The four pre-production Tiguans at our disposal were all European spec and as such were notably different from the U.S.-spec vehicle. All had VW's new 1.4-liter Twincharger four-cylinder-an Eaton supercharger and a Borg-Warner turbocharger combine for 150 horsepower, 177 pound-feet of torque, and roughly 30 mpg combined fuel economy-a six-speed manual, 16-inch wheels with 215/65 Pirelli P6 tires, and a new Haldex 4 all-wheel-drive system, the last utilizing a wet multi-plate clutch and electronic, rather than mechanical, sensors to detect slippage and engage all-wheel drive.

Two of the cars also came with a "Track & Field" package, which adds a different front fascia to accommodate a 28-degree approach angle, and an Offroad Mode that engages ABS, the differential locks, the throttle, and both hill descent and climb features. In total, five ECUs manage this off-road system.

American customers will not get the Twincharger nor the "Track & Field" package (at least not initially), and will instead be treated to "Sport & Style" Tiguans (replete with an 18-degree approach angle and no Offroad Mode) fitted with VW's robust 2.0-liter, 200-horsepower turbo four, a six-speed manual or Aisin automatic (the latter will be replaced by a six-speed DSG a year or so after debut), electromechanical power steering, an electronic parking brake, and all-wheel drive (front-drive Tiguans may be added later).

Volkswagen will complete the development phase of the new Tiguan with a final extreme test in Namibia. During the final acceptance drive on the African continent, the electronic components and chassis of the new SUV are the primary focus of testing. Considering the electronics, a technical highlight on board the Tiguan is of special interest for the testers: the completely new generation radio and navigation system. This was developed in close cooperation with the most important local Volkswagen operations in Europe, Asia and America.

Completely new electronic systems also simplify offroad driving in the Tiguan. The particularly agile and dynamic SUV uses an innovative network of assistance systems with the name of “Offroad Mode”. Just on touch of a switch activates a whole armada of safety features, supporting the driver in a multitude of situations.

THE TIGUAN VERSIONS

Five motors. All of the engine and body versions of the Tiguan have to “swallow” the dust of Namibia in this final test. Volkswagen will be offering the SUV – and this is unique so far – exclusively with charged engines. The TSIs (gasoline) output 110 kW / 150 PS, 125 kW / 170 and 147 kW / 200 PS; and the TDIs (diesel) develop 103 kW / 140 PS and 125 kW / 170 PS.

Two front ends. The two body variants of the Tiguan differ primarily in their front ends. The “Trend & Fun” and “Sport & Style” versions are designed for a maximum entry angle of 18 degrees in front. The “Track & Field” Tiguan that is tuned even more for offroad duty can assume entry angles of up to 28 degrees with its front end.

During the testing program in Africa, as however already mentioned, the emphasis is less on engines and entry angles than on final checking of the electronics and chassis.

THE TIGUAN CHASSIS

Long before the first prototype was built, it had been decided that the new Tiguan should be an extremely actively driving and safe SUV. The Tiguan now has to demonstrate in Africa that it achieves neutral to lightly understeering handling and an unusually low roll angle. Furthermore, the road holes along the edge of the Namib Desert should once more test how well the highly dynamic driving characteristics and excellent ride comfort interact under the hardest conditions. Because the demands on the car were clearly stated in the specification: to set benchmarks in dynamics, comfort and active safety. These goals were foremost in chassis development:

• Agile driving behavior
• Very good vibration behavior and ride comfort
• Low roll angle with harmonic roll dynamics
• High driving dynamic stability
• Good Offroad handling

Front axle. The demands are achieved with a chassis layout that sets standards in this class: at the front end, the Tiguan has a McPherson axle specially optimized for the SUV with lower A-arm steering linkage and the wheels hung from damper struts. The axle is located with a one-piece aluminum sub frame.

Rear axle. The four-link rear axle has also been adapted to best suit the permanent four-wheel drive system 4MOTION. The four-link rear axle of the Tiguan is specially intended for this combination. The extremely robust, but at the same time dynamically laid out axle geometry has already proved itself in the Passat 4MOTION. However, to cope with the stresses of offroad driving, the Tiguan has an entirely newly developed and weight-optimized high-strength steel sub frame instead of the equivalent aluminum component.

A new generation of steering. A technological highlight in the indirect chassis area is the completely new generation of electromechanical power steering. A decisive advantage of the system: Despite the very precise steering feeling, even in offroad operation no jolts whatsoever are transmitted to the steering wheel. Primarily responsible for this is a newly constructed steering gear.

