Seven chair format second step of a four-stage rollout also bringing a hotshot R and a plug-in hybrid.

HAVING established the ‘regular’ updated Tiguan in markets including New Zealand, Volkswagen has now allowed a first proper look at the ‘plus-sized’ seven seater edition set to arrive locally later this year.

The refreshed Allspace which starts local roll-out in the third quarter unsurprisingly achieves the same suite of updates applied to the regular five-chair variants earlier this year, including tweaks to the styling and cabin, a rejigging of the line-up and engines and more connected and safety technology.

The front end is subtly restyled, with the big change being those new LED lights – with IQ.Light LED matrix lamps as an option) - a new, more prominent VW roundel and illumination of the radiator grille. 

A new design of 18-inch alloy wheel, called 'Frankfurt', has been added as have several new colours.

The interior isn't dramatically new, the biggest single alteration being new air conditioning controls; the three rotary dials in the centre stack are replaced by a smooth panel of touch sensitive controls. 

Two USB-C ports and and a wireless charging pad arrive with the upgrade to Volkswagen's latest infotainment system, called MIB3, shared with the regular car. App-Connect Wireless allows Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring wirelessly. 

That the Allspace is a little longer overall than before is due to the redesigned bumpers. Interior dimensions are unchanged. Of course, as before that means more than 100mm more in the wheelbase than the standard Tiguan, and about 200mm extra overall length to allow for that third seating row.

With all seven seats in place, there's a 230-litre space for luggage, increasing to 700 litres in five-seat guise and 1775 litres with all back seats folded down.

The Comfortline and Highline trim level designations are dropped in favour of Life, Elegance and R-Line trims. 

The drivetrain choices match those in the five chair, editions, so a 110kW/250Nm 1.4-litre turbocharged engine – that already offers in front-drive $46,900 TSI Life entry-level and next-step up $55,900 TSI R-Line regular editions.

Those preferring all-wheel-drive achieve a 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder, putting out 132kW/320Nm and 162kW/350Nm. In the five-chair range, those selections respectively come in a $59,990 TSI Style and $68,900 TSI R-Line.  

This year the five chair, which achieves 70 percent of Tiguan volume, alone is expected to capture 1100 of the more than 3000 registrations the brand’s national distributor is aiming to snare. That’s a lift on last year, when Tiguan in all formats accounted for 800 out of a total passenger tally of 2877.

After the Allspace comes two more variants that have never been tried before but could turn out to be distinct winners.

The first, also timed for late 2021 arrival, is the Tiguan R, an all-out performance flagship with the same kick-ass 230kW/400Nm 2.0-litre, DSG and AWD drivetrain as the latest hotshot Golf R.

The other is VW NZ is the eHybrid, a version running a plug-in hybrid drivetrain from which economy of 4.7L/100km is possible while the 13kWh battery provides an all-electric range of around 50km at speeds of up to 130kmh. 

 It sounds like there’s a bit of a fun factor from the drivetrain, too. A combination of the 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol and 85kW electric motor means a total output of 180kW and 400Nm of torque, making it second only to the R in the Tiguan power stakes. All of the grunt goes through the front wheels alone and gets the eHybrid from 0-100kmh in 7.5 seconds.