Volkswagen’s new Tiguan is still some way off from reaching Australian shores, but the brand has confirmed it will be petrol-only.
Production of third-generation Tiguans for our market is set to start late in 2024, with vehicles going on sale here within six months after.
Volkswagen hasn’t made any mention of diesel Tiguans for our market, and has explicitly ruled out the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) – despite having confirmed it was planning to launch the electrified model previously.
“We were interested in PHEV and we were having discussions around PHEV but we also have to move with the market, and I think the market as you’ve seen has moved quite rapidly,” said Volkswagen Group Australia product and PR communications manager Daniel DeGasperi.
“We also have group brands that do a good job with PHEV: Cupra and Audi.
“Skoda boss Michael Irmer mentioned it, not treading on toes, but also Volkswagen is the volume brand so we really need to be laser-focused on those models that will most resonate with customers.
“From a volume perspective, and we think that given the timings of Tiguan and ID.4 will be quite similar, that Tiguan in turbo-petrol form and ID.4 in fully electric will have a great duo between them.”
Volkswagen had previously indicated it would launch a plug-in hybrid Tiguan locally around the second half of 2024, along with the plug-in hybrid Golf GTE hatch.
The company even published information on the outgoing eHybrid on its local website, which is still visible.
The next-gen Tiguan eHybrid is set to offer Volkswagen’s upgraded PHEV system, said to offer 100km of EV driving (up from 40km) as well as faster AC charging and new DC fast charging support.
While the third-generation Tiguan hasn’t been officially revealed yet, it has been teased extensively. Volkswagen has also revealed its interior, while photos of an undisguised vehicle’s exterior have also been leaked.
It features styling that’s more curvaceous than that of the current Tiguan, if less so than the unrelated but similarly sized ID.4.
Inside, there’s a free-standing central touchscreen that measures up to 15 inches diagonally, while a rotary knob called the Driving Experience Switch can be used to control the drive mode, stereo volume and ambient lighting.
The gear selector has been moved up near the instrument cluster.
Volkswagen says the cabin will be more premium than ever, with new seats and more sound deadening than before. Those seats will be heated and cooled, and feature massaging as an option.
Under the skin, the Tiguan rides on the MQB Evo architecture underpinning vehicles like the Golf and Skoda Octavia, and will be offered with a selection of diesel, petrol, mild-hybrid, and plug-in hybrid drivetrains, depending on the market.
Measuring 4551mm long, 1939mm wide, and riding on a 2681mm wheelbase, the third-generation Tiguan is 32mm longer than today’s SWB model, but shares that car’s width and wheelbase.
Volkswagen says luggage space has improved by 33 litres to 648 litres with the rear seats in place, while despite curvier styling the company says it has improved headroom by 10mm in both the front and rear seats.
The Tiguan Allspace is expected to replaced by a new version of the Tayron. Currently the Tayron is a China-exclusive model with distinct styling, and is sized between the SWB and LWB versions of the Tiguan.
Volkswagen has confirmed the new Tiguan will feature adaptive damping as an option along with a full adaptive dynamics suite that will allow drivers to customise the behaviour of the throttle, steering, and electronic locking differential.
