effort. And things only get better the higher up in the rev range you travel.

Now, when you have a route chalked out towards Maharashtra's best coastal roads leading into Gujarat via Palghar, you know you'll want to have a powertrain that makes you feel as alive as it does. Getting out of Mumbai early in the morning only saves you a bit of time, what with the post-monsoon roads in the condition that they're in - but those roads also give plenty of opportunity to appreciate just how much ride comfort the Taigun brings to the table.

With exceptional levels of torsional rigidity via its new MQB platform, the suspension on the Taigun can be set up to offer more compliance and bump absorption and it shows. And when the road starts winding, that's when the brilliant powertrain and chassis set up shine even brighter.

It's easy to get into a rhythm no matter what your pace is, using the engine's outstanding tractability to pull out of hairpin corners even in a higher gear. When you up the pace, you can also take comfort in the standard Electronic Stability Control system, and extra braking prowess on offer courtesy the disc brake setup on every corner of the Taigun, which give it predictable stopping power every single time you step on the brake pedal. It all comes together for an experience that will have you wanting for more even after you've reached your destination. But hey, every day could start with an early morning drive, couldn't it?