NAIAS 2016: Volkswagen Tiguan GTE Active is a Plug-In Apology

by Chris Tonn

Published: January 11th, 2016

naias 2016 volkswagen tiguan gte active is a plug in apology

Volkswagen unveiled a new plug-in hybrid concept for the Tiguan, featuring more aggressive styling than the standard model launched in Frankfurt. Interestingly, Volkswagen has positioned the gas-electric CUV as a more fun-to-drive truck than the standard vehicle.

In other words, it’s a Tiguan Trailhawk.

The GTE Active offers two driver-selectable modes: E-mode, which is an all-electric, rear-drive mode good for up to 20 miles of zero emissions driving; and GTE mode, which pairs the gasoline engine, DSG transmission, and both electric motors for 221 horsepower, all-wheel drive, and a 6.4 second sprint to 60 mph.

As the new Tiguan is based on the MQB modular architecture, it’s not a significant stretch to assume this hybrid system could be transferred to the Golf, Jetta, and Passat if it proves successful.

#Detroit #Hybrid #NAIAS #NAIAS2016 #Plug-in #Plug-inHybrid #Tiguan #Volkswagen #VolkswagenTiguan #VolkswagenTiguanGTEActive

Chris Tonn

Some enthusiasts say they were born with gasoline in their veins. Chris Tonn, on the other hand, had rust flakes in his eyes nearly since birth. Living in salty Ohio and being hopelessly addicted to vintage British and Japanese steel will do that to you. His work has appeared in eBay Motors, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars, Reader's Digest, AutoGuide, Family Handyman, and Jalopnik. He is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association, and he's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.

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5 of 9 comments

Flybrian on Jan 11, 2016

I'll take one...strip the BFGoodies off, and sent it back. That sure is ballsy for VW to put on all that extra plastic cladding that's only going to crack, break, and fall off in a year.

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- Bball40dtw on Jan 11, 2016
  
  Matches the saggy headliner and burnt out headlights.
  
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- Corey Lewis on Jan 11, 2016
  
  @bball40dtw Oh come on they don't have those sorts of problems anymore! On Friday leaving work I was behind a circa 2012 Jetta Wolfsburg. Pity the rear lights were already non-functional unless the brakes were applied.
  
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Flybrian on Jan 11, 2016

FWIW, there is more chatter in the thread about that decrepit Dodge Shadow, which means VW could give out a free old fashioned to every male in America and no one would care.

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- Banker43 on Jan 11, 2016
  
  I don't know...I'm pretty sure the streets of NE college towns will be clogged with these things.
  
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Recent Comments

Theflyersfan OK, I'm going to stretch the words "positive change" to the breaking point here, but there might be some positive change going on with the beaver grille here. This picture was at Car and Driver. You'll notice that the grille now dives into a larger lower air intake instead of really standing out in a sea of plastic. In darker colors like this blue, it somewhat conceals the absolute obscene amount of real estate this unneeded monstrosity of a failed styling attempt takes up. The Euro front plate might be hiding some sins as well. You be the judge.
Theflyersfan I know given the body style they'll sell dozens, but for those of us who grew up wanting a nice Prelude Si with 4WS but our student budgets said no way, it'd be interesting to see if Honda can persuade GenX-ers to open their wallets for one. Civic Type-R powertrain in a coupe body style? Mild hybrid if they have to? The holy grail will still be if Honda gives the ultimate middle finger towards all things EV and hybrid, hides a few engineers in the basement away from spy cameras and leaks, comes up with a limited run of 9,000 rpm engines and gives us the last gasp of the S2000 once again. A send off to remind us of when once they screamed before everything sounds like a whirring appliance.
Jeff Nice concept car. One can only dream.
Funky D The problem is not exclusively the cost of the vehicle. The problem is that there are too few use cases for BEVs that couldn't be done by a plug-in hybrid, with the latter having the ability to do long-range trips without requiring lengthy recharging and being better able to function in really cold climates.In our particular case, a plug-in hybrid would run in all electric mode for the vast majority of the miles we would drive on a regular basis. It would also charge faster and the battery replacement should be less expensive than its BEV counterpart.So the answer for me is a polite, but firm NO.
3SpeedAutomatic 2012 Ford Escape V6 FWD at 147k miles:Just went thru a heavy maintenance cycle: full brake job with rotors and drums, replace top & bottom radiator hoses, radiator flush, transmission flush, replace valve cover gaskets (still leaks oil, but not as bad as before), & fan belt. Also, #4 fuel injector locked up. About $4.5k spread over 19 months. Sole means of transportation, so don't mind spending the money for reliability. Was going to replace prior to the above maintenance cycle, but COVID screwed up the market ( $4k markup over sticker including $400 for nitrogen in the tires), so bit the bullet. Now serious about replacing, but waiting for used and/or new car prices to fall a bit more. Have my eye on a particular SUV. Last I checked, had a $2.5k discount with great interest rate (better than my CU) for financing. Will keep on driving Escape as long as A/C works. 🚗🚗🚗