Currently reading: First pictures of VW Tiguan off-roader
New Freelander rival will only be available with turbocharged engines

These are the first official undisguised pictures of the new Volkswagen Tiguan SUV.

There are no surprises in the styling – it’s the shrunken Touareg we’d expected – but the engine line-up is a little bit different.

The Tiguan will only be available with turbocharged engines, with a choice of three TSI petrol units and two diesels. VW says that they offer the best combination of low emissions and high power.

The diesels, likely to be the big sellers in Europe, are new developments of VW’s 2.0-litre common-rail unit.

Volkswagen says that they’re extremely quiet – unlike the current units – and they already meet Euro V emissions legislation, which comes in to force in 2009.

The lower-power version offers 138bhp and the higher-power 168bhp. Torque for both units is quoted at 236lb ft at 1750rpm, or 258lb ft in four-wheel-drive mode.

Three turbocharged petrols are on offer; a 148bhp, 177lb ft unit, a 168bhp, 207lb ft unit and a version of the 2.0-litre TSI unit used in the Golf GTI, here packing 198bhp and 207lb ft from 1800rpm.

The Tiguan has been engineered to be a proper off-roader, too; it won’t be as agile as a Land Rover Freelander in the mud, but don’t expect it to be embarrassed in a muddy field.

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