Dating back to 2007, the Volkswagen Tiguan has been a true dynamic benchmark for other, newer compact SUVs that managed to out-grow it in the past couple of years.
When the Tiguan came out, its rivals weren’t particularly bigger or overall roomier inside. For example, back then, a Toyota RAV4 was a lot more compact than it is today. And as the non-premium compact SUV segment grew in size, the Tiguan sort of got left behind.
Luckily, the Tiguan was still better than the competition at a lot of other things, such as interior build quality or handling, which matters a lot.
Last year, VW still sold 150,641 Tiguans, making it the best selling model in its class – or 2nd best if you count the Qashqai as a compact SUV, which is debatable.
By comparison, models such as the KIA Sportage couldn’t break 100,000 sales, while the Toyota RAV4’s numbers were three times less impressive than the Tiguan’s.
What all of this means is that it’s OK to have a lot of expectations when it comes to this new generation model. And based on the production-body spy shots, this rendering does look pretty accurate – and that’s a good thing because it doesn’t look bad at all, despite its simplistic design.
Dare I say that the design is somewhat Volvo-ish? It’s simple, yet elegant and modern, which coupled with a great interior (I assume) and of course the VW badge (which people tend to favor), should turn this car into yet another automotive success story.
Also, notice the Cross Coupe GTE influences? Odds are though, the final product will have a few more horizontal design elements – which is something we’ll ultimately find out in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show, so stay tuned!
Renderings courtesy of Omniauto
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