Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) has posted a shadowy teaser of an upcoming SUV on its social media pages, hinting at the upcoming arrival of the Volkswagen Tayron. While only the front and rear light bars are clearly visible in the teaser, the caption, which reads, “Life is moving up a size. Tay Tuned”, sure leaves little to the imagination. With a little bit of Photoshop magic, you’ll also see the full “Tayron” nameplate in the image, effectively confirming the identity of the replacement of the Tiguan Allspace.
As the caption suggests, it takes the Tiguan Allspace formula and stretches it even further, along with a more luxurious touch. The model was initially a China-exclusive model, but since the introduction of its second-generation, it’s now become a global model that serves as the replacement of the Tiguan AllSpace.
Looking at the Australian market, where the car has been made available, the car measures 4,792 mm long, 1,853 mm wide, 1,674 mm tall, and has a wheelbase of 2,791 mm. Available as a 5- or 7-seater, the car measures 253 mm longer, 11 mm wider, 35 mm taller, with its wheelbase also extended by 114 mm compared to the Tiguan Allspace.
The Volkswagen Tayron adopts Volkswagen’s latest SUV design language, looking every bit like a Tiguan that’s grown up. While the overall silhouette remains familiar, the Tayron features sleeker front and rear light signatures, a wider front grille and full-width light bars that give it a more contemporary appearance. Combined with its larger dimensions, the result is a noticeably more mature and upmarket presence than the outgoing Tiguan Allspace.
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Squint a little at the teaser image, and you’ll also notice that Volkswagen Malaysia appears to be bringing in the Elegance variant. If it mirrors the Australian-market specification, buyers can expect standard equipment such as 19-inch alloy wheels, exclusive chrome strips on the lower air intake and rear bumpers, matte roof rails, and LED Plus projector lens-style headlights.
Inside, the Tayron will feel instantly familiar to anyone who’s sat in the facelifted Mk8.5 Golf, adopting Volkswagen’s latest dashboard layout with several quality-of-life improvements over earlier models. Standard equipment on the Australian-market Elegance includes a 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit instrument cluster paired with a 12.9-inch central infotainment touchscreen.
Volkswagen has also addressed one of the biggest criticisms of its previous infotainment systems by introducing illuminated touch sliders beneath the screen, making them much easier to use at night. The steering wheel also returns to physical buttons instead of the touch-sensitive controls found on earlier models.
In Australia, the car can be optioned with an additional sound and vision package which introduces a larger 15.9-inch centre screen, a 700-watt 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, heads-up display, and dual wireless chargers.
As expected from a larger SUV, rear passengers benefit from generous accommodation, including a centre armrest with integrated cupholders and a dedicated storage compartment. With all three rows in place, the seven-seat Tayron offers 345 litres of boot space. Folding the third row expands capacity to 850 litres, while the five-seat version offers an even larger 885 litres with the rear seats in use.
In Australia, the Volkswagen Tayron Elegance is offered with two electrified powertrains. The first is a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing 204 hp and 320 Nm of torque. Power is sent to all four wheels via Volkswagen’s seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission and the brand’s 4Motion all-wheel-drive system.
For buyers seeking greater efficiency, Volkswagen also offers a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant. It combines a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor for a total system output of 204 hp and 350 Nm of torque.
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Energy is supplied by a 19.7-kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery pack. This supports AC charging at up to 11 kW and DC fast charging at up to 40 kW, with Volkswagen claiming an electric-only driving range of up to 116 km.
In Australia, the Volkswagen Tayron range starts from AUD54,140 for the entry-level Life variant and climbs to AUD80,815 for the flagship R-Line. Making them approximately 8% to 10% more expensive than the third-generation Tiguan there, which is currently not on sale in Malaysia. For context, the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace currently starts from RM260,074 on the road and without insurance.
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