Volkswagen Tiguan: the lowdown
Volkswagen is going Freelander hunting with its new Golf-based Tiguan off-roader. Unveiled at the Los Angeles Motorshow this morning, Concept Tiguan gives a nine-tenths preview of what the production-ready Tiguan will look like when it arrives here in January 2008. It will initially arrive with a choice of front or all-wheel-drive, four engines – two petrol and two advanced ‘Clean TDI’ diesel units – and six-speed manual or DSG transmission. Expect prices to range from £20-29,000.
It’s the real thing
It’s billed as a concept, but it’s the real thing. At 4400mm long, 1850mm wide and 1690 high, the Tiguan’s footprint is almost exactly the same as the Freelander’s (4500mm x 1910mm x 1740mm) and its square-jawed bluff styling borrows much from the Concept A showcar launched earlier this year. And if the shape of those headlamps looks familiar, they’re similar to those on the Eos, Polo and Iroc. According to Tiguan designer Klaus Bischoff, the car’s looks are all about power. “It was very important to us to have the car appear powerful and muscular. For us that had a higher priority than anything else”, he said at its unveiling. The show car’s contrasting anthracite grille frame and vast sunroof – it’s 134omm long and 850mm wide – will make it through to production as will the huge five-poke 19inch alloys. The two-tone orange and black Continental tyres will not. Thank goodness.
Cabin class
Again, what you see here is pretty much what you’ll get, bar the orange detailing, stitching and weird ‘distressed’ leather, in the production car. That means a roomy, functional and well-specified cabin, complete with sliding rear bench that folds flat to swallow items up to 2500mm long. There’s no other packaging trickery or cleverness on offer. Oh, and in case you were wondering the Tiguan name is a cross between tiger and iguana, and was the winning answer in a VW-sponsored name-our-car competition held in Germany. Other shortlisted names included Namib, Samun, Rockton and… errr…. Nanu. Which sounds like Mork from Ork was on the naming panel. Did someone say Shuzzbutt?
The hardware
Tiguan drivers will have the choice of four engines and two drivetrains. The petrol line-up consists of two versions of VW’s acclaimed 1.4-litre TSI super- and turbo- charged engine in 140bhp and 170bhp trim. The Tiguan will also preview VW’s family of new 2.0-litre ‘Clean TDI’ diesel engines, also with outputs of 140bhp and 170bhp. The common-rail turbo diesel units feature nitrogen oxide-reducing Bluetech technology, jointly developed by Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, as well as a NOX storage catalytic converter used to reduce nitrogen oxides by up to 90% compared to VW’s current TDI engines. The powerplants will be hooked up to VW’s familiar 4Motion permanent all-wheel-drive system. Only the entry-level model, powered by the 140bhp 1.4-litre TSI Twincharge engine will be offered with front-wheel drive. All engines will be Euro V compliant and will come with six gear manual or DSG double-clutch transmissions.
Form a well-heeled queue
Volkswagen is expected to follow in the Freelander’s tyre tracks and pitch the Tiguan up onto a higher rung on the price ladder to see off its European rivals, rather than face cheaper Japanese competitors like the Honda CR-V and Nissan X-Trail. So expect the range-starter front drive petrol model to wear a £20,000 price tag and the top-dog 170bhp TDI with DSG to weigh in around £29,000. The Tiguan will be snapping at the heels of BMW’s X3 as well as the Mercedes proposed X-class and the still-to-be-confirmed Audi Q3. Which means 12 months from now, the premium small SUV market is going to be distinctly crowded…