2017 Volkswagen Tiguan AWD Review

2017 Volkswagen Tiguan AWD Review - Driving brand-new cars before they formally go on sale usually requires asterisks. Option packages and also prices commonly aren't wrapped up, EPA fuel-economy numbers could not have actually been launched. The disclaimers for our very first experience with the 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan, on the other hand, read like those for reality court TELEVISION, where every little thing's real, except the names, places, as well as occasions have been altered. To that factor, the prototype European-spec Tiguan we drove on frozen roads and also lakes in northern Sweden is essentially the same as the American-spec design coming stateside in summertime 2017, just the wheelbase, engine, transmission, and also suspension will be various.


Americans will certainly be offered their Tiguans with just the longer of two wheelbases, although our drive was limited to the much shorter European version with 4MOTION four-wheel drive. Its seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and turbocharged four-cylinder engine (and also flexible electronic dampers) also will certainly remain on the Continent; our Tiguan will certainly utilize a more recent variation of Volkswagen's EA888 turbo four resolving an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission. (Our spec panel for this tale mirrors the variation we anticipate to see in the States.) To reword Obi-Wan Kenobi, this is not the Tiguan you're seeking. Still, our drive supplied a helpful sneak peek.

2017 Volkswagen Tiguan AWD Review

A Larger, Much more Economical, Taller Golf
Before transforming a wheel when traveling of Arvidsjaur, it's apparent Volkswagen worked hard to take care of the worn out Tiguan's foibles, namely cramped indoor measurements and also a segment-topping price. Those demerits set you back Tiguan sales to ever-improving section stalwarts such as the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Toyota RAV4. The brand-new one is larger in every means, as well as we anticipate it to be competitive price-wise, starting around $23,000.

Aiding to reduce costs is VW's modular MQB car architecture, which likewise rests under the Golf and also Audi's A3. Enhanced product packaging manages generous indoor area front and back also in the short-wheelbase version, which, compared to the outgoing Tiguan, has three additional inches between the wheels as well as a body 1.2 inches wider and 2.4 inches longer. (The United States version will certainly have an added 4.3 inches or two of wheelbase as well as, normally, will be much longer.) The returns are satisfying; Volkswagen says rear-seat travelers have an additional 1.1 inches of knee space, however that's underselling points greatly. A nicely positioned lower pillow, lots of headroom and also legroom, a USB port and also a 12-volt power outlet, and generously sized back windows make the back seat an airy, positive area. A third-row seat alternative will additionally be offered for Americans.



Functional touches in the enlarged payload hold include easy-to-reach launch bars for folding down the back seats, a multi-position cargo flooring, and also 12-volt as well as home power outlets. The motorist and also front passenger, as well, have accessibility to a USB port, a 12-volt plug, as well as much more usefully designed bins and stowage cubbies than before. The control panel complies with Volkswagen's understated, angular layout ethos, as well as everything is put together from premium rubbers as well as plastics. It isn't yet understood whether the European Tiguan's 12.3-inch TFT gauge-cluster display screen will be sold to Americans, but we most definitely will not be offered that version's head-up display screen. It's possible we will certainly get a huge, 9.2-inch center-stack infotainment display with gesture control, although it likely will be restricted to the most costly trims.

2017 Volkswagen Tiguan AWD Review

What We Will certainly See
From behind the wheel, the Tiguan's fairly low cowl and also charitable glass area supply commanding exposure in any type of direction. The MQB bones bestow a stiff-feeling framework, and also there's little noise breach from the suspension and also tires, also over firm packed-snow roads. VW declares the new Tiguan is about 110 extra pounds lighter, as well as it drives this way. And yet our managing perceptions are stunted by the non-finalized (yet light as well as exact) variable-ratio electrical power steering, the comfortable flexible suspension we will not obtain, as well as having driven not one mile on paved roadways.


2017 Volkswagen Tiguan AWD Most of our drive was instead spent checking out the distinctions of the Tiguan's 4MOTION all-wheel drive, which will pertain to America. (Front-wheel drive will certainly be conventional.) The Haldex system is similar to the one in the 292-hp Golf R, with a clutch pack involving the back axle when needed. The torque split front-to-rear isn't really dealt with, and as much as One Hundred Percent of engine torque can be sent to the front or rear axles as required. New is a 4MOTION Energetic Control handle on the center console that cycles through 4 drive methods (snow, paved roadways, off-road ventures, and driver-programmed individual off-road setups), changing the habits of not just the 4MOTION drivetrain, yet likewise the transmission, guiding, throttle mapping, stability-control system, and a cornucopia of acronym-intensive driver-assist features.



Frozen Time
A groomed icy lake offered the excellent possibility to compare the differences amongst drive methods, if not the full envelope of their capabilities. Snow mode held greater equipments while likewise stopping individual wheels to stabilize the vehicle or distribute engine torque fore-and-aft or side-to-side to sustain the driver's designated course on unsafe contours. It dutifully maintained the Tiguan on training course also at higher-than-recommended rates, although genuinely ham-fisted driving triggered stability control to scrub rate with vitality.

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