VW Uncloaks Tiguan Cute Ute

Less than a month ago, Volkswagen gave us a tease of its new compact sportutility vehicle during final testing in the Namibian desert. Despite being masked, inside and out, it still gave us a good idea of what the general shape of the vehicle and its interior would be like. Ramping up for the car’s premiere this September, Volkswagen has removed all layers of camouflage giving us the first real look at the Tiguan.

In a few simple words, the Tiguan looks like a junior-sized version of the Touareg luxury off-roader. The final production car doesn’t stray far from the orange concept, though some changes were made such as a slightly more detailed lower valance and smaller wheel arches. Unlike most new Volkswagens, Rabbit and New Beetle aside, the Tiguan skips out on the chrome appliqué, instead using a body colored version. As for the rest of the nose, it’s pretty much as we saw on the concept car, with a wide version of the trademark VW grille and elongated “teardrop” headlamps.

The interior also looks good, composed of many familiar Volkswagen components, particularly the European-market Golf Plus. The new position of the stereo and vents should make for slightly easier access, as will the window and mirror controls, which are mounted closer to the edge of the door sills. Though the Tiguan should have the same high quality feel as a Passat or Eos, we did notice it has “natural” look leather seats with contrast stitching, which gives the interior a better and slightly more off-road SUV ambiance.

North American-bound Tiguans will initially be powered by the 2.0-liter FSI turbo engine, as featured on the GTI, GLI, Passat and Eos.Making 200 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque, it is capable of driving all four wheels via a Haldex-based 4Motion all-wheel drive system. The gasoline engine will eventually be followed by a clean diesel version, powered by the same direct-injection turbodiesel as found in the forthcoming Jetta TDI. This was also hinted at by the initial and very bright Tiguan concept car, which featured a Bluetec TDI engine. Power ratings on the new diesel engine have yet to be finalized, but is said to be torque rich and smooth by those who have tested it in other applications.

Those lucky enough to travel to Frankfurt this September will be amongst the first to get a closer look at the vehicle in person, as that’s where it’s making its world debut. The Tiguan is expected to arrive in North America, with an expected launch date of next May. That leaves plenty of time between now and then for Volkswagen to fill in the details, equipment and specifications for our cars.