2009 Volkswagen Tiguan Summary

Apparently, the German car manufacturer has come to the handful Tiguan concocted for his companion to the junior size Touareg after giving readers of the popular magazine automobile to choose from among four choices (to be honest, the other three names have never worked).

The Tiguan might be new to the VW range, but the Passat sedan platform-based expansion of vehicle joined the list of cars height of all sizes that offer all-wheel drive for sure-footed in all weather travel.

Volkswagen designers have done themselves proud style Tiguan his body. The nose has a chrome grille (I love that brightwork is back on autos nowadays) and the bulging flanks convey a sense of stability and four-season competence. The Tiguan is much less slab-sided as the largest and most conservative shaped Touareg sport. Size-wise, the Tiguan is a little longer than a Kia Sportage, but nearly nine inches shorter than the new-for-2008 Nissan Rogue. However, the Tiguan's 5.5-foot height bests Rogue per inch.

Equally strong is looking inside, which could easily pass as being from the workshop of BMW design, bearing in mind the high-end type dashboard, seats adapted cleanly and premium carpeting.

Rear passengers will enjoy six inches of fore / aft travel and the 60/40 split reclining seats back. For more cargo space, the rear seat back and the front passenger bucket, can be flat. The space is made even more generous because of the extra-low load floor.

While European buyers can purchase a more robust version of the Tiguan, surcharge on the ground and a 168-horsepower 1.4-liter "Twincharger" (a supercharger operating in combination with a turbocharged) engine, the North American customers will be offered if the "Sport & Style" version set up to use more civilized and sports 200 horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder connected to a six-speed manual or optional six-speed automatic.

The plan is to replace the automatic transmission after the first year with a six-speed direct-shift box (DSG), which works like a manual transmission (but without the need for a clutch pedal) with an automatic mode. The DSG can electronically shift gears in about eight thousandths of a second and to do a more accurate a traditional manual system operated by the driver. The result is improved fuel economy and a vehicle that spends more time in hunting gear for them.

Also coming this way will be a clean-burning 2.0-liter "Bluetec" turbo-diesel option that is similar to what is offered in the Rabbit and Jetta car models.

Exact basic content has not yet been announced, but it is known that three trim levels are offered with the usual air conditioning, cruise control, CD-equipped stereo, power-operated windows, door locks and outside mirrors , 16-inch wheels and six standard airbags.

With VW's 4Motion all-wheel-drive configuration, the list of options include rear-seat side airbags, a premium 300-watt audio package, touch-screen navigation system, rear-view mirrors help park, the size of oversized wheels and a roof.

Although the Tiguan is considered a bit slow off the mark arrival in the compact car category, its many virtues, including a modest base price of $ 22500, will appeal to all those who want to share their biggest ute for a sport more modest and fuel-efficient product which manages to provide a reasonable degree of prestige and performance.

Source: commercialappeal

Volkswagen Tiguan R Line

After last year at the Essen Motor Show Volkswagen revealed its R Line range for Golf, Passat, Touran and Touareg this year the German automaker will reveal the R Line for its newest model, the Tiguan. The R Line allows VW customers to equip their cars with a sporty interior and exterior this being independanly from what engine the car has. More informations will soon be available after the Essen Motor Show will start this Friday.

Source: 4wheelsblog

Volkswagen Tiguan tests

The new Volkswagen Tiguan has been awarded a maximum five star rating for occupant protection by Euro NCAP ahead of its launch in the UK next year. In addition the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) awarded the Tiguan four stars for child safety and two stars for pedestrian protection.

The new Tiguan benefits from an extremely rigid body structure to afford as much protection as possible for the passenger safety cell. Constructed out of high tensile steel the Tiguan features panels designed to deform in the event of the accident to soak up the energy of an impact. Despite the keen focus on the strength of the Tiguan, Volkswagen engineers also reduced the potential mass of the chassis to bring the overall kerb weight of the vehicle to as little as 1,451 kg.

Even before its market introduction on 9th November of this year, the European consumer protection organisation Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) tested the safety of the Tiguan and the results are first class. With this result, the Tiguan continues the good tradition established by the Golf, Touran, Passat and Touareg in the past.

When judging a vehicle, the Euro NCAP evaluates three areas of safety: passenger protection, child safety and pedestrian safety. The Tiguan earned five stars for passenger protection, four stars for child safety and two stars for pedestrian protection to lead the overall evaluation in its class.

