Volkswagen to launch Tiguan Allspace on March 6

Volkswagen is kicking off its SUV offensive in India with the Tiguan Allspace, a larger variant of the standard Tiguan to go up against the likes of the Skoda Kodiaq. The Tiguan Allspace gets a longer wheelbase to provide extra space on the inside and gets a third row of seats. It will be powered by a 2-litre turbocharged petrol unit and gets more standard equipment compared to the 5-seat Tiguan we are familiar with. The Tiguan Allspace will be launched on March 6, we expect it to fetch a premium of about Rs 7-10 lakh over the five-seater, a hefty premium owing to the fact that it will be a CBU.

Volkswagen has made clear its intention to focus on petrol engines over diesels in the near future and the Tiguan Allspace is the first sign of this new outlook. The seven-seater SUV will come exclusively with a 2-litre turbocharged-petrol engine, and no diesel will be on offer. The TSI unit is more powerful compared to the TDI, producing a healthy 187bhp, as opposed to the diesel's 141bhp. The added punch should help the Allspace feel brisk despite having a larger footprint. The engine will come mated to a seven-speed DSG gearbox and will deliver power through the 4Motion all-wheel-drive system.

The Tiguan Allspace gets a bunch of extra kit to justify it’s premium price tag — the biggest change being a digital instrument cluster. Like the Highline 5-seater Tiguan, it will also get three-zone climate control, all-LED headlights with daytime running lamps, a panoramic sunroof and a reversing camera. It will also get beige leather seats as opposed to the black ones in the five-seater. The Tiguan Allspace is big on safety too, with seven airbags including knee airbags and, ABS and ESC.

The Allspace gets an additional 215mm of length to accommodate seven seats, and 109mm longer wheelbase, putting it closer to the Kodiaq (the Kodiaq's wheelbase is 4mm longer). This added length not only means more space for the seats but the luggage compartment benefits too — with the seats folded up the Allspace has a capacity of 700 litres, as opposed to 615 litres of the standard car. With the seats folded down the Allspace has a capacity of 1775 litres, compared to the standard car’s 1655 litres.

The Tiguan Allspace launches on March 6 and will compete with it’s sibling the Skoda Kodiaq, as well as the Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour. We expect it to be priced slightly higher than the Kodiaq which will land it up in the range of Rs 35-40 lakh.