Volkswagen Lamando

The Volkswagen Lamando maintains the tradition of Volkswagen of not making many flashy and unique looking cabins. While it looks clean and has a solid feel to it, the overall design looks a bit understated and a bit too simple for its class.

The three-spoke flat-bottom steering wheel with piano black finished spokes has been shared with the other Volkswagens, and so is the monotonous looking instrument console. The simple silver line flowing across the dashboard adds a nice contrast to the all-black cabin.

The centre console is dominated by a large 9.2-inch touchscreen infotainment system, with a trapezoidal housing for automatic climate control.

While the interior cabin design of the Volkswagen Lamando lacks much thoughtfulness, it is packed with features to make it feel premium. With a panoramic sunroof, leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry with push-button start, power-adjustable driver’s seat and ambient lighting, it is sufficiently equipped for a car of its category. Also, the long-wheelbase do make the interior cabin and boot very spacious.

The Lamando has the tautness of the rest of the Volkswagen range of sedans, though with a hint of coupe-like design. It looks sharp, while the clean lines do make it simple and not much flashy.

The front fascia of the Volkswagen Lamando shares the trapezoidal stretched grille with chrome slats with all the other sedans of Volkswagen. The angular headlamps too look nice with a sharp kink on outer edges and LED inserts, with projector headlamps and daytime running lamps. The bumper looks sporty with large and angular fog lamp housings.

The side profile of the Volkswagen Lamando is a good mix of curves of a coupe and sharp and taut lines, which is quite unique for a traditional modern Volkswagen sedan. The roofline has a nice curve, whereas the doors are characterised by a very sharp line. What adds even more panache to the side look of the Lamando are the large and shiny 17-inch machined alloy wheels.

However, it is the rear profile of the Volkswagen Lamando which lacks much of the character, which is much like the rear look of the Passat. The clean boot design with sharp-looking LED tail lamps looks simple, however, it could have been designed a bit more thoughtful.

At the front, the Volkswagen Lamando has got independent Macpherson struts, while the rear gets a four-link independent suspension. The independent suspension at both ends does make the driving experience of the Lamando feels very sorted, with sure-footed handling and sorted ride quality.

Powering the Volkswagen Lamando is a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which it shares with the Lavida. Coupled to the same fantastic 7-speed DSG automatic gearbox as in Lavida, the engine delivers a maximum power output of 150 PS and a peak torque output of 250 Nm. While it is not that exhilarating in terms of performance, it packs in a decent punch.

The sturdy build quality of the Volkswagen Lamando is well complemented with a decent safety equipment list, which includes front, side and curtain airbags, seat belt pretensioners with load limiters, ISOFIX mounts, adaptive cruise control, electronic stability program with anti slip regulation, ABS with EBD, park distance control, reverse camera, tire pressure monitoring system and front and rear parking sensors.

The Volkswagen Lamando might not have a very strong visual appeal in and out. However, with a decent equipment list and strong performance, acres of space and driving dynamics, it is a mechanically sorted product with all the basics executed right.