Volkswagen has just revealed the second-generation Tiguan before the Frankfurt Auto Show opens to the press on September 15.
The new Tiguan will ride on Volkswagen’s MQB front-wheel drive platform and grow in almost every measurable dimension.
Volkswagen says the new “European” Tiguan will be offered with multiple power outputs ranging from 125 PS to 240 PS. It will also be the first Tiguan with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, consuming an estimated 1.9L/100 km, nearly 124 mpg, in GTE guise thanks to a new solar roof. Also offered will be a new R-Line model with what’s expected to be the most powerful engine available.
It’s not just new engines, but lightweighting that will make the Tiguan more efficient. The second-generation compact SUV is said to be 110 lbs lighter than the outgoing model, even though the wheelbase has grown 3 inches, while the body has been lengthened 2.4 inches and widened by 1.2 inches. As has been the theme though, the Tiguan will be shorter in height than its predecessor by 1.3 inches.
Volkswagen will put the Tiguan on sale in April 2016.
The first Tiguan has sold 2.64 million copies to date.
“As has been the theme though, the Tiguan will be shorter than its predecessor by 1.3 inches.”
Well then, I hope their space utilisation has radically improved because cargo room was a major problem with the previous generation and make it (slightly) shorter doesn’t make it sound like that’s fixing it. The pictures don’t make it look any better though.
It’s not shorter. You misread or missed what was written.
It’s 1.3 inches shorter in HEIGHT. As in less TALL.
The vehicle is 2.4 inches longer than the old one.
And you failed to read the string of comments below that pretty much spell out what happened: It was previously written differently, several people commented on the ambiguity of the phrasing, and Mark fixed it. EChid’s first comment was on the first, ambiguous version of the article.
Volkswagen is very good at making aesthetically coherent vehicle designs although I think it looks more like a refreshed Touareg than a new Tiguan. The price will probably reflect this even with its dimensions appearing rather close to the Golf R 4 door (look at the tiny rear window!)
This also bucks the trend of translating the most successful mid-compact into a mid-size SUV and I like it. The old Tiguan was closer to this and while the base frame will still be shared, the design details are less derivative.
I like the dimensional changes especially the longer wheelbase with the shorter length. We have a 2011 Tiguan SEL (Mark V platform – which has been used since inception) and rear passenger room is great but of course, cargo room is limited. That being said, the cargo room in nearly all VWs is very USABLE room…Squared off, flat load floor, etc. I have a RAM 1500 EcoDiesel, so we honestly don’t care too much about the cargo room in our Tiguan anyways.
Looks good in the conservative way VW design has gone the last 5+ years. Will look current and good in 2020 as well…Not a bad thing…Now bring it to North America with the 2.0 TDI!
Is it still overpriced? The CR-V killed it with its value for the money. The only people who bought the Tiguan were either VW fanboys or those who think “German engineering” is superior.
Mark, you have said the new Tiguan is 1.3 inches shorter. It is 1.3 inches LOWER, not shorter. In fact, it is 2.r inches LONGER. Please correct.
He’s using short as the opposite of tall, not as the opposite of long. Using “lower” would mean that it sits lower to the ground, which I don’t know is the case or not. Gotta love English ambiguity!
Just fixed that up. Sorry for the confusion, guys.
Should be clear as mud now. Body grows 2.4 inches in length, 1.2 inches in width, but is 1.3 inches “shorter” vertically.
Okay, good. This makes more sense. Hopefully that adds more usable cargo space.
Will the Chinese version also be coming in shortness?
It looks like it came straight out of 2010. This is both good and bad.
Basic looking redesign but clean.
“Unlike in Europe, drivers in the U.S. and China prefer versions with a longer wheelbase…”
Why would anyone NOT like more legroom in their vehicle? Seriously?
Maybe not for shorter drivers but anyone who’s 6ft or taller would love to have More room, in general, in their vehicle!
Also, the prices should drop as the previous models were overpriced compared to the CUVs from Honda/Toyota/Nissan.
