Today sees the first day of UK orders being taken for Volkswagen's new Tiguan with two engines on offer to begin with and a starting price of £22,500. It's Volkswagen's first car built using its new MQB platform. Other than that, what exactly sets the new Tiguan apart from it's predecessor?
More Space
Volkswagen have been able to enlarge the new model which allows more room inside for both occupants and luggage. For example, the boot now holds an extra 145 litres than the outgoing model, with 1,655 litres on offer when the rear bench is folded away. The Tiguan makes the same increase when the rear bench is slid forward as well, achieving 615 litres of space compared to the previous model's 470.
Thanks to a 60mm increase of length, the Tiguan offers more space in the cabin too, providing 29mm of extra legroom for its occupants. The German carmaker have also designed the car to more comfortable for the driver but without taking away the airy feel of the interior. The rear bench now allows 20mm more movement too, allowing for better adjustment.
Broad Choice of Engines
At this moment in time only two engines are available on the Tiguan, although more are coming in the pipeline which form a range of three new petrol engines and four new diesel engines. For the time being customers will have to make do with either the 2.0 litre 178 bhp TSI petrol of the 2.0 litre 148 bhp TDI diesel.
The former gives a top speed of 129 mph and 124 mph for the former, with respective 0-62 times of 7.7 seconds and 9.3 seconds. These two engines are expected to make up two thirds of all Tiguans sold in the UK. In terms of fuel economy, Volkswagen claim a combined cycle of 58.9 mpg for the diesel (mated with a 6-speed manualand front-wheel drive) and 38.2 mpg for the petrol (with a DSG gearbox and four-wheel drive).
Safe As Houses
The new Tiguan ought to be safe as well, with pretty much all the safety features one could want. These include Front Assist with City Emergency Braking and Pedestrian monitoring, lane assist, automatic post-collision braking system, plus seven airbags. Also fitted on what is a first for Volkswagen is an active bonnet, which raises 50mm in the event of an impact with a cyclist or pedestrian, therefore reducing injury.
The Tiguan will have its work cut out as the compact SUV is busier than ever but it looks like it will have all the tools needed to help hold its own. Key rivals will be its cousin, the SEAT Ateca (which comes later this year) as well as the Nissan Qashqai and Mazda CX-5.
