The progress of erasing the numerical model designation in VW’s model portfolio has taken another step: the Volkswagen ID.4 will be replaced by the VW ID.Tiguan. With the ID.Polo and the ID.Cross freshly launched, following the ID.Buzz which is either sold or not sold, there will be four electric Volkswagens with a “proper” name, once the ID.Tiguan will officially debut next month. I’m putting “proper” in parentheses as the name Tiguan is famously a portmanteau of a tiger and iguana. I have no idea what the hell that looks like. [Ed note: It looks like this – Pete]
As well as the name, Volkswagen confirmed today that the ID.Tiguan will be sold in North America. Sales in Europe will begin in early 2027, with U.S. sales to be confirmed at a later date.
VW’s photo pack of the new ID.Tiguan shows it wearing moderate see-through camouflage, so design-wise there isn’t much to reveal other than final detailing of the light clusters front and rear.
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No interior photos have been shared yet, but if the ID.Polo is anything to go by, expect quiet, cloth-lined competence from door panel to door panel, with a smaller screen ahead of the driver and a larger one in the center, like on the other ID-Cockpit cars.
The design looks slightly less Moomin-like compared to the outgoing ID.4 and ID.5, with a larger “grille” between the headlights and a more pronounced jaw in some of the photos, likely depicting the R-Line version. The mid-section swoop, designed to disguise weight and beltline height on the predecessors’ sides, has also been deleted in favor of straight lines.
20 Years Of The Tiguan Name
Volkswagen has been building Tiguans for 20 years, so revising the nameplate of the EV equivalent is for a good reason. The first-generation Tiguan crossover was unveiled in November 2006 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, but it took VW a couple of years to bring it to the States and Canada as a 2009 model-year car.
Conversely, VW also sold the first-gen car for longer in the States than in Europe, as the second-generation Tiguan succeeded it elsewhere in 2016, but it was available as the Tiguan Limited on the North American market through 2018, when sales of the second-gen (above) began.
The first-gen Tiguan was also sold in China until 2020, and the second-gen car is still being made there, while elsewhere the third-generation car was rolled out in 2024. Or perhaps we should say “cars,” as the North American third-generation Tiguan isn’t the same car as the European one.
The American Tiguan is based on the larger, originally Chinese Volkswagen Tayron, to offer more interior space thanks to a longer wheelbase. Visually, the cars look much the same.
As the ICE-powered Tiguans have only just been launched, they will continue to be sold for the foreseeable future alongside the new fully EV ID.Tiguan; the regular Tiguan is also currently the best-selling Volkswagen globally. VW has built some 8.3 million Tiguans, and last year Tiguan and Tayron production surpassed one million units.
VW sold 197,000 Tiguans in Europe in 2025. It wasn’t the best-selling VW there, nor the best-selling crossover, as the smaller VW T-Roc took both of those positions with over 211 thousand units shifted. Behind the Tiguan was the VW Golf, which had almost identical figures to show for itself with nearly 195,500 cars sold. The best-selling cars in Europe were small, as the top seller was the Dacia Sandero with nearly a quarter of a million sold (great news!), and its close sibling, the Renault Clio, followed close behind. In the States, VW sold a little under 78,000 Tiguans, the first full year for Tiguan’s third generation.
The ID.4: 86’d
ID.4 production was discontinued in the U.S. in the spring of 2026. It was VW’s sole EV built in the United States, and the Chattanooga plant now focuses on building the new Atlas instead.
While VW moved a commendable 38,000 ID.4s in 2023, sales soon dropped partly due to a door-handle issue that caused a recall and a stop-sale in the fall of 2024. That specific issue was water entering the electric door handle circuit boards, causing doors to unlock or open inadvertently. The handles were fixed, but sales never recovered to the same level, especially since EV incentives were nixed. In 2025, VW sold some 22,400 ID.4s, and half-year sales for 2026 have been just 2,205 cars.
Buyers also had a hard time getting used to the ergonomics, with touch-sensitive capacitive controls and glitchy digital displays compared to competitors. Behind the wheel of an ID.4 just wasn’t a great place to be, no matter how VW tried to improve the experience.
