America’s new Tiguan has nothing to do with the model that just launched in Europe, but VW will also offer it in Europe for buyers who need seven seats
7 hours ago
- First appearance of the sporty-looking R-Line version of the next US Tiguan
- SUV is based on China’s VW Tayron and not the new Euro Tiguan
- Europe is rumored to be getting the Tayron for Tigaun buyers who need seven seats
When is a Tiguan not a Tiguan? If it’s actually a Tayron. While VW has just unveiled the third generation of the two-row Tiguan SUV in Europe, the company’s North American arm is preparing to pull the wraps off a completely different car that will still carry the Tiguan name but be based on a three-row SUV , which is sold in Asia as Tayron.
Our spy photographers recently filmed testing the American 2025 Tiguan in Sweden, driving on small wheels and looking rather dated in mid-range trim. But now they’ve spotted the sporty R-Line version being put through its paces at the Nürburgring in Germany, and while the R parts haven’t exactly turned it into a style icon, they definitely add to its appeal.
Related: This is America’s 2025 VW Tiguan, aka the new seven-seat Tayron
This isn’t a full R model – it’s not sure VW will make one of these – but the R-Line trim pushes most of the same aesthetic buttons. Most obviously, it has two huge air intakes at either end of the wide opening, each fitted with a thick pair of horizontal slats and connected by what looks like a piece of security fencing that VW engineers glued in and painted black.
Perhaps this grille – which is similar to the style of the new ID.Buzz GTX – makes more sense if we see the Tiguan without the camouflage film that is placed over it on this prototype and disguised as a grille. When it’s taken off for the official launch later this year, we’ll see a narrow channel between the LED lights that includes a light bar, just like on the Mk8 Golf.
More fakes abound at the rear of this test car in the form of a set of sticker-made tailpipes, while even more camouflage attempts are made to disguise the LED taillight clusters and the illuminated bar that connects them. But there’s nothing fake about the sports seats, which we can just see in some of the pictures.
We hear the 2025 American Tiguan will get a 2.0-liter mild-hybrid turbocharged engine and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, as well as a choice of front- and all-wheel drive options. However, perhaps of greater interest given the increasing popularity of full hybrids in the US is a rumor that suggests VW will bring a PHEV option to the continent for the first time.
If the Tigaun-Tayron story sounds like it makes sense now, allow us to add a little confusion back into the mix. Because in Europe too, the same car is expected to be used as a replacement for the old long-wheelbase Tiguan Allspace – the Tiguan that is currently sold in the USA. This is despite the fact that a long-wheelbase version of the new European Tiguan has just been unveiled in China.
