Apart from the obvious, meaning that the Tiguan’s appearance (in and out) is severely toned down compared to the 2006 L.A. Show concept, VW’s press release was surprisingly detailed for a prototype version that’ll be officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Show in September with sales commencing in February 2008. Beginning with the running gear, the Golf based Tiguan will be offered solely with turbocharged engines: the TSIs (gasoline) delivering 150, 170 and 200 Hp and the TDIs (diesel) developing 140 and 170 Hp.
Equipped with the same 4WD system (4Motion) that we find in various VW models, the Tiguan will be offered in two body variants differing primarily in their front ends: The “Trend & Fun” and “Sport & Style” versions are designed for a maximum entry angle of 18 degrees in front while the “Track & Field” Tiguan is tuned for offroad duty for max entry angles of up to 28 degrees with its front end. However, undoubtedly, the highlight of the Tiguan is the standard Offroad Mode system in the “Track & Field” version that activates a bunch of assistance systems like the hill descent control and electronic differential locks by the touch of a switch -think of it as a simplified version of Land Rover’s lauded Terrain Response System.
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