Volkswagen Tiguan 2008 News

6149 vehicles have been recalled including the Mazda RX-8 and new Volkswagen Tiguan.

US owners of VW cars with diesel engines that can cheat emissions tests have already been given $500, but local owners still have no compensation.

Three weeks after the global scandal broke, Australian owners of VW diesel cars finally know if their car is affected or not.

This second cousin to a Golf is a delight to drive, belying the fact that it is a soft-roader.

It would have been so easy for the Blue Oval team to drop the bundle as they worked towards producing a new car for a segment that was shrinking daily before their eyes.

It's time to reveal the second half of the carsguide Car of the Year field - and this time it's all closer to home.The second group of five finalists includes a pair of Aussie icons and three of the perennial favourites out of Japan.These COTY contenders have been through the same gruelling three-day test program as the opening five contenders - the Audi A4, BMW 135i Sport, Fiat 500, Jaguar XF diesel and VW Tiguan.With the full final field of 10 revealed, the votes are in and a winner will be announced next Friday.For the stories, video and photos visit Carsguide Car of the Year 2009. 

Its latest bonny baby, the compact four-wheel-drive GLK, is heading our way.But when the pre-shrunk version of the M-Class gets here, probably late in 2010, it will be missing one vital ingredient - all-wheel drive.Benz has confirmed the Daimler-developed GLK compact will initially be sold here as a rear-wheel drive.An all-wheel-drive version won't hit our market until the second-generation model, now under development, is released. It is also tipped to feature a hybrid diesel/electric power train.By then Benz will have sorted out an oversight in the GLK's design.The right-hand-drive versions can't be fitted with all-wheel traction because there is no room for the system without making costly engineering changes.The GLK wasn't on the radar for Australia because it was designed for left-hand-drive markets.That left Benz without a contender in the booming Australian SUV market to fight BMW's X3, Audi's Q5, VW's Tiguan and the Volvo XC60.Now it appears Benz has had a change of heart after reviewing a business case study put up by Britain and Australia. When it does arrive, there will be a choice of 3.5-litre V6 petrol or a 2.2-litre diesel with 400Nm of torque on tap.Meanwhile, Australians are being denied one of the more potent models in the Benz coupe line-up - the 4Matic version of the stunning C-Class CL500.It's the first time the all-wheel-drive system has been fitted to a luxury coupe and would have fitted the Australian market well, but it is also not made in right-hand drive.The lightweight 4Matic system splits drive between front and rear wheels through a planetary gear centre differential, which also has a twin-plate clutch to allow some variance in torque between axles. 

The Tiguan represents a vital component in Volkswagen’s ever-increasing passenger car line-up, and its debut in Australia has been a long and frustrating process for the German carmaker.

There was also the traditional cast of LA stars, including Jennifer Love Hewitt, Tiger Woods and Molly Sims smiling in front of their sponsor's cars.Some of the car stars included the Giugiaro Mustang, Volkswagen Tiguan and Aston Martin V8 Vantage convertible that we featured last week.More show specials have since been unveiled, ranging from wild to wilder.One of the most eye-catching cars is the Hyundai Hellion, which could point to some of the company's future design themes.It is an aggressive three-door crossover hatch aimed at young American drivers. Its exterior skin is wrapped around a rib-cage system that forms the car's safety structure, and the wheel arches have been flared.The slit headlights flow back into the front wheel arches, and the flat tail-lights protrude from the rear windows.Hyundai designers have also made a feature of a turbo air scoop on the bonnet to emphasise the car's performance.A 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel sits under the bonnet, connected to a six-speed automatic transmission that feeds drive to all four wheels.The Hellion sits on 20-inch alloy wheels that are Teflon coated to repel mud, road grime and brake dust.Honda was not about to be upstaged and rolled out two very different concepts.The Remix is a sleek coupe that Honda says is just a design concept.If it was to eventually make it into production, the Remix could become a new-age CRX.Finished with polished aluminium, the low-slung two-door explores the possibility of a lightweight sportscar.Honda says the two-seater four-cylinder Remix has a wrap-around canopy that gives the interior a jet-like feel, but the rear hatch section provides a practical load space.The other Honda concept rolled out at Los Angeles indicates the Japanese carmaker is considering following the lead of Toyota and introducing a box-style small car aimed at young people.The Step Bus concept, which follows the cubic shape of Toyota's Scion XB, is described by Honda as the ultimate urban utility vehicle."The Step Bus seeks to create the largest possible interior with the smallest possible exterior," Honda US vice-president John Mendel says.Fitted with a small, mid-mounted engine, the Step Box is rear-drive and has seating for five people.

EUROPEAN magazine readers have named Volkswagen's new all-wheel-drive the Tiguan.More than 350,000 readers of car magazines owned by the Autobild group across 10 countries picked the odd-sounding name from a list of equally strange candidates including Nanuk, Namib, Rockton and Samun.Volkswagen gave the magazines the five potential names and waited for readers to choose.The Tiguan is a medium-sized AWD wagon that sits under the bigger off-roader with an equally unusual name, the Touareg.Touareg is named after a North African tribe. Tiguan shares its name with a small town in the Zamboanga del Sur region of the Philippines.Volkswagen management board chairman Dr Wolfgang Bernhard says having readers choose the Tiguan name has been a good move."This unique event is demonstrative of how Volkswagen is opening up. We made a clear appeal to the market -- potential buyers could help choose the name Tiguan. The positive reaction shows that this is the right approach."The Tiguan will be built off the same base as the Golf. VW will start producing it in 2008 at its Wolfsburg plant in Germany.VW released a concept sketch of the new model, which was first shown as the Concept A at the Geneva Motor Show this February.That concept car ran a boosted 1.4-litre petrol engine, though larger petrol and diesel engines are expected to be offered.Volkswagen Australia is looking at whether it will import the Tiguan here."We look at every single car," VW Australia managing director Jutta Dierks says."We see a lot of shifts in the market. One is from petrol to diesel. Another shift is from big SUVs (all-terrain wagons) to small SUVs and from large cars to small cars."If that is happening in the market-place, then you definitely want to be there with a car like this."