[openroad357]

Hi All,

I am planning to purchase a new car and have narrowed down my choices to either the Volkswagen Taigun or the Skoda Kushaq.

During my research I have come across different opinions on the reliability of VAG cars. Many stating that VAG cars are no longer as reliable as they once were.

No car is perfect and I understand that minor issues are expected. I am OK to live with those. But I am more concerned about serious issues such as the EPC error.

I am worried about the vehicle stalling and leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere, especially in remote locations or at late night without access to an authorised service center. I don't want to be in a position of having this worry always at the back of my mind every time I take the car out.

Are the VAG reliability issues (especially the EPC error) still a concern in 2025?

Would really appreciate your thoughts and advice on this issue. Any experiences or anecdotes from owners of these cars would be very helpful.

Thanks.

PS: I am planning to get the 1.0L AT. Does it make sense to stretch my budget and get the 1.5L AT?

[FanaticOnWheels]

I've owned vehicles from the VAG stable since 2014. My 2015 Polo GT TSI DSG still runs strong, no issues. Our family A4 runs strong (of course, no DSG to cope with here).

I recently bought a Taigun 1.5 DSG (July 2024) - the vehicle is a driver's paradise.

As long as you maintain your car well, I do not see the need to worry too much about reliability. I stuck to my regular service schedules, was particular about how I drive, the fuel used, which dealership gets to service my vehicle.

For the Taigun, I did pick up extended warranty and the SVP, which should provide a good shield should something go south.

No car is perfect, as you've mentioned. If you have evaluated multiple cars and have a liking for the VAG stable after a thorough evaluation, you can safely go for it. Make sure you do a thorough PDI, and maintain your car well. All the best with your decision

[pratyaksh]

The cars are beautiful, the drive is insanely fun, the built is tank like, need I say more. The reliability is as good as other cars of today in the market. I say this because you can see the new cars of the generally trusted brands are also not as reliable as they used to be. I say this not without proof, you may go through the forum, and the number of complaints with the Kias and the Mahindras of this world are one too many.

The issues of the old do not exist with VAG cars anymore, and you can go with full confidence to pick up a car. Just make sure you go through the new car buying checklists available on the forum and due your due diligence before getting your cars, regardless of the brand you pick.

Happy owner of the Kodiaq for 1+ year. As GTO has also stated many a times, if you take out a day in a year for your beloved steed to keep it in top shape, and a few extra bucks kept aside for parts et al. it is worthwhile for the rest of the 364 days when you enjoy the car instead of settling for one.

[openroad357]

Thanks @FanaticOnWheels and @pratyaksh.

Your responses are a shot in the arm of my car selection decision.

I did notice that other cars are not absolutely reliable either. A recent thread recounted someone's bitter experience of owning a Kia Seltos, the bad experience starting immediately after driving the car out of the showroom.

[openroad357]

After looking at all the cars in this price segment, I was attracted to VW/Skoda primarily due to their safety ratings, build quality and brand perception.

Creta and Seltos provide a lot of features, but their safety ratings are not great. Hyryder is good, but I was left underwhelmed by its build quality and interiors. Elevate is a good all around car, but somehow I don't feel very excited about it.

The choice between Taigun and Kushaq was a tough one. But I have (almost) finalized on the Taigun because I like the clean classic looks of the Taigun and due to the great experience I had at the VW showroom compared to Skoda, where the sales people seemed almost disinterested in selling the car.

As for the 1.0L AT vs 1.5L AT, I think 1.0L is sufficient for my requirements, as I would be driving mostly within the city with occasional long trips.

[IshaanIan]

VAG cars are not reliable if you compare them to Japanese cars but they definitely aren’t unreliable especially when compared to Hyundai/Kia. At the end of the day they have been offering DI turbo motors and automatics for a couple of decades prior to the Koreans. Also their drivetrains exist globally in several other models so procuring parts and troubleshooting problems are much easier considering there are several forums with loads of data on them.

Coming to 1.0tsi AT vs 1.5 DSG, the 1 liter motor would be more reliable since it lacks cylinder deactivation tech (best not to have unnecessarily complicated stuff like this) and comes with a Japanese built torque converter instead of the infamous DQ200 gearbox. It has also existed in our country for longer than the 1.5 tsi and in more models including the Polo and old Rapid/Vento so they have had time to iron out any faults.

[neochanger]

I own a Slavia and I too was worried about reliability and niggles that might make your car experience a nightmare. After a lot of research, discussions and pros-cons analysis, I finally settled for Slavia. And I chose it over the Honda City - the super reliable, no-nonsense, blind choice for those who seek peace of mind. Here’s what made me go for Slavia instead of City despite my concerns about reliability, and my overall experience (more than 2 years with Slavia now) with the car.