Will wait for the test drive results after it debuts to see if anything truly was improved esp. the fuel economy.
My guess is that this will have the 1.8T as the base engine, so fuel economy will probably be similar to the Golf Sportwagen (maybe a little less due to weight differences). Also won’t require premium like the current Tiguan engine.
“Why would anyone NOT like more legroom in their vehicle? Seriously”
Because a longer vehicle takes up more space and is harder to park. Plus, some countries (not too many European ones, AFAIK) tax on length, so this affects things. Obviously a slightly longer vehicle is of limited consequence in North America, but it can really make a difference in Europe.
“Why would anyone NOT like more legroom in their vehicle? Seriously?”
Imagine that you are trying to park here, only a hundred miles or so from VW world HQ:
https://goo.gl/maps/zTl5U
Every inch counts.
Auto makers can stretch the interior room by increasing the wheelbase and widening vehicle somewhat.
“… its wheelbase has been increased by 3 in mm to 105.6 in.”
With an increased interior size, many automakers can make the interior ROOMY! But unfortunately, there are Many vehicles that have long wheelbases or wide widths that do NOT take advantage of the interior design and are cramped.
The point being… the increase in interior room can be done Without lengthening the Exterior of the vehicle!
Lastly, VW needs to lower its prices as it’s really overpriced for what one gets and how it’s compared to other similar CUVs like those from Honda/Toyota/Nissan which offer “more” for relatively less money!
The heavy character line sticking out further than the rest of the body is so unusual! It’s like reverse-Volvo. I don’t mind the design, though the blue piping on the GTE is a bit cheapo looking, and won’t age well.
Looks like they’ve probably made it more competitive than it was. But if it’s still more expensive than everyone else selling something in this near-lux class, then it won’t do well here.
If they can get up to roughly the interior volume of the segment leaders in packaging (RAV4, Forester, CR-V) that will be a big help. Also curious what the AWD system will look like — if it’s still basic, unimproved, slow-to-respond Haldex, that would be a deal-killer for me. It’s also likely to remain expensive, in a class that is very, very price-sensitive.
“The new Tiguan will ride on Volkswagen’s MQB front-wheel drive platform and grow in almost every measurable dimension.”
Except price, one hopes…that’s always been this model’s major issue. It’s ridiculously overpriced.
The price should go down significantly. Allowing a price drop to be competitive with vehicles like the Escape and CR-V and RAV4 was the main reason for shifting NA production to the Mexico plant.
They needed this thing yesterday, but according to the press release the US version won’t be on sale for another 12-14 months. That’s a lot of lost sales…
Rear 3/4 view is very reminiscent of…I think…a 1st-gen X5. Anyone else seeing something similar?
Now just make it available with the TDI. I would expect most of the parts are already in use in other VW products already here. So why not?
A clean, handsome design, both inside and out. Too bad we have to wait for the Mexican plant to start cranking them out.
I’m sure VW will sell you (a highly overpriced) one made in Der Fatherland very soon!
Not an SUV person but I think it looks great, the R-Line looks the best as usual. GTE funky and wrong, as usual.
If we’re “lucky”, it might even have the new engine from the GTI/A3, and be able to out-acclerate a CRV. Unless VW still has a few thousand MkV GTI engines sitting on the shelves in cardboard boxes that can be unloaded in North America. The current Q3 uses the old engine, which is why a Q5 that weighs 400 lbs more can slay it, because it does indeed have the new 2.0t.
Can I have mine with 14″ wheels and old-fashioned balloon tires?
I think looks very good. But I’m a fan of recent VW styling.
But another year or so till USA? How old is the current car? It has to be ancient.
And yeah they need to look at the price hard.
The current Tiguan came out in 2008 in the US. Of course it has received a facelift, but is still based on the PQ35 platform that was also used by the 2005-2010 Jetta sedan and the 2009-2014 wagon. So the underlying parts are pretty old. Not surprising that they’re waiting a year, hopefully they can work any bugs out and make sure it’s certified with the 1.8T and the TDI for the US/Canadian markets.