The latest iteration of Volkswagen’s global best-seller, the Tiguan SUV, has made its world premiere in Wolfsburg. Now in its third generation, the Volkswagen Tiguan has undergone an extensive, if not comprehensive, revamp, which brings it visually in line with other Volkswagen SUVs on sale at present, and adds some vital new tech. To put into perspective the importance of the Tiguan for VW, the company has sold 76 lakh units of the SUV since its launch in 2007, with nearly 10 lakh units sold in just the last two years. Since 2018, not only has the Tiguan been the best-selling VW in the world, but also the highest-selling model from the entire VW Group.
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Pronounced haunches add visual muscle; 2,680 mm wheelbase is identical to the outgoing Tiguan’s.
Based on the updated MQB ‘evo’ platform, the new Tiguan is, in size terms, almost identical to the outgoing model. It is 30 mm longer, but just 4 mm taller, and its width and 2,680 mm wheelbase are the same as that of the current Tiguan. In terms of its appearance, the Tiguan’s face is now home to ‘IQ Light HD’ Matrix headlights, which were developed for use in the bigger Touareg SUV and employ 38,400 multi-pixel LEDs for illumination. Both headlight units are connected by a slim LED light strip situated on top of the partial glass cover. The Tiguan sits on new dual-tone alloy wheels, has more pronounced haunches and a full-width LED tail-light with three individual LED clusters at either end. Volkswagen says the new Tiguan is also more aerodynamic, with a drag coefficient of 0.28 Cd (down from 0.33 Cd).
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LED tail-lights linked by a light bar to accentuate the width of the new Tiguan.
Inside, the new Tiguan has a revised Digital Cockpit layout, combining a 10.25-inch digital instruments display with a 15.1-inch freestanding central touchscreen running the latest MIB4 infotainment. VW has replaced the touch-capacitive controls on the steering wheel with physical buttons for enhanced tactility, and the volume slider and climate control buttons – placed at the base of the central screen – are backlit. The centre console is slim, and only houses a rotary controller with an inbuilt OLED screen that lets one cycle through chassis and powertrain settings, as well as choose from different ambient lighting modes. This is because the gear lever is now a stalk on the steering column, something we’ll also see on the next-gen Skoda Kodiaq.
Dashboard largely devoid of switches, but physical buttons return to the steering wheel; gear lever now positioned on the steering column.
VW also says there’s more headroom for rear-seat passengers, and boot space (in the non-hybrid versions) rises to 652 litres. Also new are the ergoActive Plus seats, which are equipped with pneumatic four-way lumbar adjustment and a 10-chamber pressure massage function. Additionally, a programming function can enable automatic activation of the seat ventilation when outside temperatures rise to a certain level. Also present on the new Tiguan are a variety of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) including autonomous emergency braking, lane keep and lane change assist, dynamic road sign display and Park Assist Pro with remote parking capability (for automatic driving into and out of parking spaces controlled by the driver from outside the vehicle using a smartphone app).
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VW says the new Tiguan offers more headroom to rear-seat passengers.
For now, the new Tiguan will be offered with a variety of powertrains, including 1.5-litre petrol, 2.0-litre petrol, 2.0-litre diesel and 1.5-litre petrol-hybrid powertrains. Exact power outputs haven’t been disclosed at this time, but the big news is the larger, 19.7 kWh battery in the plug-in hybrid variants enables a pure-electric driving range of up to 100 kilometres. More importantly, the plug-in hybrid model is designed to accept faster AC charging, and can also be plugged into a DC fast-charger. All versions of the Tiguan have an automatic transmission (6-speed DSG on the plug-in hybrids, 7-speed DSG on all other versions), and paddle shifters come standard.
Boot space rises to 652 litres in the non-hybrid models.
Volkswagen will also offer a Dynamic Chassis Control Pro option for the new Tiguan’s adaptive suspension system. This pairs twin-valve variable dampers with a Vehicle Dynamics Manager (VDM) system that debuted in the present-day Golf GTI. The VDM, which controls the electronic differential locks and the lateral dynamics of the dampers, is said to deliver wheel-specific braking interventions and selective changes in damper stiffness, aiding vehicle control and agility.
Abroad, the new Tiguan will go on sale early in 2024. In India, the current-gen model is the most expensive VW available, priced at Rs 35.20 lakh (ex-showroom). Expect the new Tiguan to make its way to our shores sometime in the second half of 2024, but its prices could inch closer to the Rs 40 lakh mark, especially if VW opts to introduce the plug-in hybrid version of the SUV.
