The new Volkswagen Tiguan looks like a perfectly cromulent competitor to the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. Sure, there’s no hybrid available in North America, but with an upscale interior, standard turbo power, and tons of toys, I could see it being a tempting alternative to the status quo. But what if it was faster?
It looks like someone at Volkswagen had that exact same thought, because for the 2026 model year, the Tiguan gains a model called Turbo. Hang on, aren’t all Tiguans turbocharged? Absolutely, but this one’s two-liter inline-four is force-fed a bit more aggressively than most.
See, the standard Tiguan pumps out 201 horsepower and 207 lb.-ft. of torque, respectable figures for a base powertrain in a mainstream compact crossover. However, there’s always room for more juice, so Volkswagen decided to give its EA888 evo5 engine some tweaks.
A larger turbocharger allows for different boost curves, new pistons drop the compression ratio to 10.5:1, stronger connecting rods and an ion plasma nitride-treated crankshaft beef up the bottom end, raised fuel injection pressure keeps things from leaning out, and piston squirters and a new oil pump keep everything lubricated. Toss in variable valve lift on both camshafts, and you end up with an engine making 268 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque, gains of 67 horsepower and 51 lb.-ft. of torque over the standard Tiguan, not to mention 27 more horsepower than a GTI.
With an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive on deck, expect the Tiguan Turbo to be surprisingly quick, albeit conventional. With a regular torque converter automatic, don’t expect any of the unusual behaviors associated with dual-clutch automatics. In theory, this Tiguan should creep away from a stop normally, although shifts likely won’t be quite as quick.
So, how will you be able to tell a Tiguan Turbo from a regular one in the wild? Well, aside from a little badge, there aren’t many obvious signs. The hi-po powertrain will likely be limited to the top SEL R-Line trim, but other than that, the factory hot-rod treatment is decidedly stealthy. Expect to learn more about pricing closer to the autumn, when this under-the-radar Volkswagen goes on sale.
Top graphic credit: Volkswagen
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Not that this isn’t welcome news, but isn’t the standard EA888 tunable? There are so many plug-and-play tunes out there for VW’s that I would just assume there are some that would work on the base Tiguan.
i wish there were more “performance” crossovers. the only thing really “wrong” with crossovers is they are a bit boring to drive. but having the extra ride height and suspension travel is actually fantastic to have most of the time on the road.
How ironic that this seemingly German vehicle has the visage of an angry Kabuki mask.
Well, now I can’t unsee that!
Apologies. My second thought was Jaws from the James Bond movies. Is that any better? 🙂
Both good! The important thing is I’m meeting new people!
There is so much grille in the front, and the back. That huge expanse of fake grille in the rear bumper is just silly.
Aside from the grilles it looks great and should be just spicy enough to not be a snooze-fest.
When IE/034 get their hands on them and these start coming off lease they’ll be 400HP kid hauling hoon-mobiles, which I am absolutely down with.
I had an ‘ 18 Tiguan and by far the thing that held it back was the standard transmission. The base car had plenty of power, but the transmission kept trying to stay in high gears, resulting in, more than once, starting from a stop sign in third gear, limping across an unguarded intersection. I certainly hope they’ve fixed that, or else this wouldn’t be worth it
This describes my ’22 Atlas SX to a tee. Boggy laggy transmission reluctant to downshift.
I’m surprised they didn’t use the R-Line or GT/TSI branding
It does get the R-line branding, officially it’s the “R-Line Turbo”
Ah yeah I can see the subtle little ‘R’ on the grille! Didn’t notice that before!
Well. The front of that thing is not attractive. But I parked next to a recent CR-V tonight and it didn’t look great either. I had a 2006 CR-V and other than the amount of road noise it allowed into the cabin, it was nearly perfect.
I rented a Tiguan in Utah five years ago and it was fine and surprisingly efficient.
But I’m not in a hurry to buy anything new and a bad experience with VWAG a decade ago dissuades me from buying anything from them again.
