The third-generation Tiguan won’t officially break cover until later this fall but Volkswagen’s hugely successful crossover has been spied without any camo whatsoever. A five-second clip shows the third-generation model on the streets of Ljubljana during a photo shoot in Slovenia’’s capital. You’ll also notice what appears to be a sinister-looking Mercedes GLE camera car with an all-black finish so that it doesn’t reflect light.
Since the car is featured in a future ad, logic tells us we’re looking at a range-topping trim level, so it’s possibly the R-Line variant. The video quality isn’t that great, but nevertheless, the 2024 Tiguan appears to adopt evolutionary styling as VW isn’t willing to take any risks with its popular compact crossover. With a little over 88,000 units delivered in the first half of 2023, the Tiguan was the eighth best-selling model in Europe, according to market researcher Dataforce cited by Automotive News Europe. Deliveries rose by 46.1 percent compared to the first six months of 2022. As a matter of fact, the Tiguan managed to outsell the once all-conquering Golf.
The predictable exterior updates are unlikely to alienate typical Tiguan buyers who want a no-nonsense C-segment crossover. This new generation will be bigger as VW has already announced it’ll be 32 millimeters (1.25 inches) longer and 5 mm (0.2 in) taller while the width will remain the same, at 1939 mm (76.3 in). As for the wheelbase, it too will be carried over, at 2681 mm (105.5 in). Cargo capacity is up by 33 liters (1.16 cubic feet) to 648 liters (almost 23 cu ft), plus additional headroom for the driver and front passenger along with extra legroom for people sitting in the back.
Although we can’t see it from the inside, the Tiguan featured here has a five-seat layout since VW will no longer sell the three-row Allspace derivative in Europe. Instead, it’ll bring the second-generation Tayron to the Old Continent, complete with seven seats. However, this larger crossover will still be called Tiguan in the United States where a coupe-like variant is planned with two-row seating.
When it debuts in the coming months, the 2024 Tiguan will have a 12.9-inch touchscreen on the cheaper versions and a bigger 15-inch infotainment on the high-end trims. VW has already announced it’ll install a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a next-generation head-up display, and an OLED screen for the 4Motion Active Control. The latter will also provide access to the volume and other settings, such as ambient lighting.
Riding on the MQB Evo platform, the next-gen Tiguan will get cleaner gasoline and diesel engines along with plug-in hybrid versions varying in output from 201 to 268 horsepower. The PHEVs will do as much as 75 miles (120 kilometers) on electric power and are going to support both AC and DC charging.
Coming in front- and all-wheel-drive configurations, the new Tiguan is likely the last generation VW will sell in Europe with combustion engines. The peeps from Wolfsburg have pledged to go purely electric in Europe by 2033, so the company is likely to extend the future model’s life cycle beyond the usual 6-7 years.
