Volkswagen may build a three-door version of its compact crossover to compete against the Mercedes-AMG GLA45 and Audi RS Q3 because hot hatches are now hot crossovers, Autocar (via AutoGuide) is reporting.
According to the report, the Tiguan R would be powered by the Golf R’s 300-horsepower turbocharged four. It could go on sale as early as 2018 in the UK. It’s unclear if it would go on sale in the U.S. around the same time.
Autocar reported that insiders say the Tiguan R would come with VW’s six-speed dual-clutch gearbox and an electronic torque vectoring to manage all the boost so you don’t understeer and die.
The Tiguan R is expected to join the second generation of bigger Tiguans that will go on sale starting in 2017. In 2018, it’s expected that VW will sell the Tiguan in a “coupe” form, with the Tiguan R to follow.
lol….
Wait, what?
My sister-in-law drives a Tiguan and has since being purchased new in 2009. I can’t fathom any reason for that other than she is a VW loyalist having purchased her Jetta brand new in the late 1990s and it is still in her possession now being driven by her 17 year old daughter.
But kudos to my niece Amber for learning how to drive stick on mom’s old Jetta.
I sort of comprehend a “Tiguan R” 4-door.
(For the same reason I comprehend the SQ5.)
I don’t comprehend the idea of it being a coupe as suggested.
(Downthread, it’s revealed that “coupe” here means” with four doors but a useless roofline”.
And at least the X6 reveals a market for that.)
Let me help you. Here’s why my wife loves ours: compact, easy to park, good MPG on the highway, turbo power at altitude, creature comforts and decent towing capacity. Would you care to call her and tell her she’s wrong. I try not to do that anymore…
So instead of making competitive mid and compact SUVs that people actually want they are instead opting for the “a great answer to a question nobody asked” high performance 2 door SUV market?
A Tiguan R is a great choice for anyone looking to trade in their 2009 Pontiac Torrent GXP.
I’m sorry sir we can only offer you $10,000 for your low mileage 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP.
Somewhere out there, someone’s driving around in a turbo Suzuki X90, and saying “I want more!”
This car is for them.
It will also cost at least $45,000 and be a complete joke.
You joke, but I actually received offers starting with “1.” Some buyers think everyone is a mark.
…I’m sorry sir we can only offer you $10,000 for your low mileage 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP…
I’m pretty sure you meant Torrent.
I get a sucker is born any minute – but please – even salvage title – please direct anyone willing to part ways with an intact G8 GXP for $10K to my direction.
Cash leafy greeny money for the beast.
I love 150% ROI for doing nothing, and I could private sell it in a week for $25K.
:)
While I think old two-door Cherokees and Rav4s are sort of cool, there’s a reason they’re no longer made. I suppose there’s a niche for a 2-door hi-po CUV, but I predict it’s very small one, and hardly worth chasing.
How’s the MINI Paceman selling?
Huhwha?
I can’t imagine who would want a three-door Tiguan R more than either 1) a three-door Golf R or 2) a normal five-door Tiguan.
This sounds just as crazy as if Piech were still pulling the strings.
One of my neighbors has a Tiguan 2.0T, because the whole family is VW-loyal. It’s small inside and has poor visibility, although it drives as nicely as you’d expect a jacked-up Mk6 Golf to. Their other car is a CC, so they are really plumbing the depths of VW products that aren’t really competitive.
I don’t think by coupe they meant 3 door like Aaron says…I think they meant 4 door CUV coupe like the BMW X6, Acura ZDX, Mercedes GLE etc.
Yeah, Aaron read it wrong again. Right from AutoGuide. “The new hot crossover will retain its five doors, but it will feature a raked roof to give it coupe styling.”
#readingcomprehension
And maybe go to the source instead of becoming a TERTIARY summary reporter.
Oh, OK. So basically a budget X6M. Well, if there are buyers for the real X6M, I guess there are buyers for a 3/4 scale copy.
VWhicross.
The single most popular vehicle type in North America is the pick-up, and they choose to build a niche vehicle instead.
See above. This report is entirely incorrect.
This is what happens when you base your decisions on the Magic 8 ball.
*W8 ball!
It’s not a niche, its an CUV with a swoopy roof line. You know like the popular CrossTour… oh wait.
I read somewhere that all 23 potential customers are excited.
As long as all of them fit inside a focus group…
That focus group consisting of Tanner Faust in a Monster Energy tuxedo, a SEA/PDX hipster-douche and 21 caricatures of elderly Jewish women.
And don’t forget the ever-fresh “German Engineering” tagline, ca 1945.
I wonder how long it will take, before a critical mass of potential consumers realize that, in an aggressively speed limited world, adding more and more horsepower inevitably makes cars more and more boring to drive…… IOW, that horsepower and ‘Ring time stats, are the cubic inches and tail fins of our era. And nothing more.
Amen!