Perfect. My wife had a 2022 Tiguan and I liked it a lot more than I expected to. The one thing I would have liked is an engine option with more power.
If they’re going to do a Turbo, you might as well do Tiguan gt3 RS. Is there are market for a CUV with a big ass wing, and idk, like 400 hp. Probably not, but it ain’t my money. Give the world the track prepped CUV we don’t deserve!
400hp? Yes.
Big wing? No.
It would be hilarious, yet look like a dad-mobile, which is the dream vehicle for me.
I hope it’s better quality than the last model. My employer issued me a 2021 Tiguan to drive as a work vehicle. I put 70,000 miles on it in 3.5 years. In that time it had three disabling breakdowns under warranty*.
It drove fine but the base seats had poor support and were uncomfortable.
It was made in Puebla. I have a strong bias against vehicles from that plant after personally experiencing very dangerous working conditions (and one death in our work area) on two work missions there.
Previously (in the ’80s) I had a Rabbit, a Golf and a Scirocco, and my wife has an inherited Beetle that she likes. The Tiguan was a surprise and a disappointment.
*All 4 brake disks rotted (deep rust pitting) despite being driven at least 200 miles every week. Radiator blew and dumped all the coolant. Shifter failed. All three disabled it and required a tow to the dealer and a temporary rental. I drive every vehicle as though I was paying for it myself, but despite careful treatment the Tiguan had quality related breakdowns.
That’s modern VW for you….
Uhm. Woohoo? I guess?
This is good news for the dad enthusiasts. I wonder, though – these are all coming from Mexico. What happens to them with the tariffs?
Funny that the base Tiguan power level essentially matches that of my MK6 GTI. 200 hp & 207 torques.
Would really prefer a hybrid over this “Turbo” trim but can’t deny that it’s cool that VW is throwing enthusiasts a bone with this. Hotter versions of compact CUVs are a dying breed. IIRC all that’s left are the CX-5/CX-50 and the Escape/Bronco Sport.
My Kona N: am I a joke to you?
(Hyundai killed it after only two model years so it’s okay to say yes lol)
“Am I bespoke to you?!”
(Nsane glances away uncomfortably)
It continues to boggle the mind why VW hasn’t sold a hybrid in the US in over a decade – you have them elsewhere, just bring them here! Hell, a Jetta or Tiguan GTE would be plenty fast
Maybe it’s because their EV offerings are flying off dealer lots.
Wait….
I’m not sure what I find more egregious, designating a model trim “turbo” when they all have turbos or designating a model trim “turbo” when none of them have turbos.
Both make my head hurt
At least this “turbo” does have a bigger turbo than the non turbo (equipped with a turbo) models.
I agree – Porsche does this too. It seems to me they could have come up with some better name than “turbo”.
I unironically love that Porsche made “turbo” EVs.
You’re not a part of the Turbo Team!
I’m not the real Turbo Man! I just play him on TV!
“force-fed a bit more aggressively than most”
Just call it the foie gras edition.
It’s quite simple, really.
This Tiguan is a TURBO turbo, whereas the other model is merely a turbo.
And so it follows that the Taycan Turbo is a TURBO non-turbo, as opposed to the non-turbo non-turbo base model.
Also, the more I say or write a word, the stupider it sounds, much like most car badging. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going for a drive in my C63 AMG with a….uh…um…never mind.
Maybe VW should have asked GM nicely for their “TURBOMAX” badging
As an old turbo guy, it’s crazy to me that they’re lowering compression to 10.5:1 for more boost.
Turbos have always lowered compression relative to boost.
But that used to be 8:1 vs 8.5:1 un-turboed. Now they are 10:1 (or more) vs 10.5 or 11:1. DI has made Hugh compression ratios kinda “everyday”. Back in the day, 10 or 10.5:1 CRs were racer stuff, usually combined w/ cam timing that made it unstreetable and required 105 octane leaded Sonoco gas.
I take Hugh compression very seriously.
Hugh have to be kidding.
