2025 Volkswagen Tiguan First Drive Review: Bringing Back VW’s Luxury Era

Remember when Volkswagen, the supposed “People’s Car” brand, sold a lineup of well-priced premium vehicles that felt like luxury cars, only cheaper? It wasn’t so long ago that Volkswagen’s US lineup consisted of the Touareg (an SUV that underpins the Bentley Bentayga, Porsche Cayenne, and Lamborghini Urus to this day), the Phaeton (an ultra-luxury sedan with a Bentley engine), and the Passat (a sedan that felt closer to an Audi A6 than a Toyota Camry in terms of luxury and comfort). Even cars like the Mk5 Jetta GLI and Golf GTI felt so nicely assembled and engineered, they could have been sold with an Audi badge. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when Volkswagen’s era of overbuilt cars ended, but we believe the pivot happened around 2011 when the German automaker designed a different Passat, a cheaper and less impressive one, specifically for the North American market. Every product since then has lacked that “special sauce” that made VW vehicles feel special in the mid 2000s. But we are happy to report that with the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan, the premium cars might be back.

Ever since the Tiguan was launched back in 2008 for the US market, it was never one of our favorite VW models. The first generation was imported from Germany, came with a high-powered (for the time) turbocharged engine, and could even be had with a manual transmission. US buyers didn’t fall in love with the Tiguan until the second generation debuted in 2018, dropping the key elements that made its predecessor quirky in favor of a “bigger, better, cheaper” approach. That formula has worked well up until now; the Tiguan is the company’s best-selling model by far in the US, and it even overtook the Golf as the brand’s number one global seller. The rest of the world is already enjoying the all-new third generation model, which will arrive later this year as a 2025 model for the US market. DrivingOnRoad had an early chance to drive the new Tiguan (and its sister vehicle, the Tayron) to find out if this is more of the same or a return to form for VW.

First Drive events provide our initial impressions of a vehicle in a restricted environment under certain time constraints. Keep an eye on DrivingOnRoad for our comprehensive Test Drive review which will follow soon.

What’s Changed For 2025?

Our first drive of the 2025 Tiguan is tricky for a few reasons, but mainly because the European Tiguan is not the one we will get in the US. The Tiguan that Europe gets is significantly shorter than the US-spec model, and our Tiguan will actually be more similar to another VW crossover called the Tayron, which we also had the opportunity to drive on a frozen lake in Sweden. The Tayron replaces the Tiguan Allspace, the long-wheelbase version of the outgoing Tiguan, which offers an optional third row (not coming to the US). So the Tiguan is not a Tiguan, and the Tiguan is actually a Tayron, but the Tayron isn’t technically a Tiguan. Makes sense, right?

This is an all-new generation of the Tiguan, meaning it gets different sheet metal, a shorter rear overhang, a longer wheelbase, and a new design language. Despite being larger and more spacious, the Tiguan shaves around 170 pounds from the previous model thanks to greater use of aluminum in the suspension and hot-formed steel in the body. Performance is increased as well, which should pair nicely with the weight loss. Finally, VW overhauled the interior, making it more luxurious and reminiscent of the overbuilt mid-2000s era of the company’s history.

Exterior Design: Return of the Touareg?

Let us remind you that the European Tiguan has a different appearance than the one we will get in the US, and the Tayron actually looks closer to what we will have stateside. For the purposes of accuracy, we will mostly use images of the US-spec Tiguan from this point. VW improved the Tiguan’s proportions, resulting in a bolder crossover that reminds us of the long-gone Touareg, which is high praise. An available LED light bar with illuminated VW logo makes the vehicle look modern, as does the intricate rear lighting signature. Though the vehicles we drove in Sweden didn’t have them, the US Tiguan will ride on 17-inch wheels standard with 19-inch and 20-inch wheels available on upper trims.

Interior: Budget Audi

While the basic layout is mostly the same, there are some subtle differences between the European and US Tiguan interiors. In both cases, VW wanted to create a more premium environment, equipped with available heated and ventilated seats with a massage function, a feature that’s not available in any competitor. The US gets further touches, such as American walnut trim and Savona leather. 10- or 30-color ambient lighting (depending on trim) completes the mood, making the Tiguan feel more like a budget Audi than a RAV4 competitor. After trying to squeeze into the Tayron’s tiny third row, we are glad that VW will not bring this option to the US. However, we did come away enamored by an optional cloth R-Line interior with sportier seats, an option we’d love to have for the Tiguan.

We didn’t spend a lot of time with the updated infotainment system, but a new 12.9-inch screen comes standard with a larger 15-inch screen available. It seems like a major improvement over the outgoing system, though the touch-capacitive sliders for the volume and temperature are still not our favorites. On the plus side, the steering wheel gets normal buttons and VW added a cool volume knob with an integrated screen that doubles as a drive mode selector. It’s tactile, easy to use, and can quickly change the “Atmospheres” (a combination of ambient light settings and audio settings).

Powertrain & Driving: Europe Still Gets The Best

In the US, the Tiguan will only be sold with one engine: a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (EA888). Horsepower has increased from 184 to 201 hp, which should have a positive impact on both fuel economy and performance. Torque remains the same as last year with an eight-speed automatic as the only transmission option, sending power to the front wheels or optional 4Motion all-wheel-drive. We had a chance to sample the EA888 under the hood of the Tayron, but we also tasted some forbidden fruit in the form of a TDI diesel engine in the European Tiguan.

We should first talk about what we will get in the US: the EA888. This engine is used widely across the VW lineup, and it’s pretty nice here. We experiened smooth power delivery, but it’s worth noting that the cars we tested were equipped with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, not the torque converter eight-speed that the American market car will have. It feels quicker than the outgoing Tiguan, but lacks the oomph found in sportier models like the Golf GTI and Golf R. Even with studded snow tires for our ice-driving event, the Tiguan delivered a comfortable ride on Sweden’s snow-covered country roads, and we were impressed by how quiet the cabin feels. This is a premium driving experience, just not a particularly sporty one.

Hopping behind the wheel of the European Tiguan, we were able to experience the TDI diesel engine for the first time since VW stopped selling them in the US nearly a decade ago. Though the power is on-par with the gasoline engine, the high torque rating of the diesel four-cylinder provides effortless acceleration. Though there is zero chance VW will ever bring diesel back to the American market, we think VW should consider bringing the plug-in hybrid. It produces a healthy 268 hp and around 62 miles of electric range (around 45 miles on the EPA cycle). Europe also receives a TSI plus 4Motion tune for the R-Line Tiguan and Tayron variants that bumps the EA888 up to the GTI’s power output (around 260 hp in Europe). Offering this more powerful version in the US would put the Tigan’s performance above most of its mainstream rivals and cement its status as a luxury alternative.

Verdict & Pricing: Luxury For The People

It’s hard to draw a conclusion about the 2025 Tiguan based on an incomplete set of facts, so we will reserve our judgment until we drive it on US soil. For now, we can say this new Tiguan feels far more premium than before, both inside and out, and the driving experience should be fairly luxurious. The improved power should put the Tiguan on-par with many of its rivals, but we wish VW would have taken a bigger risk under the hood by giving us a hybrid or at least a power upgrade. The outgoing Tiguan represented a nice value in the compact crossover segment, so if VW can keep pricing similar without a major increase, this new model could represent a great alternative to luxury brands like Audi and Lexus at a lower cost.