2026 VW Tiguan | POV Night Drive

2026 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R Line Turbo POV night drive, highway drive, launch control, 0-60 acceleration, exhaust sound, review.

I think Volkswagen finally got some courage and decided to give their stylists a little bit of freedom. The new Tiguan no longer looks like an NPC vehicle inside and out, and definitely has more of that “premium German” than before.

VW also added more technology and better standard equipment without significantly raising the price - the new model starts at around $30,000 and goes up to around $45,000 for the tested SEL Premium R Line. Which is what we typically see in this segment.

But the new design and technology aren’t everything, so let’s talk about technical changes VW made to the new, 3rd generation Tiguan.
First of all, it sits on the MQB Evo platform, which underpins a vast majority of modern VW products. It’s a strut front, multilink in the back, combined with passive, non-adaptive dampers. The new Tiguan also lost some weight, which is surprising for a new car as usually we see a weight gain. It weights 170 lbs less, so that should slightly improve driving dynamics and fuel economy.

While the new model is slightly longer than the predecessor, and by slightly, I mean an inch, we no longer have a third row of seats available. But, to be honest, it makes sense, you don’t really need a third row of seats in a compact SUV.

Some of you, VW enthusiasts may know that the Tiguan that we get here is not exactly the same what Europe gets - our North American version is a little bit bigger, closer to the Tayron, which actually has a third row of seats and is longer, but, back to our Tiguan.

We have 2 powertrain options, basically a 2 different versions of a 2-liter turbo 4-cylinder engine. Base 201 hp variant, or a more powerful 268 hp version in the Turbo model, that we have today.

It’s a EA888 unit, just like in the GTI or Golf R, but unlike those two, we have a 8-speed conventional automatic, instead of a 7-speed DSG, which makes sense because it’s smoother and cheaper to maintain.

By default, the car is FWD, with the exception of the Turbo model, which is AWD is an if you want to opt for AWD in non-Turbo trims, it’s a $1,500 option.

Other markets also get diesels and a plugin-hybrid, but that’s not the case in North America, although I have a feeling that a plugin-hybrid will come here in the near future.

Other SUVs to consider are a Toyota RAV4, Honda CR V, Mazda CX 5, Mazda CX 50, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Audi Q3, Audi Q5, Subaru Forester, VW Taos, VW Atlas, BMW X1.

00:00 - Exterior
00:30 - Interior (Front Seats)
03:15 - Interior (Backseat)
03:55 - Trunk
04:10 - Exterior
05:26 - Driving
08:16 - Highway
10:56 - Ambient Lighting
13:37 - Driving
15:25 - Atmospheres
16:35 - Acceleration
16:45 - Driving

Specs:
Engine: 2.0L turbocharged inline-4 | 268 hp | 258 lb-ft of torque
Transmission: 8-speed automatic | AWD
Color: Monterey Blue Pearl
Price as tested: $45,015
#vw #volkswagen #tiguan #vwtiguan #volkswagentiguan #pov #review
#cars

Follow me on Instagram and TikTok @tom.swiatek