Filed under the section titled “hopes and dreams,” there exists a space for a diesel Volkswagen Tiguan. The Tiguan, of course, is a sporty 4-cylinder SUV small enough to wheel about town, and tough enough to venture into the country. It’s reliable, gets good mileage, is great for hauling things, and has all the luxurious touches and features to make you feel like you’re not missing anything you would get in a sedan.
Even though Volkswagen and its off-shoot company Audi have 12 diesel vehicles for sale in the U.S., the Tiguan is not among them. Volkswagen dominates diesel sales in the U.S., having sold more than 75 percent of diesel vehicles last year. Rather than speculate as to why economical SUVs wouldn’t be a logical candidate for diesels in the U.S., we thought it would be more edifying to share the experience of an actual diesel Tiguan right here on American asphalt.
The New York Daily News was blessed by Volkswagen with a test model, sent all the way from Germany. It’s fair to say that such a move signals a desire to introduce the model in U.S. showrooms, likely hoping for positive feedback to the concept from American press. To avoid taxes, diesel Tiguans would have to be made in Mexico or the U.S., and unless VW’s factories have oodles of excess capacity at the moment, they would need to know the demand exists before retooling factories for diesel Tiguans.
Fortunately, the NY Daily News had very nice things to say about the TDI Tiguan. New York winter is vastly more affecting than North Carolina’s and, even so, the TDI performed beautifully. Cosmetically it looks exactly like gasoline-powered Tiguans, and according to the Daily News, it handled the same as well. There were no funny smells or engine noises like the diesels of yesteryear, just a capable, modern car that you would expect in 2014.
The standard trade-off that you get with diesel—slightly diminished acceleration in return for greater fuel economy is present in the TDI Tiguan, which comes down to what you value in a vehicle.
To read the full review of the European car’s holiday in the U.S. and see plenty of images, check out the link from the Daily News. And of course if your interest is piqued in diesel vehicles in general, call or schedule a test drive online at Leith Volkswagen Raleigh for your own review.