The all-new 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan is less powerful than the outgoing model, but has grown to be considerably bigger than the small, expensive crossover it’s replacing—a model that was considered a flop in the U.S. until sales skyrocketed last year. You’ve got questions and I’ll try to get answers.
The U.S. spec Tiguan is technically the long-wheelbase “Allspace” version of the European model that’s already been on sale for a few months. The crossover we’ll be getting stateside is over ten inches longer than the outgoing Tiguan, and now all front-wheel drive trims will be equipped with third-row seating standard (which is still an option on all-wheel drive models). It’s an interesting development considering the introduction of the three-row Atlas model this year, but hey, name recognition counts for a lot these days.
The 2018 Tiguan also gets VW’s new 2.0-liter four-cylinder, down 16 horsepower from the outgoing model to just 184 hp, but with a boost in torque up to 221 lb-ft. It will be available with an eight-speed automatic transmission and adjustable dampening modes, as well as a standard rear-view camera and optional aides like adaptive cruise control, pedestrian monitoring and collision prevention.
I plan to press some people about a more committed off-road AWD trim-level like the kick-ass Tiguan GTE Active concept from last year, and please sound off below if you have any more pressing, practical questions you’d like answered. I’ll do my best to get back to you, and lookout for the review.