Volkswagen is quietly moving forward with development of the next-generation Tiguan and is currently testing a pre-production prototype on European soil. We said quietly because the German company used a cleverly camouflaged test car to hide the changes planned for the compact crossover. However, we have a new batch of spy photos that show some progress as the Wolfsburg-based company continues evaluating the model on the road.
Interestingly, Volkswagen appears to be comparing the new Tiguan to the Touareg in R trim. Obviously, no one expected the smaller, cheaper model to match its bigger sibling in performance and quality and chances are, the automaker just wants to make sure the new Tiguan doesn’t get stepped on. Touareg. Or, alternatively, the reason why there’s also a Touareg in some photos could be a lot more prosaic – the engineers and test drivers just needed a second car to power the test prototype.
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The new Tiguan will not follow the modern trend of being a pure electric vehicle. Instead, it will continue to be offered with combustion power in some form for at least this next generation, which may be replaced by a battery-powered model. It’s obviously too early to talk about the Tiguan EV, but we know the next generation Tiguan will use the latest version of the MQB Evo platform. Given the small window of time, before the combustion engine was completely banned in Europe, it’s no surprise that the Wolfsburg-based automaker didn’t want to invest big money into a new architecture for an ICE-powered product.
The company will also follow a similar recipe with its designs, which will be an evolution of the current style. However, the new Tiguan – as you can see from the attached photos – will borrow design inspiration from Volkswagen’s ID family, which is evident, especially at the front. However, with the fascia hiding the combustion factory, there are some obvious differences, such as a larger air opening to provide fresh air to the engine bay. The full-width LED headlights and taillights, in turn, derive directly from the ID.4 and the brand’s other electric families.
