The U.S. is replacing its Tiguan with a version of another compact VW SUV, the next Tayron
January 15, 2024 at 16:30
VW has already fully revealed the 2024 Tiguan for Europe, and now courtesy of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, we’ve got a look at the long-wheelbase version, which you might consider a successor to the Tiguan still on sale in American dealers, and known as the Tiguan Allspace in Europe.
But don’t bother looking for the stretched (but still compact) SUV in American dealerships any time soon. Like most automakers, VW offers Chinese buyers a bewildering away of models that logic would suggest must eat into each others’ market share. And it’s the next generation of one of those other same-sized SUVs, the Tayron, that will form the basis for America’s next Tiguan.
Last summer, shortly after the reveal of the Euro Tiguan a U.S. VW rep confirmed to us that America’s next Tiguan would be based on a future Tayron arriving mid-decade. And around the same time Autocar quoted a senior VW exec as saying that this new Tayron would be a global product, meaning it would also come to Europe, where it would effectively replace the continent’s LWB Tiguan, the Allspace.
advertisement scroll to continue
Related: VW Confirms U.S. 2025 Tiguan Allspace Will Be Based On Chinese Tayron SUV
Confusingly, Autocar now says this new stretched Tiguan revealed in China’s MIIT filings, is Europe’s new Tayron, but will carry Tiguan L Pro badges. That contradicts what VW told the publication, so we’re going to stick with the original story, which should mean another SUV – available in both upright Tayron and fastback Tayron X forms – will be along soon.
Anyway enough with the recap and conjecture, what do we know about this new Tiguan L Pro? Visually it’s a dead ringer for the shorter European Tiguan, just as the outgoing LWB car was distinguished from its SWB brother by little more than a longer set of rear doors and bigger rear quarter window. Images show both standard and sporty R grades, with the R getting a bigger, blacker grille, a more dynamic design of rear bumper and upgraded wheels.
The MIIT gives the wheelbase as 2,791 mm (109.9 inches), compared with 2,681 mm (105.6 inches) for the newly-introduced 2024 Euro car, and the 4,735 mm (186.4 inches) length is 184 mm (7.2 inches) greater. Two power outputs of 137 kW (181 hp / 184 PS) and 164 kW (217 hp / 220 PS) are listed, neither of which matches up with the engines available in the SWB European model, but they’re inevitably going to be four-cylinder VW Group powertrains mated to dual-clutch transmissions.