The reasons for the high safety potential of the new Tiguan are the body structure with great rigidity (sturdy passenger cell), energy-absorbing deformation zones all around and a protection system fine-tuned to these characteristics. A design with light-weight, profile-intensive construction using form-hardened, highest-strength sheet steel was chosen for the Tiguan. The shell construction of the steel body also offers the occupants optimal protection under crash conditions. But the numerous driver-assistance systems including ABS, ESP with brake assist, TCS, EDL with trailer stabilisation and EBC also contribute to the outstanding safety.

Inside, the carefully matched interplay of body and restraint systems ensures that passenger impact is kept to a minimum in the event of an accident. Three-point retractable seat belts are standard for all seats. Belt force limiters to reduce impact to the chest are integrated into both front seats and the two outer rear seats. Furthermore, electronically activated belt tensioners in front insure the optimal exploitation of the available safety zone. The front airbags in combination with the belt restraint system provide an optimal protection for the driver and front passenger during a frontal collision. The completely newly developed front seats and head restraints are designed especially to provide extensive protection from cervical spine injuries during a rear collision. Child safety is rounded out by standard Isofix anchorage for the rear seats. Standard curtain airbags and side airbags integrated in the seat backrests add to the all-round safety of the Tiguan.

In addition to triggering the protective restraint systems, the belt tensioners and the airbags, the Tiguan’s airbag trigger system communicates with other control units: in the event of an accident, the hazard warning lights are activated, locked doors are unlocked, the interior lights are switched on and the fuel pump is switched off.

But pedestrian protection played a major role in the development of the Tiguan from the very beginning. All the relevant parts of the vehicle’s front were designed with the pedestrian in mind, and the inner sheet metal structure of the bonnet in particular was optimised for pedestrian protection. Thus, for example, a specially designed foam body has been fitted behind the bumper cover. Together with an additional cross member, it should reduce the severity of leg injuries.

Source: Volkswagen

VW Tiguan Review

If you're going to show up late to the party, you'd better at least bring something worth waiting for. A decade or so after Toyota and Honda arrived on the scene with their appealing car-based compact SUVs, Volkswagen has finally arrived with its homemade treat in hand, the 2008 Tiguan. But if you're thinking, "Yeah, the world really needs a re-bodied and lifted Golf," then guess again.

It's true the Tiguan shares a fair chunk of its mechanical bits with the current Golf (er... Rabbit), but while the overall look is unmistakably Volkswagen, nothing about it says "Golf." Instead, it looks every bit like a junior Touareg. It feels like it too; the interior is trademark VW, with high-quality surfaces everywhere. Well, just about everywhere - the center stack is finished in a faux-titanium silver, painted over smooth plastic, that not only doesn't match the genuine metal door handles, but also looks borrowed from any entry-level Asian car. It's the one dark spot in an otherwise brilliant cabin.

The cabin is ideally suited to adventure pursuits. Useful details like an air-conditioned glovebox, overhead storage binnacles, sliding storage bins under the front seats, one-liter bottle holders in the front door pockets, and even aircraft-style picnic trays on the front seatbacks are what we expect from the thoughtful Germans, and the Tiguan delivers them. The optional navigation system is an entirely new unit for Tiguan and features touch-screen inputs and 3D viewpoints; the seriously trail-ready models includes off-road navigation functions that stores up to 500 waypoints.

Thanks to the tall roofline and extended greenhouse that define the Tiguan as a mini-ute instead of a jacked-up hatchback, interior space and versatility are exceptional. The rear hatch is deep if not long, but the 60:40 split rear seats slide forward a full six inches to enlarge the cargo hold. That's not their only trick either; they also offer twenty-three degrees of vertical adjustment. Unlike the Golf, the VW Tiguan perches its driver and passengers high, offering superb visibility in all from any seat. But the best view of all may be the one through the massive panoramic moonroof, four times as large as a standard sunroof.

Volkswagen will offer three distinct option packages (Trend & Fun, Sport & Style, and Track & Field) in Europe with a variety of gas and diesel engines, all of which will feature forced induction of one sort or another. When the Tiguan arrives in the States next spring, it will be powered by the familiar 200-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo that moves the GTI. VW will offer front-wheel-drive versions with a choice of six-speed transmissions, either manual or automatic, but 4Motion all-wheel-drive variants will get only the autobox. We get to skip the cutesy package names, though; instead we'll get a standard-level S model (similar to Trend & Fun) and an upgraded SE (very much like Sport & Style). And we won't get the Track & Field model at all, with its unique front bumper that allows a 28-degree approach angle and one-touch off-road button for optimal maneuverability.

