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Volkswagen will add another "T" to its bow early this year.
Not to be confused with the Touran people-mover or the full-size Touareg off-roader, the new Tiguan is a compact crossover wagon - a five-seater designed around off-roader styling cues, but with a road-car chassis.
For New Zealand, the Tiguan will initially be offered with Volkswagen's latest generation 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine, with 103kW/320Nm, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
Drive will be transmitted through Volkswagen's 4Motion all-wheel-drive system, and a diesel particulate filter (DPF) will also come as standard equipment.
While the Tiguan will be primarily an on-road family vehicle, Volkswagen has made some effort towards establishing off-road credibility with two different frontal styling packages.
One has an 18-degree approach angle, and the second features a 28-degree approach angle meaning it can climb steeper grades.
The off-road-type bumper will be offered as part of a Track and Field package, which also includes additional underbody protection, compass, electronic off-road functional system and storage trays in a roof console.
In recent European NCAP crash-testing, the Tiguan earned five stars for passenger protection, four stars for child safety and two stars for pedestrian protection to lead the overall scores in its class.
Pricing is yet to be confirmed, but expect the Tiguan to sit around the $50,000 mark.
This puts it between the top level Japanese crossovers, such as the Mitsubishi Outlander and the Honda CR-V, yet below higher-end European offerings like the BMW X3 and Land Rover's Freelander.