Now that the ID.Tiguan will replace the ID.4 with a new look and a new, familiar name, it’s interesting to see how it will sell, especially in different parts of the world.
Volkswagen counted ID.5 sales together with the ID.4’s figures, for a total of 80,123 sold in Europe. That represents strong growth from 2024 (~64.7k sold), but it’s about a hundred thousand fewer cars than the Tiguan on the Euro market.
In Germany, with the currently active “ID.Kaufprämie” (ID.Cashback) of several thousand Euros, the ID.4 costs almost the same as the Tiguan with the 150-horsepower, 1.5-liter gasoline mild hybrid engine. Around 40k Euros buys either, for which you get the 58kWh, 190-horsepower version of the ID.4 as long as you pick one from VW’s factory stock. The WLTP range for that is around 265 miles.
The North American version relies on the 82kWh battery pack with an EPA rating of 291 miles. Available stock from 2025 remains for sale at a handsome $12,500 discount, which VW calls a “customer bonus,” and 2026 cars have $6,000 on the hood.
No specifications for the ID.Tiguan have been announced other than a WLTP range up to 585 km (363 miles), but those battery pack sizes are likely to be offered for it too. Since the North American ID.4 only got a big battery, it’s likely that the ID.Tiguan also won’t get the 58kWh one.
VW’s CEO, Thomas Schäfer underlines the importance of the Tiguan name, noting the sales numbers from the 20 years so far.
“More than 8.3 million Tiguan vehicles produced demonstrate the strength and trust associated with this model name,” says Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen brand, Head of the Brand Group Core and Member of the Group Board of Management. “The Tiguan represents a versatile, premium vehicle and embodies the essence of True Volkswagen. With the ID. Tiguan, we are carrying this product promise into the electric future.”
Note that on its model page for the outgoing US-market ID.4, VW also proclaims that “the future of driving is here – and it’s electric.” That might well be true, but the future of the ID.4 is Tiguan.
The numerical nomenclature, seemingly to be phased out, will serve Volkswagen until the eventual ID.Golf and ID.Passat reach the market, and the ID.3 got the “Neo” version just recently to bridge the gap.
Images: Volkswagen
Remember kids, the ID in the name stands for “It’s Diesel”.
Where I live in the northern Midwest, I can count on one hand the number if times I’ve seen a VW Tiguan. Same goes with the Atlas, although I did see one or two of them this year.
I have yet to see any electric VW vehicles. Living in a small town in flyover country has other advantages, though.
You’ll probably see more EVs once you get electricity in your region.
Funny.
I’d like to get a Slate to replace my rusty old regular-cab pickup eventually.
The Slate is intriguing. Hoping it does well. Kidding about the electricity thing.
No worries.
I don’t know if driving an id is a great idea, maybe a superego would be better.
Well, id is roughly the Freudian equivalent of lizard brain so yeah, maybe not the best naming decision.
Volkswagen e.Go? With a silly dot, because OF COURSE!
I’m just going to sit here and wait on Godot.
VW’s actual first EV, the e-Golf, is the best EV they have sold in the US.
Let me join the chorus. The ID prefix makes for a stupid name. Why is it even there? I’m sure someone got paid millions to come up with – what was in that overpriced PowerPoint that convinced the suits to go along with this idiotic naming scheme?
Sigmund Freud?
I mean, the Germans probably have their own number designation for this, so just layering Tiguan on top is like the 996 actually being a 911, or 181 being a Tiger.
These days “131” works too for the latter.
If you happen to be in the area of Bovington, the Tank Museum is a good visit.
So basically, they’re going to drag the Tiguan name and reputation into the mud?
Did the Tiguan really ever have a good reputation?
Good enough to sell a shit ton of vehicles at least. It’s no Rav4 lining up customers out the door, but it’s certainly better than the ID4.
The Tiguan doesn’t even register in any top sales charts. Chrysler sells more Pacificas than the Tiguan. VW sales numbers are an embarrassment – there is no sugar-coating that.
And the ID4 is even worse, they’re taking a bucket of water and throwing it on the last embers. Not a raging fire.
