After years of dominance from the premium brands, more mainstream and affordable performance SUVs are coming to Australia – with the all-new Volkswagen Tiguan R the next to arrive.
Fresh from the arrival of the Hyundai Kona N, Volkswagen will take things to the next level in 2022 with three new high-performance high-riders, with the T-Roc R and Touareg R arriving by the end of year. The Tiguan R is the first and will land in dealerships in April, alongside the new Golf R hatch and wagon.
Priced from $69,990 plus on-road costs, it will become the new flagship of the Tiguan range, sitting above the already popular Tiguan 162TSI R-Line. But while that model manages only 162kW (as the name implies) the Tiguan R’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine will make the same 235kW of power and 420Nm of torque as the Golf R wagon.
It will be paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and feature the same all-wheel-drive system as the Golf R duo. This means it will be equipped with the ‘R-Performance with Torque Vectoring’ set-up, which is the same system found in the upcoming Audi RS3.
With a pair of multi-disc clutches on each rear driveshaft, it allows for drive to be sent to each rear wheel independently, which not only improves cornering performance but also allows for drifting.
Or at least it does in the Golf R, with Volkswagen opting not to offer the ‘Drift Mode’ setting in the more family friendly Tiguan R. But while it will miss out on the drift setting, it will have selectable drive modes for Comfort, Sport and Race.
Volkswagen says it has received more than 6000 expressions of interest in the new line-up for R models due in 2022, and approximately one-third of those have been about the Tiguan R.
Given that the majority of its rivals will be from premium brands, including the Audi SQ5 TDI and BMW X3 M40i, Volkswagen is confident it will prove popular even at its borderline-prestige price.
“There’s no other real competitors in that size or space,” said Glenn Reid, Volkswagen Australia product manager for passenger vehicles.
The Tiguan R will come with much of the same equipment as the Golf R pair, but gets larger 21-inch ‘Estoril’ design alloy wheels (the Golfs roll on 19-inch alloys) and has Comfort Sport seats trimmed in Nappa leather.
Also included as standard are Matrix LED headlights, Dynamic Light Assist, Park Assist, Digital Cockpit Pro, wireless App-Connect and a premium Harman Kardon audio system.
Asked about the potential crossover between the Tiguan R and the new Golf R offerings, Mr Reid’s colleague, Todd Ford, who looks after the hatch and wagon, said as long as it means more sales, neither cares which one is bought.
“I’m not going to be upset or cranky if Glenn does sell more Tiguans than Golfs,” Mr Ford said. “As we’ve said, the interest, the strength and the history of the Golf R, I’m very confident.
“But I’m just very excited with what the Tiguan offers, sharing the same technically, as in performance, but the sheer size and appeal of the SUV.”
The T-Roc R is due to arrive in August, before the Touareg R plug-in hybrid is scheduled for November. Volkswagen will release their pricing and specification details closer to their arrival.
Keyword: 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan R price and features: New cut-price Audi SQ5, BMW X3 M40i and Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 rival to arrive in new year with power punch