Made at Sino-German joint venture between FAW Group and Volkswagen Group, the latest-generation Sagitar went on sale last week at prices ranging from 131,800 to 185,800 yuan.

It has three engine options: the 1.8 TSI and 1.4 TSI turbocharged engines and a 1.6-liter naturally aspirated powerplant. It is available with a five-speed manual, six-speed Tiptronic automatic or seven-speed DSG automatic transmission.

The compact car is 100 mm longer, 18 mm wider and 21 mm taller than the previous model. Its length, width and height are 4,644 mm, 1,778 mm and 1,482mm.

Its wheelbase is 2,651 mm long.

The previous-generation Sagitar sold more than 530,000 units since it first hit the Chinese market in 2006.

Hu Yong, managing director of FAW-VW Sales Co Ltd, predicts the all-new Sagitar will also be popular with annual sales of projected to surpass 200,000 units.

The joint venture also builds the hot-selling Jetta and Bora models, each with yearly deliveries of more than 200,000 units.