Volkswagen says the 2025 U.S. model will maintain the Tiguan name so as not to confuse buyers, but it won’t be simply a stretched version of the new European-market Tiguan that the company revealed this week. The Euro model switches to the latest MQB evo platform that’s also used on cars like the Mk8 Golf, Audi A3 and Skoda Superb.
To satisfy the American demand for a larger SUV than the European one, the second-generation Tiguan has been offered with two different wheelbase lengths in recent years. In Europe, both versions were available: the five-seat-only Tiguan and the longer Tiguan Allspace with three rows of seats. In North America, the SWB model was dropped in favor of the stretched Allspace, giving buyers a choice of two or three rows of seats.
While Volkswagen in Europe has not yet clarified whether European buyers will also be offered this new Tayron-based SUV as a replacement for its seven-seat Tiguan Allspace, that would tally with a report from Autocar saying as much and citing a VW source.
“We will extend our existing SUV line-up on a global basis with the second-generation Tayron, which is already under development and will go on sale by the middle of the decade,” Karl-Heinz Hell, head of engineering for Volkswagen’s mid-to-full-size models, told the publication earlier this summer.
The current Tayron is available in both coupe and conventional SUV forms, and with a wheelbase of 2,731 mm (107.5 inches) it is roughly the same size as the current Allspace. But the next-generation car - which, like the Tiguan, will use the latest MQB evo platform - will reportedly be bigger.
Rumors say the U.S. versions will feature a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 48-volt hybrid support and a mandatory seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. They could also be the first North American Tiguans offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
The new European-spec Tiguan PHEVs, which combine a 1.5-liter gasoline engine, electric motor and 19.7 kWh battery for up to 272 hp, are capable of traveling up to 100 km (62 miles) on battery power in WLTP testing.
Source: Carscoops