The last time Volkswagen updated its Tiguan small crossover, the model year was 2018, and compact SUVs were becoming critical to automakers. Entering the 2025 model year, they’re nearly everything – the Tiguan is VW’s best-selling vehicle in America, and compact SUVs are starting to overtake some full-size trucks in the sales race.
You could say the 2025 Tiguan, redesigned from a clean sheet, is important to Volkswagen and Volkswagen fans.
It’s early to say for certain, but on paper, VW has created a competitive compact SUV that should win new attention from American buyers. Volkswagen hasn’t discussed pricing, but we project an entry point around $31,000.
From Awkward to Mature
The outgoing 2024 Tiguan looks a little underdeveloped in a year when much of its competition has bulked up. The redesign solves that problem.
It’s no look-alike. While most new SUVs wear oversized grilles, Volkswagen designers have created the illusion of an almost-grille-less look by filtering airflow through a large maw well lower than what most designs use. It may not technically count as an air damn because it pulls air into the engine compartment rather than cycling it under for aerodynamic reasons. But it’s positioned as low as an air dam, just bigger.
That lets designers give the new Tiguan the wide horizontal line of lights VW electric vehicles like the ID.4 wear. Buyers can opt for an illuminated badge with it for an added fee.
Everywhere else, the look is bulkier than the outgoing Tiguan but with the gentle curves you expect of a modern VW. We think it looks more mature, like the 2024 Tiguan went away to college, put on a little muscle, and learned to dress better.
No Third Row, but a Tech Upgrade
Inside, the big news is the lack of a third row. The 2024 Tiguan on dealer lots today is one of the few compact SUVs available with one (though you can’t get both a third-row and all-wheel drive). For 2025, VW will drop the third row.
It’s likely the right move, as designers have a hard time fitting a usable third row into a compact SUV in the first place.
The Tiger-Iguana (we’re not kidding – Volkswagen says that’s the origin of the name) gets a serious cabin technology upgrade for 2025.
The driver faces a 10.25-inch digital display with an optional head-up display above. Lower trim levels get plenty of screen, with a 12.9-inch touchscreen slightly large by compact SUV standards. Higher trim levels get a 15-inch screen that seems extravagant for this segment.
In recent years, Volkswagen has aimed for a niche between mainstream and luxury cars. The Tiguan is no exception. Options include massaging, heated and ventilated front seats, and real wood trim. “Premium materials, such as genuine American walnut wood décor, a wrapped and double-stitched center console, upgraded Savona leather interiors, and cloth seats with an embossed design give the cabin an upscale feel,” VW promises.
An available 12-speaker sound system is not unusual in this segment, but one with Harmon Kardon branding is a slight surprise.
Those speakers help power IDA, Volkswagen’s ChatGPT-enabled virtual assistant. Buyers get one year of the Plus Speech With AI system that powers it with purchase, after which, we assume, there will be a subscription fee to continue it.
More Power and Better Fuel Economy
The Tiguan’s familiar 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine again sits under the hood. But it’s more powerful this time, making 201 horsepower. Volkswagen says it gets better fuel economy, too, though they haven’t given specific figures.
That’s the only mechanical detail VW has offered so far. The model on dealer lots now uses an 8-speed automatic transmission and comes in either front- or all-wheel drive (FWD or AWD). We would be surprised if that has changed.
Level 2 Driver Assistance
Volkswagen has one more surprise in store for 2025 – the next Tiguan “includes VW’s sophisticated suite of IQ.DRIVE Level 2 driver assistance features standard across all trims.” It can assist with steering, accelerating, and braking under certain conditions, though it doesn’t let the driver take their attention off the road.
Compact SUVs, in general, are more luxurious and refined in the 2025 model year than they were the last time Volkswagen designed a new one from scratch. The Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, and Hyundai Tucson are intense competition.
But the Tiguan threatens to upset the contest with near-luxury trimmings and cool AI functions like Level 2 driving assistance and a ChatGPT-enabled voice assistant. We just hope Volkswagen has resisted the urge to price it more like a luxury vehicle to justify those features.
We’ll know more soon. Volkswagen will formally unveil the car at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Friday, so we expect prices and an on-sale date soon.
