A mix of tiger and iguana

The tiger-iguana synthesis.

According to VW information 'the people' wanted Tiguan, a blend of the German words for tiger (Tiger) and iguana (Leguan). And in 2009 the Tiguan was born. VW is using "The people want..." as a unifying tagline for all its models, so as to emphasise that Volkswagen means 'The People's Car'.

Former VW car names have fallen into three general categories: Smallish, Sorta Cute Animals (Beetle, Rabbit, Fox); Blowin' in the Wind (Golf is German for "gulf," as in 'gulfstream', Passat means 'trade wind', Jetta means 'jet stream'); and miscellaneous weirdness. That probably sounds dandy auf Deutsch. In the third category we find Tiguan as well as Sharan (from the Persian meaning 'carrier of kings'), Touran (from tour plus Sharan), and Touareg (from the name of a nomadic North African tribe).

Most of those names are distinctive and unconfusing, if a bit strange to ears accustomed to car names that evoke romantic places or large, threatening animals. Touran, Touareg, and Tiguan do invite confusion. Although it's not unusual for car makers to bestow alliterative names on their products, it's much more challenging to keep them straight when the names are exotic, invented, or meaningless.

As for the tiger-iguana synthesis, there are those who want a tiger in their tank, but a large, cold-blooded lizard that stops moving when the temperature falls? Not so sure about that.