Wheels and tires. Providing contact to the road or trail on the base versions of the Tiguan are 16-inch wheels with 215/65 R16 tires. The “Sport & Style” Tiguan also has as standard 17-inch alloy wheels and 235/55 R17 tires. 18-inch wheels with tires in 235/50 R18 format are available as special equipment.

TIGUAN ELECTRONICS

Also in the area of electronics, the Tiguan was designed to set new standards in the compact SUV class.

The RNS 510. A glance at the top device – a radio navigation system with the designation RNS 510, emphasizes this impressively. The RNS 510 is controlled using fixed menu buttons, two knobs and a touch screen for the numerous information, entertainment and system functions. In this case a rear-view camera eases the view behind, a standard fitting.

The hardware of the RNS 510 includes a 6.5” wide VGA color display with 800 X 480 pixels and outstanding brilliance. A power PC processor with 400 MHz and its own graphic processor enable fast computing. The navigation and entertainment data are saved on a 30 GB hard disk

Offroad navigation. A further innovation of the RNS 510 is a specially developed offroad navigation system. This mode makes it possible to record up to 500 route points during a journey, even in non-digitized areas. This allows the driver to find his or her way back from offroad adventures into any desert or steppe. In edit mode, the driver can modify the route as desired.

Park Assist. The further countless high-end technologies on board the Tiguan include the world’s first park steering assistant to be installed in a SUV. This is called Park Assist and enables automatic steering into a parking space.

Offroad Mode. The core capability of a SUV – offroad function – will also be dealt with and perfected electronically in the new Tiguan. And this through just one switch, which activates the Offroad Mode. This will be offered exclusively on the Tiguan “Track & Field” and will improve offroad vehicle handling significantly. The initial idea behind the “Offroad Mode” was that all key offroad support functions should be activated by a central user control. Specifically, one switch activates the “hill descent assistant” (for optimal control on slopes), “adaptation of driver’s pedal characteristic” (for finer gradations of torque), “EDS adaptation” (electronic differential locks are activated at the slightest slip), “ABS adaptation” (improved braking action on loose road materials), “hill climb assist” (support when climbing and protection of the clutch) and – in conjunction with automatic transmission – “gear preselect” (including optimal engine braking action). These numerous functions involve up to five ECUs that manage the systems.

The pushbutton itself is connected to the engine controller. From there, the information “Offroad Mode active” is communicated to other ECUs via the vehicle’s CAN bus. For safety reasons, the function has to be reactivated after each ignition cycle.

martin_krpan je napisal/-a:Predlagam, da se naslov teme spremeni v Tiguan, saj se bo novinec tako imenoval.

Jorgi je napisal/-a:Tudi jaz navijam za preimenovanje naslova teme, kajti vedno preberem namesto VW Beduin VW Beden in je že vse skupaj precej moteče :P

CERES je napisal/-a:Sam meni ta ideja da naj bi imel 1,4 tsi s 150 in 170 KM prav nič všeč. Okey čeprav naj bi bil biser mašine gor in dol sam mislim da bi morala biti kubatura malo večja. No un z 200 konj bo pravi. Sam tale tsi a niso nekje novice da naj bi ukinili 1,4 tsi s 170 KM? Disel s 140 in 170 KM to se že bolje sliši ampak kakega V6 pa bi tudi lahko ponudili?

Cena naj bi začela malo pod 6 miljoni (25.000 E). To je solidna cena če primerjaš konkurenco (x3) sam mislim da se bo tudi to nekje opazilo...

Lp

Mojster Miha je napisal/-a:

CERES je napisal/-a:Sam meni ta ideja da naj bi imel 1,4 tsi s 150 in 170 KM prav nič všeč. Okey čeprav naj bi bil biser mašine gor in dol sam mislim da bi morala biti kubatura malo večja. No un z 200 konj bo pravi. Sam tale tsi a niso nekje novice da naj bi ukinili 1,4 tsi s 170 KM? Disel s 140 in 170 KM to se že bolje sliši ampak kakega V6 pa bi tudi lahko ponudili?

Cena naj bi začela malo pod 6 miljoni (25.000 E). To je solidna cena če primerjaš konkurenco (x3) sam mislim da se bo tudi to nekje opazilo...

