Click above for high-res gallery of the Volkswagen Tiguan
The Volkswagen Tiguan compact CUV is a hot seller elsewhere in the world, with waiting lists to purchase the Honda CRV competitor already filling up. It probably won't be that way in the U.S. since the weak U.S. dollar and high feature content of the Tiguan will jack its base price up to $23,840 for a four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive model with a manual transmission. The base price for an AWD model is higher, much higher, at $29,515, and VW expects 60 percent of U.S. sales to be AWD.
In order to justify the premium price, VW will be positioning the Tiguan as the GTI of CUVs. Much like the VW GTI is a feature laden and higher performing version of the less expensive Rabbit, the Tiguan will be the same to its less expensive competition from Honda, Toyota and Ford. It features the same 200-hp, turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder as the GTI, but the compact CUV segment is already filled with examples offering more power from an assortment of four- and six-cylinder engines. Being a VW, we suspect the Tiguan will handle well, but we're not sure there's much of a market for GTI-like CUVs in the U.S. as gas prices continue to go up and up. VW hopes to sell only 20,000 - 25,000 Tiguans in the U.S. per year, which is certainly doable, but it won't be threatening the CRV for the crown of best-selling CUV.
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Chris @ May 19th 2008 11:34AM
No diesel? No VW for me.
As on other thread, would love an EOS - with a diesel. Can't imagine buying this SUV without either. Diesels are what set VW apart from the also-rans in my book. Keep them from me and I keep my money away from them.
Dausman @ May 19th 2008 12:12PM
Agree...no diesel , no VW Tiguan.
500 @ May 19th 2008 11:35AM
Ok, well, um, the Equinox is the Corvette of SUV's. Yeah! ;-)
JasonD @ May 19th 2008 11:36AM
GTI of CUV's? Does that mean it drops parts as it goes down the road?
Kevin @ May 19th 2008 11:51AM
+1
It's a VW... it doesn't have to be moving to drop parts; sometimes they just fall off even when the car is parked.
Guenther @ May 19th 2008 12:25PM
No, but It does mean that it will lift inside rear wheels when cornering hard.
Pips @ May 19th 2008 11:43AM
GTI of CUV....ok; but VW are all crap, they are as unrealible as the mighty hyundai pony. watch that turbo gonna give you trouble in about a year follow by the tranny and the list goes on. i think i will stick with a CRV or a RAV4........or even a hyundai tucson.
MemphisNET @ May 19th 2008 11:48AM
They will meet those goals, but then the next year will be a sales flop, only to regain itself 2-3years out when the first bunch are up on lease. If it's not killed off, we'll see another spike.
Chris @ May 19th 2008 11:50AM
Economy ratings of 18/25... meaning 20 to 21 most of the time, being a turbo and running it aggressively (GTI style) and you might be edging 16 or less.
and all that for 30K!
iCameiSawiConquered @ May 19th 2008 11:56AM
Yeah right. With VW's plummeting reputation and reliability in the US (which is very well deserved) this vehicle will sell about as well as the Phaeton if they don't bring in the diesel--it's just another milquetoast overpriced crossover. VW's US business is hopeless.
Chase @ May 19th 2008 2:03PM
Oh, plummeting reliability...
Like how the Rabbit has "above average" and a Camary V6 has "below average" reliability according to Consumer Reports? Lets get some facts before our bashing, shall we? VW reliability has skyrocketed since the latest platform was released.
Kevin @ May 19th 2008 2:15PM
Chase:
The Rabbit has only been out since 06. It hasn't been around long enough to assess its reliability or durability with any kind of accuracy. That being said, Everything that came before it was garbage, so there's little reason to expect anything better of the new one. Give it another 4 years and I'm sure it'll be in the shop with a check engine light and a plugged up PCV system, puking oil and peeing coolant all over the place just like this Passat that I just did a quote for-and virtually every other VW we see-is.
Atomicbri @ May 19th 2008 3:00PM
You all sing the praises of Toyota and Honda so much, but explain why my brother got rid of his Honda Civic Coupe, an '06 model that had 5 recalls and 2 power window failures as well as a tranny that went on the blink.... Honda is no better, just a light has been shed over their past reliable cars. Nowadays, I don't think Hondas nor Toyotas are built as well as they once were. I have a Rabbit and it has 22K on the clock, an '07 model and not one issue... not one. My brother's Civic had up to 28K before letting it go to some poor sap that just inherited all his issues he had with it. My friend's mom has an '07 V6 Camry that has been nothing but trouble, 2 recalls, transmission crapped out, and paint is fading on the trunk....with only 6K miles on the clock!!!!! So much for Toyota quality. She is so mad and the dealer has not helped because the service guy told her in secret that they have never had so many bad Toyotas as they have had in the past year and 1/2 and they frankly don't know how to handle it since they have never had to before.
So for all you all dissing VW and saying they are all junk.... look at the others as well.... they have not been any better here as of late.
Chase @ May 19th 2008 4:35PM
As above notes, all cars wear. Especially as cars are getting more and more complex and fine-tuned, its much easier for parts to wear outside of specifications. One valid point against VWs is that their parts are generally more expensive than competitors, but saying they are less reliable than the next brand is simply no longer true.
Avinash machado @ May 19th 2008 11:58AM
The Skoda Roomster badged as a VW would perhaps be a better choice as a compact CUV.
Duh @ May 19th 2008 12:04PM
I know we America's are getting dumber by the minute, but now vw is going to try to justify a high price by telling us there stupid CUV is a GTI?
If you wanted to sell CUVs VW, you wouldn't have named it the iguana or whatever it is, and you would have given us the diesel we all wanted! AND its too expensive! Am I a N? Are we in Englewood???
Go screw VW.
Richard @ May 19th 2008 12:05PM
Soooooooo...
I guess that makes the Forester XT the WRX of CUVs.
Let the head-to-head begin!
Each part dropped reduces the vehicle's tally by one point. I don't expect that the Suby will drop any!
Richard @ May 19th 2008 12:07PM
Soooooooo...
I guess that makes the Forester XT the WRX of CUVs.
Let the head-to-head begin!
Each part dropped reduces the vehicle's tally by one point. I don't expect that the Suby will drop any!
Guenther @ May 19th 2008 12:29PM
I read a head-to-head snow driving comparison between some of the compact SUVs, and the Subaru pretty much drove circles around the VW, and that was the old model Forester.
rav3 @ May 19th 2008 2:40PM
Speed, performance and handling: it isn't even fair to try to compare the RAV4 or C-RV to the Forester XT. And then there's the upgrade possibilities.
Sadly, without MT, I question the sportiness of the new one. Seems to get great reviews, but probably not as fun and funky as the 2007s and earlier...