12 Volkswagen Tiguan

Order books have opened for the new Volkswagen Tiguan, with prices starting from £22,500.

The car is built on the MQB platform, enabling standard fit of safety features such as Front Assist; City Emergency Braking and Pedestrian Monitoring.

New options on the Tiguan include Active Info Display; Head-Up Display; Area View and Trailer Assist.

The interior offers more head room and knee room than previously – up by 29 mm in the case of knee room – and when the rear bench is folded the cargo space, at 1,655 litres, is 145 litres larger than before.  Meanwhile a lower load sill improves ease of use and underscores the Tiguan’s everyday utility, while an optimised body structure and improved aerodynamics add to occupant comfort via reduced cabin noise.

The car also offers a sliding rear bench seat that has been optimised to permit up to 180 mm of adjustment – 20 mm more than in the previous model. When the rear bench is slid forwards, the boot provides 615 litres of space – a gain of 145 litres.  A towing capacity of 2,500kg is also available.

As order books open, the high-volume diesel will be available as a 2.0 TDI 150hp with 4MOTION all-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox (DSG) or six-speed manual transmission; or with front-wheel drive and a manual gearbox.  In addition the 2.0 TSI petrol with 180hp, 4MOTION and DSG is also on offer. These engines are expected to account for around three quarters of UK Tiguan sales.  Extended engine, drive and gearbox options will be available in two further order waves which open in the UK on 5 May and 2 June.

The first wave of engines in the UK offer 0-62 mph times of between 7.7 seconds (2.0 TSI 180hp to 9.3 seconds (2.0 TDI 150hp), with top speeds, where legal, ranging from 129 mph to 124 mph. For the first wave of engines, CO2 emissions are calculated at between 125g/km (2.0 TDI 150 PS front-wheel drive with six-speed manual gearbox), to 170g/km (2.0 TSI 180hp 4MOTION with seven-speed DSG).