The Volkswagen Tiguan in GTE (plug-in hybrid) form
has been some time in the making, with the concept having surfaced at the 2015
Frankfurt Motor Show. Since then, a GTE Active Concept has also surfaced, and
now it appears that an eventual production model is finally forthcoming.
Visually, very little appears to have changed from
the study, it appears mostly identical to the show car save for the
omission of chrome detailing along the lower door sections and the rear bumper.
Even the trapezoidal exhaust exits are nearly identical, while at the front a
pair of C-shaped LED DRLs distinguish the plug-in hybrid from other Tiguan
variants, like the same on the Golf GTE.
Powertrain is expected to come from that in the
Tiguan GTE concept, which means a 1.4 litre turbocharged petrol engine mated to
an electric motor, driving the front wheels. Total system output is 218 PS,
sent through a hybrid-specific six-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic
transmission. Power for electric drive comes courtesy of externally-chargeable
lithium-ion batteries.
In its concept guise, the Tiguan GTE attains a pure
EV range of 50 km, although the test mule here appears to do without the
concept’s roof solar module, which claims to add up to 1,000 km of driving
range a year. Solar panels aside, the Tiguan GTE can travel up to 130 km/h in
pure EV mode. Top speed and acceleration figures should be close to the
concept’s 200 km/h and 8.1-second 0-100 km/h time.
