Wolfsburg, Germany - With many of Volkswagen’s customers migrating from cars like the Golf and Jetta to SUVs like the Tiguan - which now happens to be the company’s best-selling vehicle - it goes without saying that eventually there would be demand for performance versions of these high-riders.
Outgrown your Golf R? Well soon you will be able to have a Tiguan R. The new performance flagship was revealed on Wednesday as part of the facelifted Tiguan range, which is set to hit South African shores in early 2021, although the R version will only arrive later next year.
Volkswagen hasn’t released the full technical specifications for the R version as yet, but it has mentioned an output of 235kW for its 2-litre turbopetrol engine. The rest of the engine range is likely to carry over unchanged from the current versions.
As for the visual changes, the Tiguan receives a redesigned front end that resembles other modern high-riding VeeDubs like the T-Cross and T-Roc. The changes are more subtle at the tail end, but it does get new ‘Tiguan’ lettering, which is now positioned on the centre of the tailgate as per the Golf 8. The Tiguan also gets fresh wheel designs for every model grade in the range.
While the cabin design remains largely as before, it has been modified with some of the latest electronics from the Golf 8. This includes a digital multifunction steering wheel with illuminated touch islands and sliders. VW has also added generously sized and illuminated touch sliders for the fan and temperature controls.
What’s more, the Tiguan now comes standard with a configurable digital instrument cluster, and the vehicle also features the latest generation MIB3 infotainment system, with natural voice control, wireless App-Connect and multi-phone pairing that is said to easily switch between devices.
There are some new driver assist gizmos too, including the Travel Assist semi-automated driving feature, which can assist with the acceleration, braking and steering at speeds of up to 209km/h.
Forming part of this system is the active cruise control, which uses cameras and GPS map data to adjust to certain localised things like junctions, traffic circles, speed limit information and town boundary signs.
As always, the South African specifics will be revealed closer to launch. Stay tuned.