MMIS 2008 Tiguan is serious business

The Tiguan represents a vital component in Volkswagen’s ever-increasing passenger car line-up, and its debut in Australia has been a long and frustrating process for the German carmaker.

The compact SUV offers up five-seats, three engines, and up to 1510-litres and 650kg of cargo carrying capacity, which makes it a very competitive proposition in its class. But outside its class, Tiguan features some pretty nifty technology that is typically seen on more expensive vehicles.

For starters, we will get three engine variants put through VWs 4Motion AWD system – a 125 and 1457kW TSI petrol, and a 103kW turbodiesel which will be the first engine available to Australian buyers.

The TSI engine, which has taken home an International Engine of the Year gong twice in its two-year production life, uses both supercharging and turbocharging technology to increase vital low- and mid-range torque.

Another option for the dirt-seekers is an off-road switch which activates a hill descent/ascent program, a more sensitive throttle pedal, automated response from the Electronic Differential Locks, off-road rated ABS, and gear-dependant engine braking in automatic models.

And Lexus’s $240,000 hybrid saloon’s self-parking claim to fame is now shared by the soft-roader. An optional Park Steering Assistant program controls the car’s steering inputs for the perfect reverse parallel park, while all the driver has to do is surrender their hands, and use throttle and brake pedals to proceed or stop. If said driver panics and grabs for the wheel, the Steering Assistant relinquishes control again.

So Tiguan is a family car that can go off-road or on, is entirely turbocharged, carries a payload or a family, and parks itself. And it will launch almost five months ahead of schedule in June with a starting price of $33,990. The SUV market just got even more competitive…