Volkswagen reveals all-new 2024 Tiguan

If you ask a Volkswagen enthusiast what the best selling VW is in the world, chances are they’ll say Polo, or Golf, or Beetle. At one point the Polo and Golf were best sellers for the VW brand. Historically, yes, the Beetle also accumulated 21.5 million units over the classic’s model run plus the New Bettle from 1997 to 2011 and the Beetle A5 from 2011 to 2019.

But those models are no longer the top performing nameplates: that distinction goes to VW Tiguan.

Now Volkswagen has just taken the wraps off of the all-new Tiguan, starting with the European market and then the U.S. market.

The all-new Tiguan is now on its third generation overall, and has been fully restyled. The front features a pair of flat LED headlights with a horizontal strip that is protected with glass. What is different with the Tiguan is how VW redesigned the route of the air for the radiator; instead of a gaping front opening, they made it smaller and repositioned the intakes. VW says this enhances the drag coefficient of the Tiguan from 0.33 to 0.28 Cd.

The vehicle can ride on wheels that are up to 20” in diameter depending on spec. The rear features an intricate lighting system with a horizontal LED strip to make the Tiguan more striking when it is seen on the road. Volkswagen also decided against putting tailpipe finishers (faux or otherwise) on the back.

The interior has also been fully redesigned and you can tell that Volkswagen really embraced the glass cockpit aesthetic with a digital screen for the driver and a massive 15” tablet-style infotainment unit that sits atop the dashboard.

Volkswagen also didn’t go for a lever shifter mounted where others normally do; instead they went for a column-mounted drive selector. The rotary dial on the console seems to be for the infotainment unit. VW also opted for USB-C ports for the model, though that may change depending on the market.

The Tiguan was announced with a wide range of power units that include a turbo diesel (TDI), a turbo petrol (TSI), turbo petrol with mild hybrid assist (eTSI), and a plug-in hybrid system (eHybrid). Transmissions will be VW’s direct shift gearbox (DSG) for all models.

There are many more features that are truly interesting with the all-new Tiguan such as the advanced safety suite, the new “ergoactive” seats and more, but unfortunately we aren’t sure if this will be offered in the Philippine market. The reason is that VW in the Philippines has switched over to the Chinese model range from SAIC. Before the switch happened, VW Philippines was offering the European-made second generation Tiguan, albeit pricey. When they transitioned to SAIC, they switched to the Chinese-made Tiguan that is of the previous generation, albeit in LWB format.

If SAIC starts production of the new generation Tiguan, then we can surmise that there’s a possibility this model can arrive in the Philippines. For now, VW is preparing the launch of the Tharu crossover in the Philippines.