We sampled a European-market Trend & Fun with 4Motion and a manual transmission, powered by the 1.4-liter TSI engine. By pairing a supercharger with a turbocharger, the little sixteen-valver makes the power and torque of a much bigger motor, putting out 150 horses and 200 lb-ft of torque. But like so much else on our Tiguan tester, it won't be coming to our shores, either. Despite the not-for-this-market powertrain combination, we still got a good sense of what this little trucklet is all about.

The solidity of the Tiguan's body structure is apparent within the first few kilometers. It's tight and quiet and has a Teutonic heft that you feel through the seats and steering wheel and brake pedal. The suspension strikes a nice balance between ride and handling for a vehicle like this; it leans far less in corners than its competitors and yet feels confident, even sophisticated, on the rough stuff. In the countryside skirting Budapest, the Tiguan tackled winding forest roads with the poise of a small sports sedan, understeering mildly when the line sharpened, but falling back in step at the mere release of the throttle. On the bumpy brick and stone streets in the heart of this old Eastern Bloc city, the large-diameter tires easily absorbed small bumps.

Thanks to the generous amount of travel offered by its off-road suspension, bigger bumps, like hopping curbs to escape the insanity of local bus drivers (they actually bumped and dented one of our colleagues' cars when he couldn't get out of the dedicated bus lane in time) are barely felt. The electromechanical steering system manages such unexpected shocks, preventing the steering wheel from snapping the driver's wrist in such conditions. The system is well weighted and combines natural loading at road speeds with low effort at parking speeds. The only drawback is a slightly "lost" sensation on-center.

All models get the same four-wheel-disc brakes regardless of engine, with ABS and ESP standard. The 12.3-inch ventilated front discs are ample for both on-road duty and the gruel of trail riding. The rear rotors are solid but equally sufficient at 11.3 inches in diameter. The pedal is free of any ambiguity, offering an accurate report of what's happening at the corners. Real off-roaders may begrudge the electric parking brake, but the absence of a large conventional handbrake between the seats is a welcome change.

The 4Motion system uses a Haldex center clutch integrated into the rear axle assembly to split torque between the front and rear as traction demands. Under normal conditions 90 percent of the torque goes to the front, but nearly all of it can be shifted to the back if the front loses grip. VW Tiguan will easily clear several inches of snow and has seamless all-weather traction - which is, after all, as much as most mini-ute drivers demand anyway. And though we won't get the true off-road package, VW's baby-Touraeg is more capable than it needs to be for most buyers in this segment.

VW has not yet announced pricing, but it will certainly play a major role in the Tiguan's success in North America. In Europe, its base price is 26,700 Euros, which positions it against other premium soft-roaders like Land Rover's Freelander/LR2 and BMW's X3. Here, it will have to play with the likes of the CR-V and RAV4. Volkswagen will surely draw a premium for it, but by how much remains unsure.

Whatever its final price, the Tiguan promises to offer something unique in an established segment. Perhaps because of Volkswagen's ability to appeal to younger, cooler types, the Tiguan may find the kind of hipster buyers that marketing wonks fantasize about in their brochures and commercials. Never mind the small utility party is well under way; VW seems to understand that sometimes it's better to be fashionably late than promptly dull.

Source: motivemag

2007 Frankfurt Motor Show Cars: 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan

As Volkswagen news before said, Volkswagen had disclosed their 2009 new model Volkswagen Tiguan. The 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan will be launched at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show 2007 (62th IAA International Motor Show ), and will go on sale in Europe in early 2009.

The 2009 model year for Volkswagen Tiguan is 173.2 inches long, 72.8 inches wide, and stands at 66.5 inches. It has the modified Golf/Rabbit as its platform and some specifications and attributes of the Touran MPV (which was sold in Europe) have been incorporated into this new compact off-roader. Three turbocharged gas engines and two turbodiesels are included in its global lineup of engines.

The likely engine specification that U.S would have is a 200 hp, 2.0L turbo four with direct injection. There have been plans for a Jetta line having clean diesels and Volkswagen had also shown a Tiguan concept with clean diesel power during the 2006 L.A Auto Show but there is still no news on whether the upcoming 140 hp TDI engine will suit into the Tiguan.

Volkswagen introduces another car technology in the form of the Offroad Mode to the 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan. This is a button found on the dashboard that will activate a raft of alternative safety features. However, this technology will only be available on the Track & Field car, and this will switch on the hill descent control and hill climb assist. It wil also improve the throttle response to allow more accurate delivery of torque, and boost braking on loose surfaces.

Source: horisly

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