Volkswagen Tiguan 147TSI 2008 review

Some of the toughest roads in Africa are being used to fine-tune Volkswagen's next assault on Japan. The final prototypes of the Tiguan have been tortured through Namibia to ensure the new car has the strength to attack competitors Subaru, Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

Volkswagen is so keen for the world to know of the effort going into the four-wheel-drive Tiguan; that it has even leaked its own 'scoop' pictures from Namibia.

They show a vehicle looking like a rival to the BMW X3, but it is being set against the more affordable Subaru Outback, Toyota RAV4, Honda CRV and Nissan X-Trail. It is the same strategy that has been used to give the Golf a significant lift in Australia, and to position Volkswagen as an affordable European premium brand.

“The target competitive set is very much the tight group of Honda, Toyota, Subaru and all those in that segment. It's not the X3,” says Volkswagen Group Australia spokesman Matthew Wiesner. “The volume is among the premium Japanese. Subaru does an outstanding job, so does Toyota, and even Nissan with the X-Trail.”

The Tiguan is still nearly a year away from Australia and there is no news yet on the final specification of the vehicle. Volkswagen has five turbocharged engines for the Tiguan, from a 103kW diesel to a 147kW petrol. There are even two different front-end designs, with a more extreme treatment to create higher clearance for the Track & Field model, that will be taken out of the suburbs and into the bush. The 4WD system is activated by a single switch, which also triggers a range of off-road safety systems.

Volkswagen is highlighting electronics, including a new-generation radio and navigation system. The suspension is fully independent with front MacPherson struts and a four-link rear axle.

There is electro-mechanical steering and 16- and 17-inch alloy wheels with optional 18-inchers. Volkswagen's Tiguan pictures show a predictable compact 4WD body, though the “secret” test vehicles have front-end camouflage, stick-on tail lamp outlines and fake brand badges.

The top-end Tiguan has a rearview camera.

It is also fitted with a 30Gb hard drive to handle its computer systems, including rear-seat DVD player. There is also an automatic parking system; similar to the one Lexus is about to introduce in Australia on its LS flagship, expected to be fitted to the top-line Tiguan.

Volkswagen Group Australia is still working on its positioning of the Tiguan.

Everything is focused on getting it on to buyers' shopping lists, currently dominated by the Japanese compact four-wheel-drives.

“We've got to be within reach of them. It's a growing market and a growing opportunity. What does that mean in a pricing sense? We're still entrenched in the negotiations. We've got to be at the right money to make it viable,” says Weisner.

Does that mean a starting price closer to the Japanese $30,000 bottom line?

“It's got to be in there somewhere,” he says. “The best example is to look at the Golf against the premium Japanese. We need a similar approach.” Wiesner says VW is still negotiating the timing of local sales, even though it is locked into a world preview in Europe in September.

“We expect to see it at the Frankfurt motor show and, assuming we can tick all the boxes for Australia, we would like to think it will be here in the middle of next year,” he says.

Snapshot

VW Tiguan

Price: to be confirmed

Engine: from 103kW diesel to 147kW petrol due here: mid-2008

Rivals: Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Nissan X-Trail, Subaru Outback