I rented one for a week last month and it was very nice. Other than it taking about 15 minutes to figure out how to make it work and the weirdest column shifter I’ve ever encountered. I have a four speed on the column car that’s more intuitive than that weird twisty thing in the VW.
“the Tiguan name and reputation”
What reputation? LOL
So all these years I’ve been calling these “Tee-gwons” when they’ve actually been “Tie-gwons”?
That’s VW. They’re too stupid to pronounce their own names. “Tee-gwon” is correct.
BTW, the worst offender in this regard is the camera maker NEE-con.
I don’t know, Americans think that Volkswagen rhymes with wagon.
Or that wienerschnitzel is pronounced with a W sound like West and is a sausage.
Nikon is pronounced just like the country it is made in, except with a k not a p sound from Nippon Kogaku.
Easy, isn’t it? Yet they keep saying NIGH-con in their own (US) commercials.
I should use one of the few opportunities to say something positive about Porsche. They keep insisting on the E not being silent.
With so many screw ups out of VW in recent years, how the hell have any of these top level executives kept their jobs?!?
An embarrassing company.
The circus at the top level claims that VW’s structure makes its decision-making process too slow. They want it to be reformed so they have even more free rein without the checks and balances that are even set in law.
Bovine feces, all of that. In reality, the only thing that has been delayed is a goodbye kick in the asses for Blume and his clowns. While I agree that the ID.Polo looks promising and the ID.Tiguan seems to be a step in the right direction from the ID.4/5, it’s too little far to late.
They’ll be a division of some Chinese conglomerate within 10 years. Assuming the German government approves it.
VAG was swimming in RMB, Scrooge-McPekingDuck style, until a few short years ago. This is just dessert for them.
Piëch could make decisions in milliseconds. Nobody there can remember how it’s done.
On the other hand they aren’t making hinges with 5 pivots anymore.
My B5.5 Passat had trunk struts like the Bentley Continental and Audi A8. Subsequent decontenting at VW and Audi went to simple springs and hinges. I can’t imagine how much some of the decisions cost VW at the time but I have a hunch Piech was doing top down engineering where the good stuff trickled down to their cheap cars (VW branded). Now, the Audi brand is rife with shit that would not have passed muster on a VW Golf during the Piech era.
VWoA has been pretty consistently incompetent since about 1974 and, honestly, they weren’t batting 1000 before that. At this point they’re just bunting everything hoping for a single.
They’re playing baseball, while everyone else is playing football, and they wonder why they are losing.
VWoA is famously hamstrung by their overlords in Germany. They are doing the best they can under the circumstances.
Speaking of stupid naming decisions foisted upon the general public by VW, I’ll throw out this crackpot theory too: Why did VW create the most confusing trim labels of all time on the ID lineup? What the eff does “Pro” mean in the lineup? What is a “Pro S”? What is base? What is the fancy one? God damnit VW, stop reinventing the wheel and use your existing nomenclature: S, SE, SEL. That’s all you need. More letters mean more better. I think the lack of clarity in their naming structure actually killed a lot of potential sales. I can’t stand it nor can I tell you which model is the base one and I’m about as much of a VW pendant as they get.
Lets go back even farther:
(Base – no letters), GL, GLX
Or
(Base – no letters), L, GL
Look how much we’re saving by not using so many letters!
Super
Super Einspritzung
Sports Einspritzung Lightweight
Well sometimes L is for Lightweight and sometimes for Long so sometimes it’s a sports car and sometimes it’s extra legroom in the back.
The worst is car companies that can’t decide if limited is the fancy version or the base version.
Usually I see “Limited” in VW terms as “we are trying to sell last generation’s model as a new car until we run out of inventory”.
Or the Luxury/Luxus version.
‘S’ has the same problem… is it the Sport or is it Stripped? On old Ford Rangers, it was ‘Stripped’
The Pro badging basically signified the bigger LG battery of 82kWh. The base model (briefly called “Limited” when VW was trying to get rid of them in 2025) gets a 62kWh battery from SK On. The S, SE, SEL badges were never really sufficient anyway considering how many times VW felt the need to add another badge for the powertrain.