1. The VW/Skoda cars are different than the rest. None comes close in driving dynamics and on road experience of driving.

2. In the era of nonsensical, polarising and futuristic designs, you get a sleek, stylish, clean yet subtle bold look with this. If I have to go by looks alone, VW/Skoda would be my default choice.

3. Their after sales service has been a gem of experience for me with Skoda’s service pack. You literally pay 0 for first 4 services. I have done 2 services till now and it were very good.

4. I have a 1.0 MT, and the engine feels a versatile. You have enough power on tap if you are ready to compromise with FE. Else, if you are sedate you can extract mileage over 25 kmpl on highways. I have even got 27 for a 50km stretch.

5. Now, no car is perfect and this too has its own issues which basically are use of too much hard plastics, average AC performance and long travel for manual clutch which makes it a tough city car. But I have no regrets because I know what it is capable of and what’s its forte.

Finally, the most problematic aspect of VW/Skoda is its DSG (DQ200) which sooner or later will give you some problem. So, if you are going for 1.0 AT, I don’t think you need to worry much. The EPC issue is very rare now, it was there initially and maybe you won’t be that much unlucky to face it in a difficult situation. I do recommend however to go for service pack, extended warranty etc to make your experience even better. On that note, my final suggestion is go for it.

[openroad357]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

VAG cars are not reliable if you compare them to Japanese cars but they definitely aren’t unreliable especially when compared to Hyundai/Kia. At the end of the day they have been offering DI turbo motors and automatics for a couple of decades prior to the Koreans. Also their drivetrains exist globally in several other models so procuring parts and troubleshooting problems are much easier considering there are several forums with loads of data on them.

I have had good experiences with Hyundai, Honda, Toyota and Kia cars. This is the first time I am looking to get a VAG car. Taigun is really appealing. The heart says to go for it, but the mind wants to ensure that the reliability issues are understood and accounted for before taking the plunge.

1.0L AT is adequate for my requirements, so I think it is best I avoid the complications of the 1.5 DSG. An added bonus is that I will end up saving a good chunk of change if I opt for 1.0.

Originally Posted by neochanger

I own a Slavia and I too was worried about reliability and niggles that might make your car experience a nightmare. After a lot of research, discussions and pros-cons analysis, I finally settled for Slavia. And I chose it over the Honda City - the super reliable, no-nonsense, blind choice for those who seek peace of mind. Here’s what made me go for Slavia instead of City despite my concerns about reliability, and my overall experience (more than 2 years with Slavia now) with the car.

I guess it's a heart vs mind decision. In my case too, the sensible and no-nonsense albeit boring choice would be to go for the Honda Elevate. But the Elevate, as good as it is, doesn't hold the same excitement as the Taigun for me.

The Elevate, though considered very reliable, is not without it's problems. I have come across many complaints regarding NVH and software related issues.

The biggest concern I had with the Taigun was the EPC issue. Issues such as average AC performance or other niggles, I can live with.

But what I am hearing from the experiences of current owners of VAG cars (such as yourself) is that EPC is not much of a concern nowadays. So that puts my mind at ease to a great extent. I do intend to take the extended warranty and service packs.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[TheRandomGuy]

Originally Posted by openroad357

Hi All,

I am planning to purchase a new car and have narrowed down my choices to either the Volkswagen Taigun or the Skoda Kushaq.

During my research I have come across different opinions on the reliability of VAG cars. Many stating that VAG cars are no longer as reliable as they once were.

No car is perfect and I understand that minor issues are expected. I am OK to live with those. But I am more concerned about serious issues such as the EPC error.

I am worried about the vehicle stalling and leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere, especially in remote locations or at late night without access to an authorised service center. I don't want to be in a position of having this worry always at the back of my mind every time I take the car out.

Are the VAG reliability issues (especially the EPC error) still a concern in 2025?

Would really appreciate your thoughts and advice on this issue. Any experiences or anecdotes from owners of these cars would be very helpful.

Thanks.

PS: I am planning to get the 1.0L AT. Does it make sense to stretch my budget and get the 1.5L AT?

Hey, I too have booked a 1.0 AT Taigun recently. I have explored all other options in this price bracket and then some. For the price it comes at, this is the best an enthusiast can get.

Little compromises are there for sure, but everything will vanish once you sit in the car and go for a drive. That's what happened for me during the TD, I placed a booking the same weekend. Good amount of discounts on offer is cherry on top

I noticed you were enquiring on my price quote post, make a booking with the same dealership and we might get both our cars delivered at the same time.

