Tiguan unveiled, aiming for top spot

Volkswagen's up! concept city car (more here) might have got the lion's share of media coverage at Frankfurt, but it's Wolfsburg's other star that the VW faithful gathered to see and that will impact Aussie buyers first.

Indeed, when the all-new compact SUV arrives in Australia late next year, it is tipped to quickly become the brand's second biggest seller. Though the Golf is unlikely to be displaced as VW-Oz's foundation model -- it currently accounts for around 50 per cent of VW's passenger car sales Down Under -- the Touareg's little brother will arrive with big sales expectation.

VW won't be drawn on exact numbers but the Carsales Network can reveal the maker is looking for better than 600 units a month for the X3-sized five-door Down Under. Those sales will be incremental, say insiders -- and could boost VW's local volume by upwards of 30 per cent!

Tiguan was one of the most eagerly awaited launches at Frankfurt even though official images of the vehicle had been released prior to the show.

Though coming late to the compact SUV party, it will allow VW to undercut the likes of X3 and Land Rover Freelander and target upper-end versions of top-sellers such as Toyota's RAV4, Honda's CRV and Nissan's X-TRAIL.

With small SUV market as vibrant in the USA and Europe as it is Down Under, the softroader's understated appearance belies its importance for VW worldwide.

VW Group boss, Dr Martin Winterkorn and production chief Dr Ulrich Hackenberg drove into the maelstrom that was the carmaker's stand on Frankfurt's opening day in two versions of the Tiguan and presented the model to perhaps the biggest crowd of show day.

In Europe at least, VW will offer two distinct versions of the Tiguan -- a more road-oriented 'Trend&Fun' with a car-like front valance that delivers an approach angle of just 18 degrees, or the truer SUV 'Track&Field' variant with offroad style front end with a 28 degree angle.

Both versions will feature VW's 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system with the latter getting a new "offroad mode" that VW says "awakens an entire armada of assistance systems".

It's this variant we're likely to see first. And though there'll also be a front-wheel drive version offered in Europe, VW Oz says it's highly unlikely it will come Down Under -- at least in the short term.

We will, however, see both launch engine variants -- the 125kW 1.4 Twincharger TSI petrol powerplant from the Golf GT and at least one TDI version. Other options potentially to follow include a Golf GTI-like 147kW petrol TFSI 2.0-litre and a 125kW performance turbodiesel as well as (eventually) a low-emission BlueMotion TDI.

Though not unveiled at Frankfurt, the understated but purposeful all-wheel drive (road-only) Passat R36 was new enough to attract attention -- even at a show dominated by 'green' releases. Featuring a 220kW petrol V6, the fastest Passat ever is also coming Down Under and could just pip the Tiguan into showrooms and arrive in time for the 2008 Sydney Motor Show.

The Carsales Network will attend the international launch of the Tiguan later this week. Look out for our launch review next week.

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