If you think VW’s trim name scheme was bad, Nissan went full dagwood with the Ariya trim names.
Nothing is as bad as BMW’s naming.
2026 BMW X5 xDrivei40 vs 2027 BMW X5 40 xDrive
What the actual…?
The Pro also has the 3rd camera and longer talk time.
Hot damn good portlandia reference – I think!
Agree that Nissan was smoking something too.
I had a 2002 Passat GLX V6 4-motion which was a long ass winded way of saying I had the top of the line car at the time – which i think was prior to the W8 becoming available. My wife as a 2022 VW Tiguan SEL-R Premium R-line with 4-motion which again is a stupid name, but at least the word “pro” which typically indicates “best” is not used.
I have a 2024 ID4 and it’s been a game of “what stupid problem is this car going to have today?” simce we got it in early 2025.
The thing is a total basket case. The infotainment screen glitches out in a myriad of fun ways. Yesterday it did a new one where the screen image slowly started to blur and glitch out over time rendering the main screen completely illegible after about 30 seconds.
The nightmare window switches are well documented and never ever work properly.
The volume control frequently gets stuck in a mode where you can only adjust the built in assistant volume, not the music volume. The only way to fix is to shut off the car. Awesome when on the freeway.
Speaking of the built in assistant, it fires of if you say anything even remotely close to “ID”. If one of my kids says “Daddy” it goes off.
It doesn’t charge properly on the friggen charger it came with. Instead of the full 7kw you typically only get 4-5. The charger isn’t hot. The wiring in the wall receptacle is correct. The car just won’t take the full current most of the time.
The lack of proper buttons, some of which don’t even illuminate, is well documented, and it sucks.
The interior is rattling like crazy in a few spots. Insane for a new car with 15k miles.
Other issues include the trunk not always opening and closing and confusing controls for essential things like child safety locks.
All this is unfortunate, the car drives very nicely and has an insanely good turn radius. I like the seats as well. But it’s just a bad car in the end. It’s been to the dealer multiple times and nothing is ever fixed. We have a little more than a year left on this lease, I cannot wait to get rid of it.
Yikes, it really makes you wonder how those things ever got out the door.
“Yikes, it really makes you wonder how those things ever got out the door.”
Pushed out the door perhaps? Or towed?
Wow. What a hot garbage pile. No wonder they didn’t sell well. And no wonder they threw $5 billion at Rivian. Cheaper and better than they could probably do themselves.
I don’t understand how “German engineering” ever became a trope with positive connotations.
“Jefferson, you’ve had the car five months, it hasn’t been off the rack yet. What’s wrong with it?” “Well, they don’t know, but it’s something very sophisticated, very expensive, and very, very Euro.”
I had a VW owning coworker who would always say “yeah, they’re great cars right up until the Fahrvergnätor breaks and they have to order a replacement in from Germany.”
I don’t know if this is true but I assume it’s because for quite a bit of the 20th century German cameras were both very well made and very well designed in a way that was never really met by the Japanese and pre-WWII if you wanted a small camera that was quality you were almost certainly buying a German one. Up through the ’80s (maybe even the early ’00s though the cheapening had begun by then) German cars were something special and within reason pretty well built and reliable by the standards of their day if perhaps still a bit more finicky. Sadly this hasn’t seemed to be the case for awhile, and nothing I’ve read at least in terms of cars makes me think their software engineering is any better than their physical engineering. A friend of mine who is a mechanical engineer at Kenworth and car nut said he thinks part of the problem with German cars is that they have a competitive pricepoint they have to be at and high performance goals and they wind up sacrificing other things to achieve those goals.
“We have a little more than a year left on this lease, I cannot wait to get rid of it.”
VW Corporate would like to let you know that while you’re wrong and unworthy to own the fine example of engineering that you are obviously using incorrectly, we hear you and are working diligently to restore your satisfaction.
We’ve determined that the “problems” you perceive are due to you not fully understanding that this is a versatile, premium vehicle and embodies the essence of True Volkswagen. As such, we are issuing an emergency recall of your vehicle that will solve this. The faulty “ID.4” model identification lettering on your tailgate will be replaced with “ID.Tiguan”.
