Australia’s biggest off-roader segment - and fifth most popular vehicle category overall - is compact 4WDs. The Toyota RAV4 is the best-selling model in a class also referred to as ‘softroaders’ owing to their natural habitat being the ‘burbs rather than the bush.
VW Australia has yet to confirm whether it will import both versions of the Tiguan that are available in Europe.
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A Tiguan in ‘Track and Field’ trim is better equipped to tackle trickier terrain with a more steeply angled nose. With a departure angle of 28 degrees compared with the 18 degrees of other Tiguans, the Track and Field version can drive up steeper gradients without scraping its nose.
It also adds some underbody protection and an electronic off-road mode that includes hill descent system for slower, more controlled downhill driving.
Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel-drive hardware sits beneath the Tiguan, with power sent to every corner by a choice of engines. In Australia these will one turbo diesel (103kW 2.0-litre) and two turbo petrols (125kW 2.0-litre and 147kW 2.0-litre).
Expect price tags to start from about $33,000, with options such as satellite navigation, panoramic sunroof, leather trim, and a parking-assist system (which takes control of steering for a near-perfect reverse park) capable of taking stickers closer to $50,000.
BMW’s X5 and X3 models have commanded more than a fifth of luxury-4WD sales in 2007, and the larger and more popular X5 will get a new dynamic diesel engine in January.
The X5 3.0sd will be powered by a twin-turbo diesel with 200kW of power and 565Nm of torque. BMW claims the new engine propels the X5 from 0-100km/h in 7.2 seconds with a relatively low fuel consumption figure of 8.9 litres per 100km.
Last but certainly not least is a 4WD that BMW would probably argue should sit in our 2008 New Cars Guide ‘Performance cars’ section.
The German car maker says it is creating a new niche called the Sports Activity Vehicle with its X6, a coupe-style luxury off-roader based on the X5.
The X6’s role as a more sporting version of the X5 will be backed by a range of engines more powerful than available in the conventionally shaped luxury 4WD. A hybrid drivetrain is also due in the near future.
