Volkswagen Tiguan SUV to be launched in April followed by new Passat sedan

Both Volkswagen Tiguan and Passat were showcased at Auto Expo 2016.

German car maker Volkswagen has confirmed that the company will launch Tiguan SUV and Passat sedan in India soon. The Tiguan is expected to reach dealerships by April-May while Passat launch can be expected by July-August.

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"With exciting new products across the segments, we are now ready to enter the SUV segment with Tiguan and luxury segment with the all new Passat. The slew of launches will ensure every car buyer finds a car to meet their requirements at our showrooms," said Michael Mayer, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India.

Tiguan

Showcased at Auto Expo 2016, the Tiguan is a five seater SUV based on the MQB platform. Volkswagen will locally assemble the SUV to save on the price front and it will go up against a host of SUVs such as Hyundai Santa Fe, Skoda Yeti, Audi Q3, and Mercedes-Benz GLA.

In terms of design, the new version of the Tiguan has been inspired by the Cross Coupe GTE Volkswagen unveiled in 2015. The angular lines and flat body panels are in line with the new generation VW cars. The new Tiguan, despite being 60mm longer and 30mm wider than the original, has lost more than 50kg and sits 33mm lower. The wheelbase has been stretched by 77mm to 2,681 mm and has a boot capacity of 615-litres. In India, the Tiguan is likely to be powered by a 2.0-litre diesel engine, which can churn out 187bhp.

Passat

Return of Passat will mark the return of Volkswagen India to premium sedan space. The Volkswagen sold previous generation of car in India till 2014. The eighth generation of the sedan was globally unveiled in 2014 and made India debut at Auto Expo 2016. New Passat is also based on the MQB platform and it has dropped 85 kg than its predecessor. The new version comes with a three slat chrome grille, LED wrap-around headlamps, LED DRLs and LED fog lights. It also features more evolved design than the previous generations.

The sedan is expected to be offered in 2.0-litre 177bhp diesel mill and a 1.8-litre TSI engine developing 180bhp. Volkswagen India also plans to launch the plug-in-hybrid model, Passat GTE. The GTE version is powered by a four-cylinder, 1395cc TSI petrol working in harmony with electric motor that develops 114bhp.