The VW Tiguan R Is The 316bhp Addition To A Growing Family
VW’s R family is growing very quickly indeed. Not so long ago there was the T-Roc R, the outgoing Golf R, and, well, that was it. Since then, VW has created a Touareg R, an Arteon R, a soon-to-be-revealed Golf 8 R, and now this Tiguan R.
It was something of a side note while VW revealed the wider facelifted Tiguan range this week, but we do know most of the key details. For instance, it uses a 2.0-litre EA888 inline-four turbo engine in the same state of tune as the Arteon R’s powerplant, yielding 316bhp and 320lb ft of torque.
That isn’t the only thing that gives the Tiguan R an edge over the updated Cupra Ateca - the crossover also gets the go-faster Arteon’s ‘R-Performance Torque Vectoring’ system. This allows for a full variation of the torque split between the axles and the rear wheels, meaning both cars should - in theory - be more entertaining on the limit than previous R models.
As seen in these images, the 316bhp Tiguan has been given the usual range of R accoutrements, including beefier front and rear bumpers, lower side skirts, the option of Lapiz Blue paintwork, and quad tailpipes. An Akrapovic exhaust will be on the optional, and we suspect the 21-inch wheels - which swamp the R’s uprated brakes - will be extras too.
As with the rest of the updated Tiguan range, the R features a new infotainment system and touch-sensitive climate control interface similar to those seen in the refreshed Arteon. The redesigned steering wheel features touch sliders and buttons too.
If you’d prefer a less shouty but still brisk Tiguan, there’s the eHybrid to consider. It shares a plug-in powertrain with the Golf GTE, teaming a 1.4-litre inline-four with a 13.1kWh battery and an electric motor. It has a total system power of 242bhp and an electric-only range of up to 30 miles.
It’ll be the larger volume Tiguans VW will roll out first, however, with the more niche hybrid and R versions arriving later this year. Expect the latter to cost somewhere in the region of £45,000.
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
I have so much things to say about these “performance” SUVs and I can assure you that none of them are positive.
This will sell well in the UK i think, Tiguans are everywhere, where i live, admittedly i live less than a mile from VW dealership but still, they are everywhere so if they don’t go to silly on price it will sell well.
Well, I’m not a fan of SUVs, but if people insist on buying them over cars, then it’s cool that VW is making an effort to at least make them as fun as possible