Lp

V GOLF-u si ta agregat (1,4 - 170) spada med zmogljivejše - pospešek, prožnost, navor, končna hitrost - z ugodno nizko porabo (glede na zmogljivosti)

Če računamo s težo X3 lahko pričakujemo prirastek teže okrog pol tone - gre pričakovat, da bo motor, kljub prirastku teže, za osnovne potrebe več kot dovolj zmogljiv.

Glede 1,4 TSI : V6 - se strinjam, da bi bolj "pasal" - osebno, če imam izbiro takšnih zmogljivosti kot jih ima GOLF 1,4 TSI veliko raje izbrem BMW ali ALFO s 2,5 l "šestakom" - predvsem zvok je boljši tudi ostale lastnosti mi bolj "dišijo".
Pa čeprav ima GOLF pri enakih zmogljivostih eno veliko prednost - občutno manjšo porabo, pa tudi glede registracije je ugodnejši (1,4 l - 125 kW). Pač - odlična izbira za nekoga, ki ima rad GT zmogljivosti s porabo, ki je blizu TDI-ja.

Sicer pa: kmalu bo na voljo tudi 1,4 l - 120 (90 kW), ki bo v kombinaciji z dobro porcijo navora ( 200 Nm) ter novim 7 - stopenjskim DSG-jem "pometal" s konkurenco - vendar najverjetneje v GOLF-u.


LP

Cyrus je napisal/-a:Eh v golfu bo težko pometal, upam pa, da bo tut v čem manjšem pristal.

CERES je napisal/-a:

Mojster Miha je napisal/-a:

CERES je napisal/-a:Sam meni ta ideja da naj bi imel 1,4 tsi s 150 in 170 KM prav nič všeč. Okey čeprav naj bi bil biser mašine gor in dol sam mislim da bi morala biti kubatura malo večja. No un z 200 konj bo pravi. Sam tale tsi a niso nekje novice da naj bi ukinili 1,4 tsi s 170 KM? Disel s 140 in 170 KM to se že bolje sliši ampak kakega V6 pa bi tudi lahko ponudili?

Cena naj bi začela malo pod 6 miljoni (25.000 E). To je solidna cena če primerjaš konkurenco (x3) sam mislim da se bo tudi to nekje opazilo...

Lp

V GOLF-u si ta agregat (1,4 - 170) spada med zmogljivejše - pospešek, prožnost, navor, končna hitrost - z ugodno nizko porabo (glede na zmogljivosti)

Če računamo s težo X3 lahko pričakujemo prirastek teže okrog pol tone - gre pričakovat, da bo motor, kljub prirastku teže, za osnovne potrebe več kot dovolj zmogljiv.

Glede 1,4 TSI : V6 - se strinjam, da bi bolj "pasal" - osebno, če imam izbiro takšnih zmogljivosti kot jih ima GOLF 1,4 TSI veliko raje izbrem BMW ali ALFO s 2,5 l "šestakom" - predvsem zvok je boljši tudi ostale lastnosti mi bolj "dišijo".
Pa čeprav ima GOLF pri enakih zmogljivostih eno veliko prednost - občutno manjšo porabo, pa tudi glede registracije je ugodnejši (1,4 l - 125 kW). Pač - odlična izbira za nekoga, ki ima rad GT zmogljivosti s porabo, ki je blizu TDI-ja.

Sicer pa: kmalu bo na voljo tudi 1,4 l - 120 (90 kW), ki bo v kombinaciji z dobro porcijo navora ( 200 Nm) ter novim 7 - stopenjskim DSG-jem "pometal" s konkurenco - vendar najverjetneje v GOLF-u.


LP

1,4 tsi 170 (dsg) ima pri golfu V pri 0-100km 7,7 s končna pa 218. Morm reči lepe številke samo ob prirastu teže pri tiguan-u pa mislim da se bo vsaj pol tone kar poznalo. No ta različica bo primerna za normalno življenje kot praviš in se popolnoma strinjam. Sam mislim da se bo pospešek povečal vsaj od 1 s do 2 s.

Zanima pa recimo zakaj potem ne bi mogli ponuditi 3.0 tdi ali vsaj 2.7 tdi (audi jih uporablja). Mislim da ne bi bila napačna poteza. Sam kot vemo ima vw drugačno poslanstvo od audi-ja. Sam bojim se da vw ne želi hoditi v zelje prihajočemu q3. Tko da čas bo pokazal svoje.

Lp

Jorgi je napisal/-a:V Berlinu je že naprodaj. V živo deluje precej...no, okorno. Škatlasto.