√Volkswagen Golf and Tiguan plug-in hybrids still wanted for Australia

Plug-in hybrid versions of the Volkswagen Tiguan SUV and Golf hatchback are on the radar for Australia, to follow the Touareg R hybrid already slated for launch next year.

Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions of the popular Volkswagen Tiguan SUV and Volkswagen Golf hatchback remain on Volkswagen Australia’s wish list for a local launch.

The company says it is working to introduce them with the next major updates to both cars – a facelift for the Golf, and the next generation of the Tiguan, both anticipated in 2024 – but it is yet to receive final approval from head office.

“We’re still heavily focused on trying to get those products and when they do come they will be with successor models, so facelifts and things like that,” Todd Ford, product manager for Volkswagen Australia’s passenger-car division, told Drive.

“We’re fully committed to [the] Touareg R plug-in hybrid for the facelift [due in early 2024], that’s a given – but we’re still heavily pushing for Tiguan and Golf [PHEVs].”

If it is confirmed for Australia, the Volkswagen Tiguan ‘eHybrid’ plug-in hybrid could reach in local showrooms with the new-generation model due to be revealed in Europe sometime this year.

The current Tiguan eHybrid is powered by a 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, electric motor and 10.4kWh battery, which combine for 180kW, claimed fuel use of 1.7 litres per 100 kilometres (according to lenient NEDC lab testing), and an electric-only driving range of 48km.

Meanwhile, the current plug-in hybrid Volkswagen Golf GTE shares the Tiguan’s 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and electric motor developing 180kW, but tuned for sportier driving.

The current-generation ‘Mk8’ Volkswagen Golf is due for a mid-life facelift in Europe this year, with the first examples expected in Australian showrooms next year.

Volkswagen Australia initially planned for its first plug-in hybrid to arrive before the end of 2022, the Touareg R large performance SUV – however supply constraints have delayed this rollout.

As a result, the plug-in hybrid Touareg R variant is now set to arrive with the facelifted Touareg range, which is expected to land in Australian showrooms in the first half of 2024.

“We’d hoped to get the [Touareg R PHEV] with the current car as publicised but [this changed] with the overseas demand, the timing, and the facelift around the corner,” Mr Ford said.

In Europe the Touareg R PHEV is powered by a 250kW 3.0-litre turbocharged petrol V6 and 100kW electric motor, which together produce 340kW and 700Nm, for a claimed 0-100km/h time of 5.1 seconds.

A 14.3kWh battery pack offers an estimated 47km of electric driving range (in NEDC lab testing).

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