Photo: Original photo edited by autoevolution
Volkswagen may have just announced a new 1.5-liter TSI engine, but the Tiguan has been designed to work with the "old" 1.4 TSI. Starting this week, the 2016 compact Tiguan SUV is available with three fresh engines in several configurations and on three trim levels. These have the added benefit of lowering the price of the car by a few thousand euros.
The 1.4 TSI comes as standard with BlueMotion Technology, meaning that it features stop-start and brake energy recovery. It's available on all three trim levels (Trendline, Comfortline and Highline). The cheaper unit makes 125 PS and 200 Nm of torque, only being available with a 6-speed manual and front-wheel drive. At 1,490 kilos wet, this may also be the lightest version of the Tiguan.
A more powerful 1.4 TSI is available with 150 PS and 250 Nm of torque. You can have it with DSG or 4Motion all-wheel drive, but not both at the same time. Something else we find strange is that the DSG fitted here is a 6-speed, while TDI engines get a 7-speed. On almost all other MQB-based cars, it's the other way around.
A couple of weeks ago, we found a data file that suggested the basic TDI engine for the Tiguan is not the 1.6 featured on even the largest sedans (Passat and Skoda Superb). Instead, you get a 2.0 TDI de-tuned to 115 PS, similar to what's on the Beetle.
How does this all work? Well, the 115 PS and 150 PS versions of the Tiguan 2.0 TDI have exactly the same CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. You pay €2,400 less for the cheaper model, losing 35 PS and 30 Nm of torque.
Because the thing hasn't yet been built or tested, VW doesn't say what 100 km/h time the basic Tiguan TDI will achieve, but it's going to be slower than 10 seconds, we can tell you that much. We figure the marketing people designed this thing to compete with the Toyota RAV4 that also features a de-tuned 2-liter diesel engine.
A more powerful 1.4 TSI is available with 150 PS and 250 Nm of torque. You can have it with DSG or 4Motion all-wheel drive, but not both at the same time. Something else we find strange is that the DSG fitted here is a 6-speed, while TDI engines get a 7-speed. On almost all other MQB-based cars, it's the other way around.
A couple of weeks ago, we found a data file that suggested the basic TDI engine for the Tiguan is not the 1.6 featured on even the largest sedans (Passat and Skoda Superb). Instead, you get a 2.0 TDI de-tuned to 115 PS, similar to what's on the Beetle.
How does this all work? Well, the 115 PS and 150 PS versions of the Tiguan 2.0 TDI have exactly the same CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. You pay €2,400 less for the cheaper model, losing 35 PS and 30 Nm of torque.
Because the thing hasn't yet been built or tested, VW doesn't say what 100 km/h time the basic Tiguan TDI will achieve, but it's going to be slower than 10 seconds, we can tell you that much. We figure the marketing people designed this thing to compete with the Toyota RAV4 that also features a de-tuned 2-liter diesel engine.
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