Launching Tomorrow: Volkswagen Tiguan

It’ll mark the company’s return to the SUV segment

After a long wait, Volkswagen will finally launch the much-awaited Tiguan SUV in India tomorrow. The SUV was unveiled to the Indian audience during the 2016 Auto Expo and was put into local production in March this year. With the Tiguan, Volkswagen will reenter the SUV segment and will compete against a list of people-movers, including some premium ones.

Nerd moment: The Tiguan will be the first product with a VW badge that features the company’s MQB (modular transverse matrix) platform. In essence, it is specifically built for vehicles that will house engines in the front, with front-wheel-drive and an option for four-wheel-drive as well. Since the company owns a number of car brands, cars like Skoda Superb, Skoda Octavia and the Audi A3 are all built on the same platform. Nerd moment ends.

Volkswagen is expected to launch the Tiguan with only one engine option - a 2.0-litre TDI. Chances are that it will be in the same state of tune that is found in the Skoda Superb and that means 177PS of power and 350Nm of torque. Mated to the engine will be a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission while power will be sent to the road via Volkswagen’s 4-Motion all-wheel-drive  tech, which comes as standard .

As per the leaked information, the Tiguan will be available in two variants only - Comfortline and Highline. The feature list on both the variants includes LED-powered headlamps, tail lamps and DRLs, three-zone climate control, automatic headlamps, hill descent control, rain-sensing wipers, electronically adjustable and heated front seats, touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, six airbags and, front and rear park distance control. Some of the features that the Highline variant will get over the Comfortline includes 18-inch alloy wheels, panoramic sunroof, keyless entry with push button start, reverse parking camera, ambient lighting and easy open tailgate with delayed closing function.

Volkswagen is likely to price the Tiguan in the vicinity of Rs 25-28 lakh. With that kind of pricing, it will undercut most of its premium rivals like the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and the Mercedes-Benz GLA. At the same time, it will also compete with the likes of the Ford Endeavour, Toyota Fortuner, Isuzu MU-X, Hyundai Santa Fe and the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport.