Super TestCar reviews - Volkswagen - Tiguan - Diesel 5-dr wagon rangeVolkswagen modelsOverviewVolkswagen enters a bold new compact SUV world with its diesel-only Tiguan crossover29 May 2008 THE Volkswagen Tiguan is a late entrant to the compact SUV market, but it arrives with its distinctly European flavour in a segment dominated by the Japanese marques. Tiguan has perhaps the most sophisticated features and options in the category, a competitive price and one of the very few in the segment to offer a diesel engine. While volume is limited by supply for the first calendar year it is on sale - and only the diesel version is offered until the petrol models become available in October - the Tiguan is a credible player in this highly competitive segment, and one that Volkswagen believes will become its second-best selling model here after Golf. Model release date: 1 May 2008 to 1 September 2011 All car reviewsAlfa Romeo Abarth Alpine Alpina Audi Aston Martin BMW Bentley Chevrolet Chery Citroen Chrysler Dodge Cupra Ferrari DS Ford Fiat FPV Foton GWM Great Wall Holden Haval HSV Honda Hyundai Hummer Isuzu Infiniti Jeep Jaguar Lamborghini Kia LDV Land Rover Lotus Lexus Maserati Mahindra McLaren Mazda Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-AMG Mini MG Nissan Mitsubishi Peugeot Opel Proton Porsche Renault Ram Rover Rolls-Royce Skoda Saab SsangYong Smart Suzuki Subaru Toyota Tesla Volvo Volkswagen Previous modelGiven its very late arrival to the compact SUV segment, who would have thought that Volkswagen would have built such a vehicle well before anyone had even thought of the term. While VW was not the only manufacturer to experiment with a light-duty, high-clearance all-wheel drives - Toyota did with the Tercel and Subaru made its name with such vehicles from the 1970s on - the Volkswagen experiment was the 1989 Golf Country, built on the then-current A2 Golf platform. Using the viscous coupling on-demand all-wheel drive system designed in co-operation with Steyr-Puch used in other Volkswagen products under the name syncro, the Country also features underbody protection plates, a suspension lift (to 180mm), bullbar, rear swing-away spare wheel carrier and a 77kW 1.8-litre eight-valve petrol engine (with a 1.6-litre turbo-diesel option). Only around 6500 Countrys were built - all in left-hand drive - with the majority sold in Europe and a handful making to Japan. |
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