What's the news?
This is a more practical, larger version of the Volkswagen Tiguan midsized SUV, called the Tiguan Allspace. It's designed to bridge the gap between the standard machine and the larger Touareg in Volkswagen's SUV line-up, and it had its European debut in Geneva this week.
Exterior
If you stare at the pictures of the Tiguan Allspace for long enough, you'll notice that, although it has the familiar front- and rear-end design of the regular Tiguan (mildly adapted around the bonnet compared to the existing car), it's also... how can we put this kindly? Ah, yes; 'slightly less compact' than it was before. That's because the Allspace is 215mm longer overall, with a wheelbase that has grown by 109mm - so not all of its physical gains are in the midriff. Volkswagen also says the Tiguan Allspace has larger rear doors than the short-wheelbase... sorry, 'normal wheelbase' Tiguan, which is what Volkswagen wants to call it.
Interior
Obviously, here we now have the option of seven seats (more of a 5+2 configuration, but we'll go with seven), something you don't get on the standard Tiguan - yet there's the rub, seven seats are optional, not standard-fit. If you decide to go with an Allspace and you only regularly occupy five seats, you get the bonus of a boot bigger to the tune of 145 litres, meaning 760 litres of cargo capacity with the second-row seats in place. And this stretched Volkswagen can swallow up to 1,920 litres (+245 litres on the regular Tiguan's ultimate figure) of stuff if there are just two people on-board. Opt to have that third row of chairs and the outright capacities diminish slightly: you're looking at 700 litres and 1,775 litres, respectively. Additionally, with all seven seats in situ, there's 230 litres of stowage still available out back.
Mechanicals
Six four-cylinder engines are offered in the Tiguan Allspace, these being a selection of TSI petrol and TDI diesel units. Power ranges from 150- up to 240hp on the BiTurbo 2.0-litre TDI range-topper, with both a seven-speed DSG auto and 4Motion all-wheel drive offered either optionally or as standard-fit across the line-up, depending on the model. Choose from a 1.4-litre TSI with Active Cylinder Technology and 150hp for the petrol opener, climbing through 180- and 220hp variants of the 2.0-litre TSI, while the 2.0-litre TDI with one turbocharger has either 150- or 190hp. Volkswagen quotes 6.0 litres/100km (47.1mpg) and 135g/km CO2 for the 1.4 TSI manual, and 6.9 litres/100km (40.9mpg) with 157g/km CO2 for the Tiguan Allspace TDI 4Motion 150hp, to give an idea on how frugal the range is.
Anything else?
Volkswagen has also introduced Discover Pro infotainment with Gesture Control, this latter tech a first for the Tiguan, and additional standard equipment on various trim lines - this doesn't just apply to the Allspace, but to the regular Tiguan as well, though we've not yet got a full picture of the Irish specifications. Europe-wide sales of the Tiguan Allspace commence in May, ahead of a predicted Irish market launch in October.