The vehicle, which will be sold in New Zealand, is described rather floridly as crossing the “borderline between the urban world and endless landscapes, between business and leisure time.”
With the Tiguan, VW for the first time will sell a vehicle range exclusively with turbocharged direct injection engines.
It says the high-performance turbocharging significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions but also develops strong power.
A range of TSI petrol and TDI diesel engines will be available globally, with the diesels already meeting the Euro-5 standards first coming into effect in 2009.
The Tiguan will have Volkswagen’s “4Motion” permanent all-wheel drive system.
There will be two front bumper designs – the standard 18-degree front end will offer a reasonable maximum entry angle of 18 degrees in the front. For enhanced off-road ability, an optional 28-degree front end will also be available.
A switch will activate the car’s off-road mode and will improve off-road vehicle handling significantly through various off-road support functions.
It activates the hill descent assistant (for optimal control on slopes), adaptation of driver’s pedal characteristic (for finer gradations of torque), EDS adaptation (electronic differential locks are activated at the slightest slip), ABS adaptation (improved braking on loose surfaces), hill climb assist (support when climbing and protection of the clutch) and – on automatic transmission models – gear preselect (including optimal engine braking action).
Also available on the Tiguan will be a park steering assistant, called ParkScan. It’s an automated parallel parking assistant.
When the driver finds a suitable parking space, the vehicle takes care of the
steering while the driver controls the accelerator and brake.
VW expects to start selling the Tiguan in New Zealand in 2008. The engines available, specification levels and pricing are yet to
be decided.