I care as much about more power in the Tiguan as much as I care about whatever thing I can’t be bothered to think about as a comparison. What I want a manual for the GTI. Until then, Honda will get my business when a practical, daily 4-door is on the shopping list.
Only on The Autopian do we find a way to turn an article about a family crossover into kvetching about there not being enough manuals
Well, there are more CUVs than anybody could possibly care about, and it is supposed to be a site for automotive enthusiasts. Not automotive coma patients.
It’s compared to the GTI in the title, this is the first year with no manual option. Makes total sense on this site and under this article.
Could not have said it better myself. .
’24 GTI 380 is only a manual. Enjoy mine every day. Sadly, they are no more in ’25
Also, just as important when it comes to VW updates: there are actual buttons on the steering wheel and the window switches are switches and not haptic bullshit…however everything else is still buried in the infotainment screen and there’s no volume knob, only a slider.
Are they just at the point that they have to run through all the bad shit they made and engineered before they can go back to what people actually want? It seemed like they admitted defeat on their industry bottoming out infotainment situation but a lot of the shit people don’t like remains. If they’re running out the clock on the supply they have then I get it. If they’re just being German and refusing to admit their over engineered solution to a problem no one had doesn’t work then I also get it.
Anyway this looks okay but it still fits VW/Audi’s anti-styling approach like a glove. At the end of the day it’s just another egg shaped crossover with too many lightbars. It offends no one and it excites no one. I’m sure in typical German fashion it will come in at least 3 different grays and the one cool color (probably this one, which I shall dub Inoffensive Light Green) will be locked behind the most expensive trims.
But if you want gray black or white over gray black or white your local dealership has you covered. That being said I DO think spicing this up performance wise is a good angle for VW to take. They’re good at making engaging FWD based cars and while my EA888 was a nightmare it was a nice little engine when it wasn’t misfiring. This is also firmly in the Dad Zone. When the second kid comes around your wife is assuredly going to try to make you ditch your GTI/Golf R and this way you can satisfy the family car demands without completely giving up on fun.
HOWEVER…why the fuck didn’t they just call it a Tiguan GTI? It’s RIGHT THERE and those 3 letters still carry a lot of weight. It’s also not like they’re exclusively put on Golfs either, VW adorns several European market cars with them. I’m sure some GTI fanboys would moan but they’d get over it.
At the end of the day this at least seems as though it’s no longer just cromulent. At minimum it’s now cromulent with some light seasoning, and when it comes to modern Volkswagen that’s about as much as we can hope for.
iirc, GTI is only for hatches. This could have been a Tiguan R or something
Just wanted to point out that this new Tiguan does indeed have a volume knob. in addition to the slidy thing. It’s low down on the center console, like Mazdas. That is all.
Excellent news!
Finally. IDK why VW had been waiting so long. about 3 years ago I took at look at the Tiguan but passed because they didn’t offer any sort of non-base engine. The rest of the package was actually really nice for a boring Dad commuter. But not offering anything like a more powerful engine or fuel sipping hybrid was just disappointing. VW has even had plenty of engines on the shelf for a long while that would have worked but VW was too lazy to implement them until now apparently. Heck, even much smaller manufacturers like Mazda & Subaru have been offering multiple powertrains in their competitors let alone Honda, Toyota, Ford…..
I think VW’s problem with a lack of engine options is basically a US-specific problem (Europe has always had plenty of engine to choose from on any VW model), and it has something to do with the Puebla plant.
That’s the same reason we (the US market) don’t get dual injection (DI & EFI) on the EA288 engines like the rest of the world.
Iit’s down on torque from 2.0T in the Atlas line but should weigh less than the Cross Sport, so I expect it will be quicker. With the Tiguan being large for its intended segment, it seems like this makes the Cross Sport all the more redundant. Most of the middle/tweeners it can be argued they’re nicer in some ways than the segment below, but I never got that impression of the CS which isn’t even much shorter than the 3-row Atlas.