Volkswagen has launched the all-new Tiguan, which will be available in petrol, diesel, mild hybrid and plug-in hybrid options.

The new model is expected to reach dealerships as early as the first quarter of 2024.

New hybrid drives will offer an all-electric range of about 62 miles, while AC charging will be faster in all eHybrid versions, and fast DC charging will also be possible as standard for the first time.

Kai Grünitz, brand board member for technical development, said: "The latest evolutionary stage of the Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB evo) forms the highly innovative technical basis of the third generation of the Tiguan.

“Thanks to the large economies of scale of the MQB evo, Volkswagen is once again democratizing numerous high-tech developments such as the DCC Pro or the new hybrid drives with an electric range of about 62 miles and making them available to hundreds of thousands of drivers."

Thanks to MQB evo, various drive types can be implemented in the Tiguan, says Volkswagen. For example, there will be a turbo diesel engine (TDI), turbo petrol engines (TSI), mild hybrid turbo petrol engines (eTSI) and plug-in hybrid systems (eHybrid), which will be offered exclusively in conjunction with the automatic direct-shift gearbox (DSG) in the future.

Like on the Volkswagen ID models and the new Passat, the gear position will be changed in future by means of a steering column switch on the right of the steering wheel with a self-explanatory operating principle.

The switch is turned forwards to “D” to drive forwards and backwards to “R” to reverse, while the parking brake is activated by pressing the side of the switch.

All Tiguan models additionally have paddles behind the steering wheel.

The compact SUV comes with a completely new design, with changes to the front-end improving the drag coefficient from 0.33 to 0.28.

This silhouette is characterised by athletic shoulders over the wheel housings (with up to 20-inch wheels). A new horizontal LED strip2 adds emphasis to the unmistakeable Tiguan rear end.

New cockpit and infotainment system generation

The interior of the Tiguan features a completely new concept and design. There are the new Digital Cockpit (digital instruments with anti-reflective coating in tablet landscape format), an infotainment screen that measures up to 38 centimetres (15 inches) and has an entirely new menu structure and graphics, a new head-up display (projections on to the windscreen) and a new multifunction driving experience switch with integrated OLED display.

This new rotary control with its own mini screen can be used to control the driving profile, radio volume or also the background lighting colours.

In contrast, numerous vehicle and infotainment functions can be easily adjusted using the new IDA voice assistant.

High-performance assist systems 

The Tiguan is equipped with a large number of convenience and assist systems as standard.

In addition to Side Assist (lane change system), Front Assist (Autonomous Emergency Braking), Lane Assist (lane keeping system) and Rear View (rear view camera system), these also include Dynamic Road Sign Display.

There will also be an extensive range of optional systems. These include among others the following technologies: Park Assist Pro with remote parking capability (for automatic driving into and out of parking spaces controlled by the driver from outside the vehicle using a smartphone app) or also Trailer Assist (for assisted manoeuvring with a trailer).

Larger luggage compartment in the Tiguan

The new Tiguan has increased in length by approximately three centimetres. The height, width and wheelbase remain practically identical to the predecessor.

The luggage compartment capacity of the new generation shows just how good the use of space is: although the SUV is only slightly longer, its luggage compartment capacity has increased by 37 litres to 652 litres (when loaded up to the height of the rear seat backrests).