Lets take this ride together and watch each other's backs.

[Blackpearl_TN78]

Hi,

Owning VAG cars since 2019, have mixed experiences.

Service and spares:
The service quality has been improved but the service touch points are very less. The cost of spares have come down in the 2.0 cars but the lead time haven't improved. VAG ecosystem for spares in India is not that great as that of Koreans or Japanese. In worst case scenarios it will take 7-14 days to get the spares. Right now with standard warranty and service packages, its easier to maintain the VAG Cars at least for this 7 years without any fuss.

Reliability:
They are generally reliable and their quality of spares is better than that of the rest. But coming to 1.0 Tsi, they undergo more wear and tear especially when driven in cities. Turbo may not be active below ~1.6K rpm. But in cities we mostly drive between 1-1.5 k rpm especially during b2b traffic. This puts the engine to operate without turbo and the entire load has to be absorbed without support from turbocharger but this is the same case with 1.5 tsi too but the higher displacement comes to rescue. Gearbox is from Japanese manufacturer and is highly reliable and its smooth as well. For sure VAG might have improved the DSG Gearbox but with the complex structures in DCT/DSG the probability of failure is still on the higher side but its not the case with torque converter/cvt. If given a choice to customize i would ask 1.5 TSI + 6Speed/8speed Torque converter which is the best of both worlds.


Driving Experience:
Nothing can come close to the driving experience of VAG Cars in this price segment.
1.0 TSI AT in highway is very smooth to drive. We can cruise at 120 kmph but the engine may be spinning ~2k and we always have the power on tap.
This puts the right brain (emotions) to win over the left brain (reliability concerns).

If the car is going to be driven every day in b2b, go for higher displacement engines as the wear and tear may be less (k15c+6AT) there. if it is more of highway, 1.0TSI AT will bring lot of smiles on the face.

[TJ02]

With my experience of owing a VW from 2014 in the family. Vento and Polo were fantastic cars and no reliability issues. I took a plunge and bought Taigun GT in 2021. I had to sell it off after 2 years plagued with numerous issues some of them could never be addressed and still continue amongst my friends who have the Taigun.

Recently one of my friends Taigun was in service center for a month and SC could not really diagnose the issue and gave the car saying throttle controller was loose. The car was stalling and all lights used to keep blinking. From my experience so far best to avoid any VW 2.0 cars and better to stick with Japanese and Koreans. The cars are more reliable and offer much better experience.

[sobermedico]

I have been a Skoda Slavia 1.0 L AT user for 3 years now .Initially I was also very apprehensive regarding breakdowns and other niggles .But it has been smooth journey so far .My other car is Kia sonet 1 L Automatic .Even though power delivery is almost similar,The drive quality and overall .assuredness and safety is far superior with Slavia .

[omranga98]

Originally Posted by openroad357

I am worried about the vehicle stalling and leaving me stranded in the middle of nowhere, especially in remote locations or at late night without access to an authorised service center. I don't want to be in a position of having this worry always at the back of my mind every time I take the car out.

Are the VAG reliability issues (especially the EPC error) still a concern in 2025?

Hi, I have a Taigun GT+ from 2022 which has done about 21,xxx kms till today.

The car drives as it did on the first day, no major issues.
There were some common minor hickups with power window and door rubber seal making sqeaking noise but all of that was solved by VW in a soft recall.

EPC issues are solved, have not seen a case of that happen recently. Get the extended warranty and you should be sorted for 6 years at least.

Would reccomend getting the more powerful 1.5 as no one has ever regretted getting the more powerful option.

You can check my ownership review here (Volkswagen Taigun 1.5 GT+ Ownership Review) for the entire journey with the car from the day i got it!

[SmartCat]

Moderator Note: I have added a poll. VW/Skoda/Audi car owners please vote.

[BlueGod]

Hi

I had virtus 1.5 for around 18 months and covered 16000 kms. Ride was top notch. But when it came to service and spare parts availability it was worst. Car was in the service centre for three weeks as aircon was not working. With no loaner car I decided to take the car without AC. Got the spare parts after 3 more weeks. Had to drive the car with windows down.

In another instance driver side window up/down button stopped working. Had to live with this issue for 3 more weeks until spare parts came. It is mostly ok but when cops stop for checking, you need to open the door to provide any explanation or info. Some cops were startled as they are always used to people rolling down the windows.

By the 18th month, I exchanged it for mg zs ev with good year end discount. During test drive I felt the interiors and buttons touch felt better in zs ev and xuv400 compared to virtus. Cross checked with my family members and they too agreed. It may sound surprising but I am writing whatever I felt.