New Volkswagen Tiguan hits the UK, starts from £34k

• All-new exterior and interior design
• Petrol, diesel, mild and plug-in hybrid powertrains
• Available to order now from £34k

VW has announced that the new Volkswagen Tiguan mid-size SUV is now available to order in the UK, following its reveal earlier last year. Prices start from £34,060, climbing to over £40k for the current top-spec model. The third-generation Tiguan has been fully redesigned for 2024, offering buyers a choice between petrol, diesel and hybrid models, although the manual gearbox has been dropped in favour of the DSG automatic.

The makeover touches everything from the external design, to the improved interior tech and practicality. The changes should appeal to buyers cross-shopping with the Hyundai Tucson, Peugeot 3008, Nissan Qashqai and perhaps even premium offerings like the BMW X1 and Mercedes GLC.

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While the new look is still fairly conservative, it adopts Volkswagen’s latest design language, gaining a front light bar reminiscent of the brand’s ID. models, and a sleeker, more tapered design.

Despite its sleeker new look, the upcoming Tiguan gets a larger boot than before for improved practicality, with all models getting a 37-litre boot capacity increase for a total of 652 litres.

What are the interior and trim details for the new Volkswagen Tiguan?

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The interior sees a more dramatic redesign, with a modern new look and Volkswagen’s latest infotainment system. It’s available with either a 12.9-inch or 15-inch display, and Volkswagen has listened to some of the criticisms of its recent systems by including a backlit volume slider and temperature controls, in an effort to improve their usability. There’s even a physical knob on the centre console to toggle between different interior lighting, chassis and powertrain options.

Drivers can also configure up to five on-screen shortcuts at the top of the display to switch more quickly and safely between functions with a single press. In addition to this, a 10.25-inch digital gauge display sits ahead of the driver with various configurable views.

From launch, the Tiguan will be available in four trim levels, starting from the standard base Tiguan, moving up through Life, Elegance, and top-spec R-Line. Standard equipment includes climate control, a reversing camera, 17-inch alloys and LED lights. Life adds three-zone climate control, park assist tech, automatic headlights and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. 

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Elegance gets more luxury-focused features including extra sound deadening, a powered tailgate, a more advanced autonomous parking system, as well as larger 18-inch wheels. R-Line gets sportier styling, including larger 19-inch wheels and a bodykit.

What engine options are available for the new Tiguan?

This third generation of the Tiguan mid-size SUV is set to be the last to incorporate just a combustion engine; however, with the push to electrify our roads by 2030, the Tiguan gets a mixture of petrol, diesel, or mild and plug-in hybrid powertrains.

There are two plug-in hybrid eHybrid options on offer this time around, both using a 1.5-litre petrol engine paired with an electric motor and 20kWh battery. The first of these options has a total system output of 201bhp, while the second packs a more punchy 268bhp. Both versions are capable of an electric range of up to 62 miles to a charge and accept 50kW rapid charging tech, meaning a 10 to 80% charge will take roughly 25 minutes.

Lower down in the range will be two 1.5-litre turbocharged 48-volt mild-hybrid assisted engine options with either 128bhp or 148bhp. These also get technology allowing them to coast with the engine off to save fuel. 

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There’s a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with VW’s 4MOTION four-wheel drive system in two outputs: 201bhp or 261bhp. Diesel fans will also be catered for, with two versions of the 2.0-litre diesel engine, with either 148bhp and front-wheel drive, or 190bhp and four-wheel drive. All versions of the new Tiguan will now come with an automatic gearbox.

How much does the new Tiguan cost and when can I order one?

The entry-level Tiguan with the 128bhp petrol starts from £34,060, roughly on par with the outgoing model. Stepping up to Life trim with the same engine costs £35,905 – buyers will have to hand over an extra £800 for the more powerful 148bhp engine. The Tiguan Elegance with the 148bhp engine costs £39,275, and the top-spec R-Line model costs another £405 on top of that. 

Diesel models are more expensive, starting at £37,905 in Life trim, increasing to £39,275 for Elegance, and £40,880 for R-Line.

Volkswagen is yet to announce pricing for the plug-in hybrid or 4MOTION models, but we expect them to command a premium over their regular petrol or diesel counterparts.

Volkswagen Tiguan prototype review – Jordan Katsianis

We’ve driven a camouflaged prototype of the upcoming Volkswagen Tiguan at the brand’s test facility near Wolfsburg. The first thing that struck us was the increased sense of interior space in the new Tiguan, thanks to not only a longer wheelbase, but also a more streamlined dashboard on the inside.

Like much of the rest of Volkswagen’s current lineup, the interior is very digital-heavy, with most physical controls replaced with touchscreen commands. Happily, though, it’s much improved over the glitchy and frustrating systems used on the most recent Golf and ID.3 models. Volkswagen has assured us that the hardware and software should be much better than before on the final production model.

All Tiguans get a 10.25-inch display in front of the driver, with a choice of two touchscreen infotainment systems: a 12.3-inch or 15-inch display. We’re told the new software is the same as that used in the upcoming Volkswagen ID.7, which has been designed following feedback from customers. 

The controversial touch-sensitive sliders are still present, but this time they’re backlit and work with static icons on the screen for heating and ventilation, making them easier to use, and there’s even a volume knob which can also be used to toggle driver modes and adjust ambient lighting settings.

We drove both a diesel and mild-hybrid petrol model, and they both had notable improvements to refinement than the outgoing Tiguan. The transmission felt sharper, too. On the move, while the old Tiguan felt very car-like on its Golf-based platform, it now feels much larger than before. The steering is a little heavier, but its power delivery feels much smoother than before, giving it a big-car feel.

This late prototype shows signs that the production version of the new Tiguan will improve on the old car’s formula – it rides well, is good to drive and should be more efficient and refined, while also offering the latest of Volkswagen’s suite of technology upgrades that feels sleeker and more polished than before.

Not quite ready to go fully electric? Check out our list of the top 10 best plug-in hybrid cars...