Spy Shots: 2008 Volkswagan Tiguan
Ace spy photog Chris Doane stalked and shot the upcoming Tiguan, the Rabbit-based small CUV from Volkswagen that should arrive as a 2008 model. The styling appears to be exactly what you'd expect a small VW soft-roader to look like, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Engine choices are obvious, with the 2.0-liter TFSI used in the GTI getting the nod as the sole motor at launch. The R32's 3.2-liter V6 may be an option down the line, as well. We have to wonder, though, if a Rabbit and a Tiguan got in a fight, who would win? Yeah, probably the Tiguan.[Source: Straightline Blog]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
makenzie 1:22PM (8/01/2006)
i love the cars and all the info well piece out
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jammypup 1:27PM (8/01/2006)
On the contrary. I would say that styling that appears to be exactly what you'd expect a small VW soft-roader to look like is a very bad thing.
I used to be a big fan of VW (my first car was a MK1 1.8L Golf GTI - so much fun with lots of bottom end "grunt" for a small engine - but big in those days in a 1700lb body) but cannot stand this evolutionary, relatism in their designs.
It's almost as if (and I thnk this comes from the Golf's design evolution where they thought they had to keep key design elements) they have to reference large parts of previous designs as if to let ppl know that this is still a VW. If the design did not work then it gets worse when you try to retain it.
The current theme for the headlights bugs me because they look like bug eyes instead of mean looking hooded eyes. Yet, apparently, they are going to retain this as a design theme for future models.
Patrick LeQuemont used to be design chief for VW in the late 80's/early 90's and though some of the recent Renault designs have missed the mark, at least he was not afraid of trying something new.
VW design needs to be Bangled because BMW were in a similar design path (but at least their cars looked lean and mean and not fat and bloated) and realy needed a shake up in the design department.
Having said all that, this looks more like a squashed Highlander.
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Jay Miller 1:53PM (8/01/2006)
It will be good for VW to at least have something in this segment to sell.
While I do like the evolutionary design theme that VW uses, I would have to say they took the wrong evolutionary path. The modern VWs are too bloated and wannabe-upscale. Totally opposite of the Driver's Wanted style that got them back in the game.
Also like the choice of the Turbo four as the base engine.
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Wade 1:55PM (8/01/2006)
Yawn.
Way to go VW. Right on the cutting edge of trends and design (dripping with sarcasm). Ten years ago this might have been a hit.
Where's the Golf based mini-minivan, the Sharan or Touran or whatever they call it where they sell it? A "microvan", if you will, seems a much better fit with the historical VW demographic (or what's left of it) than a mini-SUV.
But what do I know, I think the Tourag is a POS too, and I guess people are still buying 'em.
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Ben 2:14PM (8/01/2006)
that looks nothing like the Concept A ....
so much for designing a cool concept car.
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triplight 2:41PM (8/01/2006)
Volkswagen has far bigger problems than styling, which I think is still better than most Japanese cars despite the blandness of the new Jetta. I've owned a Passat for 10 days now and the dealer has had it for 8 of those days, working on the same problem for the third time. Not a trivial problem, either; the car (with all of 250 miles on it) has already left my family and I stranded on the road. If they don't resolve their quality problems, we'll soon be reading about new VWs in European magazines only, like Peugeots.
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chewy 3:46PM (8/01/2006)
The best parts are still covered up. It will much better when it is reveiled. I expect the interior to imrove a bit to, it currently has a Golf Plus interior.
This VW's official concept drawing.
http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2006/112_news060724_2008_volkswagen_tiguan/photo_01.html
This is how it will end up looking in the end.
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/28/vw-tiguan-begins-to-take-shape/
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jammypup 4:00PM (8/01/2006)
As I and Jay Miller said, they went down the wrong path with this and their latest models.
Those two pics chewy don't inspire confidence for me.
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BOB 4:37PM (8/01/2006)
AMAZINGLY LUNKHEADED NAME!!
Is it TAIWAN, TIGGER, or a Chinese herb remedy?
-- Makes it hard to market the vehicle as having European superiority, no?
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Dirk Dundenburg 5:16PM (8/01/2006)
Just throw a damn 4cyl. diesel in it VW and I'll buy one!
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Ben 5:33PM (8/01/2006)
One can only hope this is NOT the VW Tiguan.
OR
This is just a dummy shell for the yet to be revealed awesome Tiguan exterior design.
After all Tiguan won't be full revealed till late 2007 and won't be released till 2008, so there's still hope.
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Luis Longo 5:50PM (8/01/2006)
WHEN
IS
THE
PORSCHE/AUDI
VERSION
OF THIS
ONE
DUE?
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hmm 6:42PM (8/01/2006)
#9: The name was actually selected after the vote by 350,000 vehicle consumers in EUROPE. Nothing to do with China/Taiwan.
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Alan 10:38PM (8/01/2006)
#5, it's too bad about your car, and I'd seriously start looking at the lemon laws in your state.
As to the larger point, we'll start getting Consumer Reports reliability data in the fall, but from VW's recent financial releases, it appears warranty claims are way down with the new models. The new management team has acknowledged the quality issues of the recent past and has committed to fixing them. The good news here is that they brought in the person who clean up Chrysler. After all the problems in my 1998 Passat (coil packs, locks breaking, suspension parts wearing out too soon, cruise control modules not working, etc.), I was reluctant to get another VW, but so far (knock on wood), my 2006 Jetta has been trouble-free in almost 17K miles of ownership.
A big part of VW's problem in the US is the dealer network. Only in large markets (fortunately, such as Chicago) are there VW-only dealers. If you have the 2.0T engine, there is a known "non-start" problem that is a simple fix if your dealer knows what he's doing. I'd try searching the VWVortex or another fan site for more info.
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ebm14 10:50PM (8/01/2006)
I was hoping for something to be priced in the Rabbit/Golf range for this type of SUV, but I feel they will ask somewhere north of $ 25.OOO.
I ONLY wish that the ask price start about $ 5000 less.
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Jeff R. 2:28AM (8/02/2006)
I was once a big fan of VW...but vehicles like the Tiguan, names like Tiguan and Toureg, and currently unimaginative designs have made VW fall out of favor in my book. Plus, the fact that they're priced too high for what you get and that VWs have been pretty unreliable in recent years is really sad to witness- especially when VW was responsible for legendary vehicles like the Beetle, Karmann-Ghia and Microbus among others.
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Chuck 4:10AM (8/08/2006)
A fight between Rabbit and Tiguan? Hmmm sounds interesting. I'd probably go for the Tiguan as I think that a Rabbit has no match with the Tiger and Iguana combined - that is if the Tiguan will live up to its kinda wild/adventurous name.
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