The Volkswagen Tayron R-Line is shaping up to be an interesting SUV. It is nicely loaded with features – more so than the imported Tiguan R-Line – and features sporty looks and a powerful engine. As for the DSG gearbox, yes, dual-clutch gearboxes have been known to experience greater wear than torque-converters or CVTs, but that is only if they’re not handled with care, and mostly in stop-and-go conditions.
Best practices like shifting out of D at a standstill, rolling off smoothly will greatly prolong the life of the gearbox, and of course not skimping on recommended maintenance. Moreover, these issues were more prominent in older iterations of the DSG used on smaller cars, like the Polo’s DQ200, things have been greatly improved in newer iterations and on larger cars with more powerful engines; the Tayron uses a newer DQ381-7A.
As for VFM, we do not know the price as yet, though the hope is that local assembly will at least make it competitive. However, later this year, Volkswagen will launch a standard version of the Tayron, without the R-Line specification, that will miss the body kit and some features, and that could be the one to pick.