According to a new report, Volkswagen will re-introduce the 5-seater Tiguan in India with a facelift and a new petrol heart, but more importantly, it could be locally assembled this time here in India.
Volkswagen brought in the Tigaun AllSpace in India as a replacement for the standard 5-seater Tiguan earlier this year. With the standard Tiguan gone, VW’s 2.0L diesel engine which was the sole engine option on the Tiguan was also discontinued. However, according to a new report, the 5-seater Volkswagen Tiguan could make a comeback in India very soon. VW plans to re-introduce the smaller Tiguan later this year but given the current coronavirus crisis, the timeline could be variable. The new VW Tiguan will be a brand new car and very different from both the AllSpace and the outgoing Tiguan.
Volkswagen will introduce a facelift for the Tiguan globally this year and it is this new model that will be re-launched in India. It looks significantly different from the AllSpace and the outgoing Tiguan. The face has been completely revised with a much more minimalistic design language. The front grille is much more flatter and seamlessly blends with the headlamp units. Think of the design approach to be much similar to the VW Golf 8. The headlamps are even expected to have three-dimensional elements. The bumpers below have been completely revised as well and features new ‘X’ shaped cuts and creases.
Volkswagen plans to locally assemble the new Tiguan to make it much more affordable than before by saving on the import taxes. Apart from the design, a major change also lies under the hood. Having discontinued diesel engines, the new Volkswagen Tiguan will be powered by a 150hp, 1.5L TSI turbo-petrol engine that also powers the Skoda Karoq. The engine will come mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox or DSG as Volkswagen likes to call it. The car will also have paddle shifters and features like hill descent control and electronic parking brake.
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Volkswagen could also introduce a 48V mild-hybrid variant of the Tiguan at a later stage in an attempt to increase efficiency to make up for the loss of a diesel engine. On the inside, the new Tiguan could see the refreshed dashboard design that is now featured on the Tiguan AllSpace. New features will include the likes of a larger touchscreen infotainment system and fully-digital instrument cluster as well. It could also be Volkswagen’s first car in India to feature some connected car technology.
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Another major change we expect on the new Tiguan is that it will lose out on its all-wheel drive system and will come only as a front-wheel drive SUV. It is likely to be assembled at Volkswagen’s Chakan plant near Pune and with expensive bits like an all-wheel drive system and a diesel engine not in the mix anymore, it will be much more affordable than before. Plus, with local assembly, you could be looking at a price tag of Rs 23-25 lakh. The Tiguan was VW’s global best seller for 2019, overtaking even the hugely popular Golf. With a new heart, fresh looks and interiors and a much cheaper price tag, the 5-seater Volkswagen Tiguan facelift could find a fresh new appeal in India.
