Pride of Place in My Stable: CodeMySkoda gets cute with VW Taigun Sport GT Plus 1.5

Good things sometimes have humble beginnings, and my VW Taigun Sport GT Plus is no different. A stock vehicle straight from the Volkswagen India assemble line, the GTS just visited Abhishek @CodemySkoda for a quick makeover. Having given muscle, substance and oomph to over 800 cars in India from various auto stables, Abhishek did his magic with the 'Red Devil' too.

Now that Abhishek is done with it, the cherry-red beauty is set to storm down India's mountain roads with greater grunt and throttle response, thanks to VW’s innate performance-led approach to all GT cars and CodemySkoda's insistence on making the good even better.

Here’s just a few things that can be done to the Taigun in the ‘re-code’:

·       Remove 80 kmph & 120 kmph speed chime

·       Sports display: This shows Turbo PSI, and is uber cool

·       Off-road display. This shows the tyre angle and altitude above sea level

·       Steering angle on virtual cockpit

·       Refuel quantity display in virtual cockpit (how much fuel you can put in the tank before maxing out)

·       RPM display as a bar on digital speedo screen in virtual cockpit

·       A/c fan speed display in auto mode

·       Enabling Dynamic mode

·       XDS Torque Vectoring set to stronger setting

·       Car Honks on Lock & Unlock

·       DRLs: Rear light bar lights up during the day, along with front DRLs

·       A/c control via screen

·       Start/Stop button pulsates and looks very cool

·       Audio quality improvement via sound signature. You have the option of selecting more bass heavy Beats Audio sound signature or a more balanced Harman Kardon

·       Changing the colour of Virtual Cockpit to any colour.

·       Rear tail light section blinking with the turn indicator

·       Lane change blinks increased to 5 clicks from the standard 3 clicks

·       More. Much more…

I have driven the car just a bit after the re-coding, but what a difference! It adds functionality to the mix, shows the steering angle on the infotainment screen, and now enables Dynamic Mode, which changes the ride dramatically.

As the name suggests, Dynamic Mode makes the car more dynamic and responsive, based on your speed. At lower speeds, the steering is lighter. As you speed up, it weighs a lot better than stock. This has also improved the brake and accelerator pedal feel. To my mind, that alone is worth the coding effort.

As I discover more on the highway, I shall update this piece and keep you all drooling, as you should. After all, a Red Devil is now driving meaner and cleaner, and is ready to take on any thing that comes its way.

A word of advice, if you will—either go to Abhishek with your own VW or Skoda cars (or Mercs, Audis, BMWs, etc.), or move aside when you see a red SUV getting larger in your rear-view mirror. That’s me, and I am tearing down that road!