A swirling camo wrap may serve to hide body lines and details underneath, but it attracts everything attention on the public highway. Meanwhile, Volkswagen is testing its new third-generation Tiguan SUV without a look from onlookers.
This prototype, however, did not pass our spy photographers. VW has perfected the art of hiding in plain sight with the combination of black test vehicles sporting black tape and decals that mimic the look of current models. That’s exactly what’s happening with this Tiguan, especially at the front. The grille and headlights you see look a lot like the current model, but it’s just duct tape. Zooming in reveals different body lines underneath, suggesting thinner headlights and a thin upper grille that might resemble the electric ID.4.
31 Pictures
The next-gen Tiguan won’t be an electric vehicle, so it still needs air to help cool the engine. The lower grille will increase slightly in size, encompassing the entire lower half of the fairing. More faux corner decals mimic the Tiguan’s current side vents, but we can see these will be square and more upright. The entire SUV front clip will take on a wider, more chiseled appearance.
There’s more trickery at the rear with decals used to hide the slimmer taillights. The tailpipes in the bumper are also stickers, again mimicking the current design of the Tiguan. It looks like the next-gen SUV will have a less dramatic exhaust system that simply exits under the vehicle.
Of course, dealing with fake stickers only works if the overall shape is still familiar. On the outside, the new Tiguan retains its basic design, but inside it’s a different story. We see a completely new greenhouse with a central touchscreen that is no longer integrated into the dashboard. It appears that the air conditioning vents are located below the screen and the digital gauges for the driver are deeply recessed. With the rest of the dashboard covered, it’s impossible to determine any other details.
Volkswagen is not yet ready to go all-electric. The Tiguan is expected to launch with combustion power, likely a version of the current 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gas mill with diesel engines offered in Europe. Mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants are certainly possible at some point.
We expect the fake stickers to come off in 2023, with the Tiguan debuting as a 2024 model.
A swirling camo wrap may serve to hide body lines and details underneath, but it attracts everything attention on the public highway. Meanwhile, Volkswagen is testing its new third-generation Tiguan SUV without a look from onlookers.
This prototype, however, did not pass our spy photographers. VW has perfected the art of hiding in plain sight with the combination of black test vehicles sporting black tape and decals that mimic the look of current models. That’s exactly what’s happening with this Tiguan, especially at the front. The grille and headlights you see look a lot like the current model, but it’s just duct tape. Zooming in reveals different body lines underneath, suggesting thinner headlights and a thin upper grille that might resemble the electric ID.4.
31 Pictures
The next-gen Tiguan won’t be an electric vehicle, so it still needs air to help cool the engine. The lower grille will increase slightly in size, encompassing the entire lower half of the fairing. More faux corner decals mimic the Tiguan’s current side vents, but we can see these will be square and more upright. The entire SUV front clip will take on a wider, more chiseled appearance.
There’s more trickery at the rear with decals used to hide the slimmer taillights. The tailpipes in the bumper are also stickers, again mimicking the current design of the Tiguan. It looks like the next-gen SUV will have a less dramatic exhaust system that simply exits under the vehicle.
Of course, dealing with fake stickers only works if the overall shape is still familiar. On the outside, the new Tiguan retains its basic design, but inside it’s a different story. We see a completely new greenhouse with a central touchscreen that is no longer integrated into the dashboard. It appears that the air conditioning vents are located below the screen and the digital gauges for the driver are deeply recessed. With the rest of the dashboard covered, it’s impossible to determine any other details.
Volkswagen is not yet ready to go all-electric. The Tiguan is expected to launch with combustion power, likely a version of the current 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gas mill with diesel engines offered in Europe. Mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants are certainly possible at some point.
We expect the fake stickers to come off in 2023, with the Tiguan debuting as a 2024 model.