Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

The gasoline-electric Tiguan GTE concept highlights Volkswagen’s green future

By

The all-new 2017 Tiguan will unquestionably be the star of the Volkswagen booth at tomorrow’s Frankfurt Motor Show, but it won’t be the only new model on display. Notably, Volkswagen will show a thinly-veiled concept dubbed Tiguan GTE that previews an upcoming plug-in hybrid version of firm’s latest crossover.

Updated 09-15-2015 by Ronan Glon: Corrected an error regarding the driving range added by the roof-mounted solar panel.

While it looks like simply a dark blue Tiguan at first glance, the GTE concept is powered by a 214-horsepower gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain that consists of a 1.4-liter TSI engine and a compact electric motor. The two power sources zap the front wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission designed specifically for hybrid drivetrains.

Related

Electricity is stored in a lithium-ion battery pack that can be topped up either while driving or by stopping at a charging station. An innovative solar panel on the roof allows the crossover to drive on electricity alone for an extra 621 miles annually in ideal weather conditions. Volkswagen stresses that 621 miles is only attainable in sunny places like southern Europe, and it predicts the huge solar panel only gives the Tiguan an extra 310 miles in its home country of Germany.

The concept offers four driving modes called E-Mode, Hybrid, Battery Charge and GTE, respectively. In E-Mode, the Tiguan is powered exclusively by the electric motor at speeds of up to 80 mph, though how long it can drive for hasn’t been announced yet. Hybrid alternates between the TSI engine and the electric motor as required, while Battery Charge does exactly what its name implies. Finally, the driver-focused GTE mode makes the throttle and the steering more responsive, and it tells the DSG gearbox to hold each gear for longer. As a result, the Tiguan can reach 62 mph from a stop in 8.1 seconds and reach a top speed of 124 mph.

Outside, the GTE stands out from the Tiguan thanks to minor details such as specific bumpers on both ends, C-shaped LED daytime running lights up front, and small GTE emblems on both fenders. The story is similar on the inside, where the updates are largely limited to GTE-specific instrument cluster with a power gauge, a new three-spoke steering wheel as well as blue accents on the seats and the shift lever.

Volkswagen has not revealed what the future holds for the Tiguan GTE concept. However, it has previously announced its intention to sell more plug-in models all across the globe, so it’s not too far-fetched to imagine the Tiguan GTE will join the Volkswagen lineup as a regular-production model in the not-too-distant future. If built, the GTE will be the first regular-production plug-in hybrid crossover to wear a Volkswagen emblem.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon
Contributor
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
Tesla posts exaggerate self-driving capacity, safety regulators say
Beta of Tesla's FSD in a car.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned that Tesla’s use of social media and its website makes false promises about the automaker’s full-self driving (FSD) software.
The warning dates back from May, but was made public in an email to Tesla released on November 8.
The NHTSA opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the FSD software, following three reported collisions and a fatal crash. The investigation centers on FSD’s ability to perform in “relatively common” reduced visibility conditions, such as sun glare, fog, and airborne dust.
In these instances, it appears that “the driver may not be aware that he or she is responsible” to make appropriate operational selections, or “fully understand” the nuances of the system, NHTSA said.
Meanwhile, “Tesla’s X (Twitter) account has reposted or endorsed postings that exhibit disengaged driver behavior,” Gregory Magno, the NHTSA’s vehicle defects chief investigator, wrote to Tesla in an email.
The postings, which included reposted YouTube videos, may encourage viewers to see FSD-supervised as a “Robotaxi” instead of a partially automated, driver-assist system that requires “persistent attention and intermittent intervention by the driver,” Magno said.
In one of a number of Tesla posts on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a driver was seen using FSD to reach a hospital while undergoing a heart attack. In another post, a driver said he had used FSD for a 50-minute ride home. Meanwhile, third-party comments on the posts promoted the advantages of using FSD while under the influence of alcohol or when tired, NHTSA said.
Tesla’s official website also promotes conflicting messaging on the capabilities of the FSD software, the regulator said.
NHTSA has requested that Tesla revisit its communications to ensure its messaging remains consistent with FSD’s approved instructions, namely that the software provides only a driver assist/support system requiring drivers to remain vigilant and maintain constant readiness to intervene in driving.
Tesla last month unveiled the Cybercab, an autonomous-driving EV with no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle has been promoted as a robotaxi, a self-driving vehicle operated as part of a ride-paying service, such as the one already offered by Alphabet-owned Waymo.
But Tesla’s self-driving technology has remained under the scrutiny of regulators. FSD relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed machine-learning models that, in turn, help the car make decisions based on what it sees.
Meanwhile, Waymo’s technology relies on premapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), which might be very costly, but has met the approval of safety regulators.

Read more
Scout Traveler SUV vs. Rivian R1S: modern electric SUVs compared
Scout Motors Traveler SUV in a forest

Scout Motors has made a big comeback, now under the guidance of Volkswagen Group. Not only is the Scout brand being reinvigorated but it has already announced two new models in the form of the Scout Terra truck and the Scout Traveler SUV. The Scout Traveler SUV in particular is an interesting vehicle, but it has an uphill battle ahead of it thanks to competition from the likes of Rivian.

The Rivian R1S is often considered to be the best electric SUV out there right now, and while it's not cheap, it offers an excellent set of tech features, a long range, and more. So how does the Scout Traveler SUV compare with the R1S? We put the two vehicles head to head to find out.
Design
The exterior designs of the Scout Traveler and the Rivian R1S are similar in many ways, though there are some major differences. Both vehicles offer a relatively blocky shape characteristic of a traditional SUV. The Traveler is a little more traditional than the Rivian in that it has a spare tire on the back, which is both practical and gives it a rugged vibe.

Read more
Waymo, Nexar present AI-based study to protect ‘vulnerable’ road users
waymo data vulnerable road users ml still 1 ea18c3

Robotaxi operator Waymo says its partnership with Nexar, a machine-learning tech firm dedicated to improving road safety, has yielded the largest dataset of its kind in the U.S., which will help inform the driving of its own automated vehicles.

As part of its latest research with Nexar, Waymo has reconstructed hundreds of crashes involving what it calls ‘vulnerable road users’ (VRUs), such as pedestrians walking through crosswalks, biyclists in city streets, or high-speed motorcycle riders on highways.

Read more