We are confident this will immediately address all misconceptions and re-align you with the superiority of the vehicle. Sincerely and f*ck you very much,
VW Corporate.
Accurate
Marketing Dept in Wolfsburg: We looked through our achieves and came up with Stromvergnügen. We’ve got a shit-tonne of umlauts we need to use up.
CEO: Nailed it! Send it to the printer to get banners made. Alert all the dealers in North America. They’ll be so glücklich.
One of these days, they will come up with an ID.Kübelwagen. Renault knows how to do retro, VW doesn’t.
Shocking!
I know automakers love to slap a “new” label on cars every year, but this is surely just a deep facelift on the ID.4, no? The front window glass is identical and so is the shape of the hood cut line (and therefore the front crash structure).
Of course, this fixes one of the biggest problems with the ID.4 which was styling.
It’s like when realtors put up a “New Listing” sign on top of the “For Sale” sign, despite it having been for sale for the last 3 weeks.
It gets attention.
VW used to be famous for selling a 1930s car in the 50s and continuing to sell it until 2003.
Then they sold a “new” version designed to look like the old version that they were still selling. Then a new new version that looked like the old new version.
Honestly, if VW can address the major complaints from the ID.4, this will be a quick turnaround. Real door handles are a good start. If they have a usable interior, I could see this thing being a decent commuter car. In theory reliability shouldn’t be an issue because EV, but it’s VW so I’m sure they’ll be some frustrating software issue.
The entire ID range is a major complaint. They should scrap it all, get a clue and start over.
New name or not, this thing still looks familiarly unremarkable. If VW’s idea of a fresh start is a substantially similar crossover with a name borrowed from the ICE lineup, I can see why the German people are starting to look for an alternative. At least a recycled name is consistent with the environmentally sustainable mission of an EV, I guess.
I don’t think this car will save VW.
It’s a VW family SUV. I don’t think it could or need to look particularly remarkable, just needs to be good and fit for purpose. I think it’s pretty neat and tidy, graphics make sense and proportions aren’t bad for what it is.
I have to disagree. VW has shown from the ID.4 that building an adequate vehicle isn’t enough. There is a lot of competition in the small SUV category, and VW appears to have done very little to differentiate their vehicle from the competition (hell, VW appears to have done very little to differentiate this vehicle from the ID.4 it is replacing). Plus, EVs aren’t exactly flying off dealer lots in the US.
“If at first you don’t succeed, sell a nearly identical thing with different marketing” is a phrase uttered by no one. I’m not saying this car will be an epic flop like the ID.Buzz (which is probably one of the bigger flops in automotive history), but I guarantee VW will be offering big discounts and 0% financing on this car not long after its release.
VW is mired in mediocrity. Vehicles like this help write its epitaph.
“VW 1938-2031… At least we had the Beetle”
VW and mainstream brands like it are in a tough place of the market right now. They used to sell on perceived quality and low price. Their big successes (in recent times) were never super distinguished and remarkable cars, but they were neat, understated and fit for purpose. Now all cars are great quality and the chinese beat them on price, so there’s 0 reason to buy one anymore.
I wouldn’t say the ID4 is an adequate vehicle, it’s been a complete cost-cut disaster and an obvious step backwards in comparison to their previous gen product. If you look at the ID Polo and what’s coming next there’s hope, they’re putting quality and some charm back in the interiors and tech is getting more mature. EVs are the future for cars like this, ironically this US admin has perhaps even accelerated the transition with those recent fuel prices.
I’ve been enjoying my life for the last 20 years blissfully unaware that Tiguan is a combination of Tiger and Iguana. Thanks for ruining everything!
What really freaks me out is that there’s apparently a whole department at VW who fantasizes about an iguana humping a tiger. Even Rule 34 can’t account for that.
How do we know it’s not the other way around?
Oh – that poor little iguana.
Cats like to play with their food.
Wow, I haven’t thought about the Moomintrolls for 50 years. Total Proustian moment!
I don’t know if the name Tiguan is as popular in the US as they seem to think.
I’D change the name to Tiguan or Fox, or Dasher.
