VW provides sneak preview of Tiguan

It's not often that carmakers scoop themselves, but that's precisely what Volkswagen has done by releasing official images of a lightly disguised Tiguan undergoing final testing in Namibia.

What's a 'Tiguan', you ask? Put simply, it's a baby brother to the Touareg, which has been VW's sole SUV representative to date.

The Tiguan is due to make its world debut at September's Frankfurt motor show, and it will launch internationally later in the year.

Volkswagen says the key criteria in developing the compact SUV were to provide "agile driving behavior", "very good vibration behavior and ride comfort", "high driving dynamic stability" and "good off-road handling".

The Tiguan will also debut a new generation radio and navigation system. The RNS 510 system includes a 6.5" wide VGA color display and is compatible with a telephone, iPod and other MP3 players. Combination with a Dynaudio sound system is also possible.

In addition, the navigation system makes it possible to record up to 500 route points during a journey, even in non-digitised areas. "This allows the driver to find his or her way back from off-road adventures into any desert or steppe," boasts VW.

Also new is what's claimed to be the world's first park steering assistant to be installed in a SUV. The 'Park Assist' system enables automatic steering into a parking space.

Taking a leaf of out of the textbook of the new Mercedes C-Class (which is offered with a choice of two faces), the Tiguan will be offered in more than one style.

"The 'Trend & Fun' and 'Sport & Style' versions are designed for a maximum entry angle of 18 degrees in front. The 'Track & Field' Tiguan that is tuned even more for offroad duty can assume entry angles of up to 28 degrees with its front end," says VW.

The 'Track & Field' version will be offered with an "Offroad Mode" that's claimed to boost its all-terrain ability significantly.

One switch activates the "hill descent assistant", "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 action on loose road materials), "hill-climb assist" (support when climbing and protection of the clutch).

Offroad mode also manages "gear preselect" for optimal engine braking action.

Engine choices will include TSI (supercharged and turbocharged) petrol engines with outputs of 110kW, 125kW and 147kW. There will also be a pair of TDI turbodiesels with 103kW and 125kW

The Tiguan could be a key addition to the VW line-up in a high-volume segment that's dominated by the likes of the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and Nissan X-Trail. Watch this space…

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