— Shopping for the 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan? Good news. Effective immediately: Volkswagen has slashed pricing on the redesigned SUV in an effort to compete with its rivals. The automaker sent a notice to dealers today of the discounts, which go as deep as $2,180 for certain trim levels.
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It's an effort "to conquest customers in the compact SUV segment," the automaker told us in an email. The Tiguan, one of 's Best of 2018 nominees, went on sale last summer. But conquests may have been difficult given its steep pricing, which began north of $26,000 with destination charges, and quickly swelled beyond $30,000 as you climbed the trim levels. By contrast, rivals like the Nissan Rogue, Honda CR-V and Ford Escape start at less than $25,000.
Today's drop should close the gap, or even eliminate it altogether, versus some competitors. Volkswagen reduced the base trim level, called the Tiguan S, by $600; it now starts at about $25,500. The SE, which adds a slew of creature comforts and safety tech (some of which are optional on the S) gets the largest price cut: $2,180, which brings its price down to about $27,500. That should benefit the largest chunk of shoppers, as the SE accounts for 43.8 percent of all 2018 model-year Tiguan inventory on .
Volkswagen slashed the SEL by $1,460 (now $31,990), while the SEL Premium ($37,150) remains unchanged. All prices are for front-wheel-drive models with a third-row seat; all-wheel drive runs another $1,300 but deletes the third row, which you can add back for $500.
The automaker confirmed that equipment for each trim level, as well as the destination charge and pricing for all options, remains the same.
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