Volkswagen’s attempts to balance the needs of its domestic market against those of the giants to the East and West have led to a global lineup that’s akin to one of those holographic images that change depending on your viewpoint. Case in point: the next-generation 2025 Tiguan for North America, which is also the second-generation Tayron, depending on where you live.
Caught for the first time by our intrepid spy photographers, the upcoming model is a seven-seat compact crossover that’s longer than the current European-market Tiguan revealed last year and shorter than the Atlas. VW will will no longer call it the Tiguan Allspace in Europe. Instead, it will borrow a name first used in China to distinguish it from the shorter five-seat vehicle: Tayron.
And if that’s not complicated enough for you, consider that in addition to the new Tayron pictured here, VW will also introduce a long-wheelbase version of the new European market Tiguan in China under the Tiguan L nameplate, as previously disclosed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. VW’s strategy with the SUV mirrors its approach to offering the Passat and the Magotan, two similarly-sized sedans, as well as the ID.7 and ID.7 S electric sedans, from different joint ventures in China.
Read: VW Confirms U.S. 2025 Tiguan Allspace Will Be Based On Chinese Tayron SUV
To distinguish China’s new Tayron and North America’s 2025 Tiguan from the also new 2024 Tiguan and Tiguan L, VW opted for a slightly boxier design with a longer rear overhang and a more upright tailgate design for the former. Although some areas of the 2025 Tiguan / Tayron still feature camouflage in these photos, the third glass panel along the side of the vehicle appears to be longer than the Tiguan L’s, as does the rear three-quarter panel. We anticipate that additional differentiating details will emerge once the grille and tailgate are revealed.
While our spies weren’t able to get a glance of the interior, America’s Tiguan will likely feature a similar cockpit to Europe’s Tiguan, with a large tablet touchscreen and configurable menu bars supporting both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Powertrain options
So far, we know that the 2025 Tiguan / Tayron will be based on the MQB evo platform, but some questions remain. It’s expected that European buyers will be offered a similar lineup of powertrains as the smaller Tiguan, which includes two PHEVs, diesels, and 1.5-liter turbocharged mild-hybrid gasoline engines, but that has not yet been confirmed.
Our intelligence suggests that the North American 2025 Tiguan will feature a 2.0-liter turbocharged, four-cylinder engine equipped with 48-volt hybrid assistance and a mandatory seven-speed dual-clutch transmission in both front-wheel and all-wheel drive variants. They could also be the first North American Tiguans to be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Given their recent popularity, it would seem sensible to offer them.
Pricing and availability
It’s not yet clear when VW will unveil the new 2025 Tiguan and Tayron twins, but a company spokesperson has informed us that we should expect them to go on sale in America as 2025 model year vehicles, implying that we should see a debut within this year. As for pricing, the current Tiguan starts from $28,880, so don’t expect anything less than that, with higher trim levels exceeding the $40,000 mark.
