New Facelift Tiguan: Now Available As Hybrid & New R Model

The new Tiguan has been revealed and is now, for the first time, available as a hybrid and in sporty R guise.

You may not know it but the VW Tiguan is Europe’s most popular SUV, recently stealing the top spot from the Nissan Qashqai. VW have just revealed their all-new facelifted Tiguan, which features some new exterior styling, new infotainment system and most significantly, new hybrid and R models.

As automakers across the board begin to include ‘electrified’ models, VW has entered their leading SUV into the fray. The Tiguan eHybrid, as they’re calling it, will be able to drive on electric power alone up to speeds of 130 km/h. Said to have the ‘GTE’ badge on it, the new Tiguan hybrid will have a 1.4-litre petrol engine producing 148hp and an electric motor producing up to 136hp. In total, the car is said to produce 242hp although technically that figure should be 284hp if the electric motor is on full blast.

It is uncertain exactly how the models will be arranged and whether there will be a GTE hybrid and a less powerful ‘eHybrid’ model and we’re also wondering if there will be a non-hybrid GTE model.

What we do know is that the Tiguan R will have a 4MOTION four-wheel-drive system with selective wheel torque control. This 4MOTION system is brand new and developed for the Tiguan R, which will also have torque vectoring allowing for variable power to the front and rear wheels and the left and right rear wheels will be able to be independent as well. VW are also being tight-lipped about the Tiguan R, not giving us any info on horsepower figures or performance stats.

Other new elements of the Tiguan include the new Travel Assist system, new infotainment systems, Harman Kardon speaker option, new steering wheel with touch controls, new LED matrix headlights and a redesigned front bumper.

The Travel Assist lets Tiguan owners sit back and relax as the car keeps in-lane, maintains speed, stays a certain distance away from cars in front and also reads speed signs automatically, all available at speeds up to 130mph, great for German Autobahn drivers. This Level 2 autonomy is best for motorway driving and will still require hands to be on the wheel.

The new grille is bigger than it was on the previous Tiguan but the main difference at a glance is the new LED matrix L-shape headlights. The Tiguan R will have the lower grille in gloss black whereas the Tiguan R-Line and other models will feature silver trim in that lower area of the bumper.

We’re excited to find out more on the facelifted Tiguan, especially the horsepower figures and, well, how fast it is! Stay tuned to Motor-Vision to find out the info as we do.

Let us know what you think of the facelift. Do you think the Tiguan R will be a worthy rival for luxury german SUVs or even Range Rover?

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