FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan

The all-new Volkswagen Tiguan made its world premiere overnight, showing off a dynamic new look that results in a roomier, sportier and more connected vehicle than before.

There's even a 160kW plug-in hybrid GTE model with solar panels in the roof that can add up to 1000km of driving per year from the power of the sun.

Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser, the company's chief of development who introduced the vehicle on stage to pulsating lights and thumping music, said all versions of the new Tiguan SUV are "more environmentally friendly" but showered the GTE with the highest praise.

Revealed alongside the normal, off-road, and R Line versions of the new Tiguan, the GTE is not a pie-in-the-sky concept either, Neusser told motoring.com.au.

"GTE will come into production, but we won't start with it. One year later the GTE will come," he confirmed, which means it'll arrive around the second quarter of 2017.

Powered by a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain comprising a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine, an electric motor and a (13kWh) lithium-ion battery pack, the Tiguan GTE can travel up to 50km/h without switching on its petrol engine.

Pumping out 160kW and with a top speed of 200km/h, the GTE consumes petrol at a rate of just 1.9L/100km, while emitting CO2 of 42g/km.

"It's more than a concept," said VW's development chief, who reckons the Tiguan GTE will be a game-changer – sadly one that's unlikely to be offered alongside the turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel models in Australia any time soon.

Indeed, Neusser observed that the Tiguan GTE could be one of the world's most popular plug-in SUVs but Australian representatives for Volkswagen suggested the advanced SUV is unlikely to be offered here in the short-term.

"We'd need to see market demand before committing to a plug-in hybrid," said Kurt McGuiness, Volkswagen Australia's public relations manager, noting that Australia's EV infrastructure lagged behind many other mature markets.

He said the Tiguan was one of the pillars of the VW brand in Australia and that we could see it in around 12 months from now – late 2016 – although it was too early to talk about specifications.

Smartphone integration via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be standard for Aussie cars, and the fully digitised instrument panel is likely too. On top of improved connectivity the car also gets more safety equipment, such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB), pedestrian monitoring and lane assist.

The company claims the new Tiguan will even tow a braked trailer weighing up to 2500kg, with manual and automatic gearboxes offered, along with front- and all-wheel drive options.

There will be a range of combustion engines Aussies might be offered – eight in total – with four TSI turbo-petrol units developing between 92kW and 162kW. Turbo-diesel or TDI offerings range between 85kW to 176kW, the latter an all-new biturbo design we recently tested in the Passat Alltrack.

The new model is 60mm longer and 30mm wider and depending on the model up to 50kg has been shaved from its kerb weight. A 77mm longer wheelbase (now 2681mm) improves rear seat room.

The slinky design has seen the roof chopped, lower now by 33mm, and one of the vehicle's biggest issues, lack of boot space, has been addressed. It now offers 615 litres of space, up by a whopping 145 litres, with up to 1665 litres of room with the rear seats folded down.

And while the car has a lower roofline, ground clearance is up by 11mm to 200mm now, more than the Mazda CX-5.

Volkswagen has sold more than 2.6 million Tiguans thus far and Dr Neusser observed that the tally of 500,000 sales in 2014 is likely to rise with more models planned, including a seven-seater and sleek coupe-crossover

"We are working as well on a seven-seater version with a longer wheelbase. It looks similar to this, a lot of common parts and it's especially important for China and US."

And the rumours of a sporty coupe variant? "It's a possibility," he said with a smile.

There's also scope for a high-performance model, possibly a Tiguan R, although Neusser said more dynamic models will happen further into the vehicle's lifecycle.

"There is room for more sporty versions – but give us some time.

"First we bring the base car to the market, then we see also certain room there for additional sporty versions," he told motoring.com.au.

And unlike the GTE, both the seven-seat and coupe versions of the Tiguan would be a slam-dunk for the Australian market.

Full coverage from motoring.com.au at Frankfurt motor show here