Volkswagen Tiguan Starts at $22,490
Volkswagen announced today that when the Tiguan arrives stateside next summer, it will start at $22,490. That puts the compact SUV smack dab in Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 territory. VW wouldn't elaborate on the price range or what specific options cost, but it appears from the Tiguan's introduction at the L.A. auto show that it will come standard with VW's turbocharged 2.0-liter engine and a six-speed manual transmission. That combination seems sure to make it a blast to drive — though we'll have to get some seat time before we declare it the "GTI of the crossover utility segment," as one VW executive suggested.
We'll admit we love to shift our own gears, especially with VW's excellent turbo four-cylinder. But will regular SUV drivers want to pay extra for an automatic? Both the $20,700 CR-V and $21,100 RAV4 come standard with autos. If the Tiguan's automatic costs as much as it does in other Volkswagens — it's a steep $1,075 in the Jetta — expect the effective starting price for most SUV buyers to be somewhere around $23,500.
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but also take into account that the Rav4 nor the CR-V have six speeds, or 200hp engines. Chances are that the Tiguan will get better mpg, it has a better transmission and a more powerful engine that uses less fuel to run than both the Rav4 and CR-V. not to mention that it will probably be more fun to drive.
JM, your forgetting that the RAV4 has an optional 269hp 3.5L V6. The RAV4 with that engine runs really, really damn good. A 4WD RAV4 V6 is a surprisingly fun rental car to drive...
A lot will depend on what comes standard on the VW. $23,500 might actually be closer in price than you think. The 4wd v6 in the Rav4 runs around 24,500 and an CRV-EX runs around 24,100. Comaring base price to base price is not always the best way to go.
dont forget to add in all of the saftey features that are standard on the VW but optional on the others.
there is also a chance that VW will bring over the self-parking system that the Touran uses over in Europe. If they bring the self-parking setup over here, this car will be the best-selling small SUV in no time. Everyone wants to have the self-parking feature.
JM--
Yes the safety features are nice, but who really cares about the self parking feature except for inept drivers in Chicago, NY, etc...Not a big selling feature for the majority of the population. It would mostly be used for showing off, and nothing more in the majority of parking situations across the country.