Shown last at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit in 2016, many have been waiting for this concept to become a reality as it should with its very rugged outlook and promised fun driving experience with fuel sipping qualities.
Volkswagen in the last decade seem to have lost their inventive and ‘daring’ designs innitaitive to instead release rather boring mundane products to cater to a wider buying audience. After years of exciting buyers around the world with the Scirocco and the Beetle, they decided to retire their only real affordable sports car, the Scirocco (again, as the earlier Scirocco pictured below was retired in the 1980s and then revived again with this outgoing model) and recently the announced the retirement of the iconic Beetle.
Now we ask, with this Volkswagen Tiguan concept has been ignored despite getting good media and also social media attention.
PRESS RELEASE: The five-seater concept vehicle is based on the current second-generation of the Volkswagen Tiguan. The all-wheel plug-in hybrid system of the Tiguan GTE Active Concept – with its turbocharged gasoline direct-injection engine (110 kW / 150 PS) and one electric motor at the front axle (40 kW / 54 PS) and one at the rear axle (85 kW / 115 PS) – reflects the broad range of technical capabilities of the new generation of SUV’s.
The newly developed infotainment system that features a 9.2-inch touchscreen with high-quality glass surface and gesture control is the first infotainment system without any conventional rotary knobs or hard keys. An authentic off-road look with solid aluminum underbody protection and extra ground clearance round out the confident look of the Tiguan GTE Active Concept.
On the road, the concept car essentially runs as a zero-emission vehicle, operating 100% in electric mode. In normal driving situations, propulsion comes via the electric motor on the rear axle. However, as soon as traction loss is detected, the front axle is engaged too within fractions of a second. This also happens whenever the driver activates one of the all-wheel or off-road programs via the newly developed 4MOTION Active Control system that was specifically configured for the concept car. Then too, the Tiguan GTE Active Concept starts off in an all-wheel mode with zero emissions.
This Volkswagen can cover up to 32 kilometers / 20 miles in this mode all-electrically. The vehicle’s total range is 933 kilometers / 580 miles with a battery charge of 12.4 kWh and 64 liters of fuel in the tank.
