First look: Volkswagen raises Tiguan’s rug
BY MARTON PETTENDY | 8th Jun 2007
Due on sale in Australia early next year following its global public debut at Germany’s Frankfurt motor show in September, it will not only provide a smaller stablemate for the European automotive giant’s Touareg luxury off-roader, but will take the fight directly to BMW’s X3, the Lexus RX and other upcoming small SUVs like the Mercedes-Benz GLK/MLK and Audi’s Q5.
The Tiguan name was announced to replace its original Bedouin moniker in July 2006, when an official sketch was also issued, but now Volkswagen has released full interior and exterior pictures, plus engine, chassis and equipment details more than three months ahead of its official reveal.
Volkswagen says the primary focus of a final extreme “acceptance drive” in Namibia (Africa), which will complete the trial phase of its development, will be its ground-breaking electronics and chassis systems, which include “a completely new generation radio and navigation system” and an Off-road Mode, which “activates an armada of assistance systems at the touch of a switch”.
The former was developed with input from VW operations in Europe, the US and Asia, and in top-shelf guise, dubbed RNS 510, comprises a 30GB hard-drive and 400MHz PC processor controlled via a 6.5-inch colour touch-screen.
Featuring a rear-view camera and an off-road mode that can record up to 500 route points even in unmapped areas, it is telephone, iPod and MP3 compatible.
The latter will be offered exclusively in a variant labeled “Track & Field” and groups vital off-road electronic functions under one button, including hill-descent control, throttle pedal mapping, the activation of differential locks, a loose-surface ABS mode, “hill climb assist” which prevents clutch damage up hills and “gear preselect” which offers optimum engine braking in automatic versions.
Tiguan will be based on Golf mechanicals – just as the X3 is based on BMW’s biggest seller, the 3 Series, the GLK/MLK will be based on next month’s new C-class volume seller and the Q5 will be based on the same platform as the new A5 coupe and next year’s redesigned A4.
Volkswagen has confirmed a MacPherson strut front suspension system, housed in a one-piece aluminium subframe, and a four-link independent rear suspension unit borrowed from the Passat 4Motion but with a steel subframe to replace its aluminium unit.
A completely new electromechanical power steering system was also developed for the Tiguan and is said to deliver precise steering feeling, even in off-road situations – despite the claim that “no jolts whatsoever are transmitted to the steering wheel”.
Perhaps the most interesting feature, however, is what’s innocuously called Park Assist. Hailed as “the world’s first park steering assistant to be installed in a SUV”, it automatically steers the Tiguan into a parking space.
In Europe, the entry-level Tiguan will ride on 16-inch wheels with 215/65 R16 tyres, with other variants scoring 17-inch alloys with 235/55 R17 tyres. The options list will feature 18-inch alloys with 235/50-section rubber.
Underneath its upright, chunky Golf-style body that looks more like an Audi than a VW, the Tiguan’s components sharing regime will extend to its engines, which will include two TDI and three TSI versions – all of them force-fed. They comprise 110kW/125kW and 147kW petrol fours and 103kW and 125kW turbo-diesels.
No further engine or transmission details are available, but expect manual, auto and CVT gearboxes to be offered in Europe – and a V6 version to eventually join the five launch engines.
Volkswagen has confirmed the Tiguan will be offered with two separate front-ends, with the “Trend & Fun” and “Sport & Style” variants featuring an 18-degree approach angle and the Track & Field coming with a sizeable 28-degree entry angle.
While the Track & Field will come with more serious off-road credentials, Volkswagen says all Tiguans offer “highly dynamic driving characteristics”, “excellent ride comfort”, “neutral to lightly understeering handling” and “an unusually low roll angle”. It’s claimed the Tiguan will set new class standards for dynamics, comfort and active safety.