This is the right answer. Your f150 or accord doesn’t get a new name for every engine option. Why do more than just stick and EV badge on the back and make the rest of the car the same.
Is it the same car inside? Seems like many car manufacturers have it stuck in their head that when they opt for electric propulsion they have to erase the whole dashboard and replace it with a tablet.
Quantum would sound pretty cool
Quantum would be a fantastic name for an EV crossover. And for that matter, why on earth can’t the ID.Buzz be called Vanagon? Or even VanEgon if they insist?
I mean – it has been almost 40 years since the last Quantum was sold so maybe people have finally forgot about its reputation of being an unholy turd on wheels.
I’ll throw Vorgon into the ring, along with, Mangalore, Janus and Hephaestus.
They should name it the Boogaloo. The electric part would be understood by all without having to be stated directly.
So they’re giving it a new ID?
It entered witness protection after seeing the ID.Buzz get murdered.
“Tell you what, Mr. ID.4, from now on your name is ID.Tiguan, at Terror Lake.
Let’s just practice a bit, hmmmm? So when I say hello Mr. ID.Tiguan, you say hi.”
Why can’t it just have a regular name? Why do we have to call it ID.Tiguan? How do I even say it? Do I say ID dot Tiguan? ID period Tiguan? ID Tiguan? Same for ID.4. I presume you just say ID 4, but, to be honest, I’ve never heard it sad aloud by the marketing ovelords.
This is such a weird marketing play. The Tiguan was only marginally successful; certainly not successful enough to reuse the name. Further, does marketing really think people can’t understand that it’s an EV without adding some nonsensical letters before the names of their EVs?
The Tiguan is a lot more than marginally successful, it’s been the best selling VW in North America since the second-gen model was introduced a decade ago.
Best selling for VW is precisely why you don’t want to reuse the name.
In 2025 Honda and Toyota both sold more CR-Vs and RAV-4s than VW did cars. VW sold 78K Tiguans in 2025; down 17% from the year before; granted this year is looking much better.
Now, the name of a car isn’t going to fix the problem if it continues to be a crappy EV, but, considering the sales numbers, the Tiguan name carries little weight even if it was VWs most successful car the last 10 years. VW should be trying to move past and out of the rut of the last 10 years. Not purposefully wallow in it.
“Best selling VW in North America” is a low bar. Subaru sells almost 3 times as many CrossTreks a year as VW does the Tiguan. Heck – they aren’t too far off of selling as many CrossTreks as VW sells of everything in the US a year. VW should be competing with Honda and Toyota, but instead they can’t keep up with Subaru.
VW=weird marketing play ever since overseas markets became more important than the U.S. one. The collapse of EV demand meant that the whole “ID” line of cars withered on the vine. So folding it in to the regular ICE lineup makes sense, but why they have to retain the “ID” prefix is odd. That brand might have value elsewhere, mainly Europe, but it’s not worth saving in the U.S.
Speaking of Europe, the Tiguan is very much a global product, and very successful elsewhere with production totaling over 8 million units globally since 2007 and hitting almost a million in 2019 alone. It’s like the ID.Buzz, which is a stinker here but doing reasonably well elsewhere. The Tiguan not up to the 15 million CR-Vs Honda has managed to move since the late 1990s, but it’s easily VW’s top nameplate.
Thanks to massive competition in what was VW’s top market–Asia–I think VW will find itself more attracted to the increasingly protectionist U.S. market and launch more models here.
“ID” is a stupid name. Tiguan is a very stupid name, albeit one people are somewhat familiar with. The non-ID Tiguan being a success shows that a vehicle can sell even with stupid name if it’s a vehicle people want. This suggests the ID.4’s problem was the product. Or the marketing.
Or being a VW.
Is the ID.Tiguan still a VW?
Good luck.
Is it really a success though? It’s been successful for VW, sure, but, not really that successful in the market.
“Tiguan EV” was just to basic?
I think eTiguan would have been OK. Like they had eGolf and eUp. And they could have also named the new ID.Polo as ePolo.
ID.Buzz. You need an ID to get buzzed 😛
VW should use some Chattanooga space to assemble Amarok CKD kits