Anticipated to become a reality early in 2024, the all-new third generation Volkswagen Tiguan has again been sighted undergoing testing in North America.
A market where the current Tiguan Allspace is sold without the latter prefix, the prototype appears almost production ready as prior spy images showed it with significant amounts of disguise still draped across the body.
Striking looks
Despite being devoid of any Tiguan badges or any Volkswagen scripting, sans Wolfsburg’s corporate logos on the grille and bootlid, the near-ready prototype adopts a much more aggressive front-end seemingly inspired by the Lamando L sedan sold in China, and the model at one touted as its direct replacement, the ID.4.
Appearing longer when viewed from than the current model, the images, captured at a petrol station in the North American state of Colorado by Australia’s carsales.com.au, suggests Volkswagen won’t be doing much to differentiate the new model’s rear facia from the current, though this could change as the year progresses.
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Importance of Tiguan
More important though is the fact that the Tiguan is expected to join the Golf 8, due for a facelift next year, as the final all-new Volkswagen model to derive motivation from an internal combustion engine.
This comes after Volkswagen Group Brand Passenger Vehicle CEO, Thomas Schäfer, confirmed over the weekend that the Golf 9, slated for unveiling in 2028, will be powered solely by an electric powertrain.
Adamant that Volkswagen will retain the Golf and GTI monikers, former Volkswagen South Africa Managing Director Schäfer also announced that the Tiguan name won’t be going away either given that it currently rates as one of the brand’s best-selling models globally.
“It’s clear that we will not be giving up iconic names like Golf, Tiguan and GTI, but will be transferring them to the electric world,” Germany’s Automobilwoche quoted him as saying.
Final encore for TSI and TDI
At present, the European market Tiguan comes powered by a selection by TSI and TDI engines ranging from 1.4-litres, to 2.0-litres, with the most powerful being the 235kW/420Nm Tiguan R that debuted in South Africa towards the end of last year.
Like the Golf, a Tiguan also features mild-hybrid assistance in the form of the eHybrid models, as well as a plug-in hybrid. While still to be confirmed outright, chances are that some of these will be carried over into the new model.
More details in due course
As it stands, Volkswagen has, unsurprisingly, not said much about the new Tiguan, although this is likely to change as testing nears completion.
Given the Tiguan also being one of Volkswagen South Africa’s key models, expect it to continue on local soil once the official unveiling in Europe takes place next year.
