Volkswagen Tiguan Launched At Rs 27.98 Lakh

Volkswagen India has added an SUV to its lineup after a gap of more than two years - the Volkswagen Tiguan is now on sale in India. Volkswagen claims that the Tiguan is a perfect companion for those seeking adventure - offering all-weather and all-terrain driveability, elegant exterior design, luxurious interior, tough underpinnings and a fun driving experience.

The Volkswagen Tiguan is available in two variants and is priced (ex-showroom Delhi) as follows:

Tiguan 2.0 TDI 4Motion Comfortline: Rs 27.98 lakh

Tiguan 2.0 TDI 4Motion Highline: Rs 31.38 lakh

For now, the only direct competition for the Tiguan is the Hyundai Tucson, the latter has achieved average sales of 210 units per month in the past half a year. Volkswagen hopes to cash in on the demand for SUVs in the Indian market.

Exterior Design

The Tiguan, like all VW products in India, looks understated but stylish. At the front, the highlights include all-LED headlamps, a wide two-slat grille and a two-part bumper with body-coloured elements and a blacked out lower element. The air-dam features a honeycomb grille, there are faux intakes on the bumper and fog lamps with integrated static cornering lamps.

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

From the side, the Tiguan looks like a solid SUV. The Tiguan gets 18-inch alloy wheels (on the Highline variant, Comfortline get 17-inch units), lower body cladding throughout, wheel arch highlights, chrome highlights on the door, a strong line which extends from after the front arches all the way to the top of the taillights, chrome window surrounds and silver roof rails.

At the rear, the Tiguan gets all-LED taillamps which extend onto the boot lid, a roof-mounted spoiler, chrome highlights all along the bumper and dual exhaust tips. There are five colour options - Tungsten Silver, Atlantic Blue, Deep Black, Oryx White and Indium Grey.

Interior Design

Inside, the understated design theme continues. The Tiguan will feel familiar to anyone who has sat in a Volkswagen car before. The Tiguan gets an all-black interior, which can make it feel claustrophobic even though it is very spacious inside. 

The Tiguan is 4486mm long, 1839mm wide, 1672mm tall, has a wheelbase which is 2677mm long and ground clearance of 149mm. In comparison, the Hyundai Tucson is 11mm shorter, 11mm wider, 12mm lower and has a 7mm shorter wheelbase. The Volkswagen Tiguan has a boot space of 615-litres with all the seats up, this can be expanded to 1655-litres with the second-row fully-folded.

A three-spoke Volkswagen-signature steering wheel, 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, analogue-digital instrument cluster, paddle-shifters behind the steering wheel, drive-mode selector on the centre floor console, panoramic sunroof etc. are the highlights here. The infotainment system is smartphone compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, has USB and Aux-In media compatibilty and plays through 8-speakers.

Engine and Transmission

The Volkswagen Tiguan is being offered in a single engine-transmission combination - a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder, turbocharged diesel motor paired to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission with power sent to an intelligent AWD system (4Motion in VW-speak) which is primarily front-wheel-driven but can send power to the rear axle if needed. 

The 2.0 TDI motor develops 143PS of maximum power at 4000rpm and 340Nm of peak torque between 1750-2750rpm. Volkswagen claims the Tiguan has an ARAI-certified fuel efficiency of 17.06kmpl. 

Off-Road Ability

The Volkswagen Tiguan is offered with an intelligent AWD system a standard. The 4Motion system primarily sends power to the front wheels at most times but can automatically send power to the rear wheels if it detects slip. Driving modes are also available - On-Road, Snow and Ice, Off-Road and Off-Road Individual. Selecting a particular driving mode changes the engine, transmission, driver-aids and suspension settings. The off-road mode helps the Tiguan take on difficult terrain, but it is not a proper off-roader. 

Features

Standard equipment on offer include: LED headlamps with LED DRLs, ORVMs with integrated turn signals, body coloured bumpers, leather covers for the seats, steering wheel and gear-shift knob, 3-zone climate control with rear AC vents, panoramic sunroof, electrically adjustable driver seat with lumbar support, memory function for the driver seat and ORVMs, heated front seats, front centre armrest with storage space, heated front windshield and side windows, auto-dimming IRVMs, drawer under the left front seat, foldable seatback tables for the second-row passengers, 40:20:40 split folding rear seats, an electric boot lid etc. 

The top-of-the-line Highline variant of the Tiguan gets the following features over the Comfortline variant: Silver roof rails (instead of black ones on the Comfortline), 18-inch alloy wheels (17-inch units on the CL), illuminated scuff plates, 'Dark Grid' inserts (instead of 'Titanium Silver' inserts on the CL), one-touch-close tailgate and keyless entry with push-button start.

Safety

Safety systems on the Tiguan include a first-in-segment pedestrian protection reactive hood (hood pops forward to reduce impact on pedestrian), 6 airbags (including dual front, dual front side and dual curtain airbags), hill-descent control, ESC (Electronic Stability Control), disc brakes all around, ABS (Anti-lock Braking System), ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation), 3-point seatbelts for all five passengers, headrests for all five passengers, tyre pressure monitor, front and rear parking sensors, front fog lamps with cornering lamps, rear fog lamps and a rain sensor. The Highline variant gets additional features such as reverse parking camera with display on the infotainment screen and 'self'sealing' tyres from Hankook.