New Tiguan 4 Motion with Factory Swivel Towbar

I know other VW cars have not had the clearance or the correct wiring for the caravan fridge as they were fitted to the minimum EU standard. Before buying I would get definite confirmation on the clearance and the wiring and any order should be on condition the correct clearance is there and  the electrics are wired up for the caravan..

I had an issue with this on an old style RLine which had different bumpers from the standard model.  VW and the dealer were totally uninterested.

The wiring on mine was fine.

Hopefully they have sorted the issue for the new model, personally I would want hard facts before proceeding with the purchase.

If you Google "New Tiguan Towbar" you`ll find the following reference about halfway down the first result page "1 day ago ... i had delivery of a 2016 Tiguan at the end of June, despite it not having the towbar on it I had ordered. It was expected, I was told in the next few ..." - its actually a question to the Caravan Club expert but must have been posted when site was undergoing maintenance. It may well refer to a dealer fit towbar rather than the factory fit. I have a swivel towbar on a Merc and they are worth every penny.

I'm sorry I cant help you with the new Tig but the old one did not have sufficient clearance for the alko stabiliser according to alko's requirements.  I got all the measurements for the towbar from a very helpful gentleman at vw in Germany as no one in this country could help.  I ended up getting a dealer fitted towbar, that was much more expensive of course.

However, I did inspect a Tig with the factory fit towbar on site and in practice it did not seem to cause a problem when it was hitched up To the caravan.  Not a risk I would take though.

Good luck with obtaining the info you need - if I remember correctly vw provided me with a technical drawing, showing all the measurements and the ball was a few mms too close to the bumper.

I do not have one of the new Tiguans, but I have purchased new cars in the past, and on occasions have made the mistake of ordering a tow bar fitted as part of the deal. Every time I've done that, I have discovered quite quickly that neither the fridge nor the on board battery was being charged whilst towing.

It was quite evident that the supplying dealer had no idea of the requirements of a modern caravan, and did not understand the vagaries of the 13 pin system.

My advice is take delivery of your new car as specified, and then take it to a reputable specialist tow bar fitting company. They will fit a tow bar,- properly approved for your car, and also ensure that all wiring is correctly fitted in such a way as not to invalidate your warranty.

You may well find that your car dealership uses them too, but then inflates the price to you to cover their costs etc.

TF

Thanks for the responses so far.  I have got the dealer on the case and also the UK VW technical department.  It is not very easy to get the answer!  Once I do, I will post on here so others can see.  It is a cracking car and a big improvement on the old version.

On the electrics check what the brochure says - the Passat brochure says the factory fit tow bar comes with a fully wired socket which indeed it did on our Passat which has the excellent electric swivel tow bar and special rear bumper - all much neater and better than any after market fit could ever be. 

The only German manufacturers who seem to have difficulty with electrics from the posts are BMW and Audi, VW sorted the issue some time ago. Dealers have a blind spot on all things caravan whatever they tell you have it written into the contract of sale!

The only German manufacturers who seem to have difficulty with electrics from the posts are BMW and Audi, VW sorted the issue some time ago. Dealers have a blind spot on all things caravan whatever they tell you have it written into the contract of sale!

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The BMW dealer i dealt with fully understood my needs regarding the additional wiring required for fridge / charging, all OK on collection.