Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace snares $40,490 start

VOLKSWAGEN Group Australia (VGA) has priced its seven-seat Tiguan Allspace from $40,490 plus on-road costs, with the five-tier lineup commanding a $3000 to $4000 premium over equivalent existing five-seat Tiguan grades.

Speaking at an event in Sydney this week, VGA general manager of marketing Ben Wilks said that while the Tiguan Allspace would be a volume addition to the established five-seater, it would also more closely tackle the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento large SUVs rather than mid-sizers with a third-row installed.

“I think it’s something that the ‘people’s car’ brand has really had as a gap in its range, a seven-people-capable SUV, so we’re really excited to be bringing that in and closing that gap,” Mr Wilks explained.

“It’s in the segment including Santa Fe and Sorento as two examples of seven-seat vehicles. (And) we reckon there is a pretty convincing value story to get into the new Allspace.”

Asked whether Volkswagen considered the Tiguan Allspace a step up from the Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander and Nissan X-Trail that play in the sub-$40K seven-seat genre, Mr Wilks replied: “Particularly in terms of space, and equipment as well.”

He also believed that the Tiguan Allspace would sit as distinct to its Skoda Kodiaq cousin, adding: “I think that what we have with the Tiguan is quite a long and established nameplate, so people who have for a long time enjoyed the Tiguan and looked for somewhere else to go, I think they’re the people we’re first going to be speaking to before we even start conquesting (from other models).”

Given it would be Volkswagen’s first foray into this segment, Mr Wilks believed it was important to launch with a broad spread of engines, although he admitted that the sales split between five- and seven-seat Tiguan was more difficult to judge than what the engine preference for the Allspace could be.

“You see a range of engines there, and we’ve replicated the range from the normal wheelbase, and we’ll have to see where people go,” he continued.

“There’s been a strong preference in the normal wheelbase towards the engines at the top-end, particularly the 162TSI, and I think we’ll probably see that replicated to some extent in the Allspace. But we wanted to have the opportunity and flexibility to see where customers will be. We haven’t had an offer in this seven-seat space before, so I think it was important to go in with that availability.

“In terms of the ongoing mix it’s a bit of a wait and see I think, to see how much people value the seven-seat capacity. It’s not just about seven seats but the actual flexibility of the bigger boot size. So I think we have to see where that lands, but we see a market for both of them (Tiguan five-seat and Tiguan Allspace).”

VGA product manager Jeff Shafer added that, with a 730-litre boot in five-seat format tallying 115L more than the five-seater, the Tiguan Allspace would also appeal to families who only needed two rows of seating teamed with a big boot.

“The typical buyer for this product is a family who has two kids, maybe eight and 10 years old, so they might be using it as a five-seater when it’s just the family and you have heaps of cargo space for that family holiday,” he said.

“But through the week if you want to go to the movies, both children can invite their friends and you have that third-row to facilitate that, or the school or soccer drop-off.”

Starting with the 110kW/250Nm 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, six-speed automatic direct-shift gearbox (DSG) and front-wheel-drive $40,490 110TSI Comfortline, extra equipment is added for its $3000 charge over the five seater,.

This includes an electric tailgate, third-row airbags, 18-inch alloy wheels (versus 17s), keyless auto-entry with push-button start, and LED headlights, plus the autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-keep assistance, front and rear parking sensors with auto reverse-park assistance, satellite navigation, three-zone climate control and auto on/off headlights and wipers already standard.

The $45,490 132TSI Comfortline and $46,990 110TDI Comfortline share specification for $3500 over their equivalent five seaters, utilising a 132kW/320Nm 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol and 110kW/340Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder respectively, both mated to a seven-speed DSG and the car-maker’s 4MOTION all-wheel drive system.

Both the $52,990 162TSI Highline, with a 162kW/350Nm 2.0-litre turbo petrol, and $54,490 140TDI Highline, with 140kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder, add $4000 over the five seaters along with a higher equipment level.

Exclusives to the Mexican-made Allspace include 19-inch alloys (versus 18s), adaptive suspension, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alert, a 9.2-inch touchscreen (up from 8.0in) and heated rear seats. This adds to leather trim and electrically adjustable and heated front seats already standard.

A trio of options packages on Comfortline model grades include a $1600 Driver Assistance Package (with adaptive cruise control, auto-adaptive high-beam and blind-spot/rear cross-traffic alerts), $4000 Luxury Package (with panoramic sunroof, leather trim with electrically adjustable driver’s seat and heated front seats); plus a $3200 Sound and Vision Package (with Active Info Display, 360-degree camera and Dynaudio 400-watt sound system).

The latter is available as a $3000 option on Highline, while panoramic sunroof becomes a standalone $2000 option and a $3900 R-Line Package adds 20-inch alloys, variable-ratio steering, sports bodykit, black rear spoiler, aluminium interior trim and R-badged cabin items.

The Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace will go on sale in July.

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs