VW Tiguan facelift

Volkswagen has released the first images of its revised Tiguan, just under a month ahead of its public debut at the Geneva show.

The German firm says the early launch has been caused by the outgoing car selling out earlier than expected - although it could just as easily be down to the fact that pics of the revised Tiguan leaked onto VW's German website yesterday.

See the official pics of the VW Tiguan facelift

The shortage of details in the accompanying release would indicate that the reveal has caught VW on the hop. It confirms that the car will start at the same price in Germany - a trend that's likely to continue in the UK - and that advance orders are now being taken.

The new model gets a different grille and a new light design at the front and rear, plus a revamped bumper.

The engine line-up is likely to remain unchanged - although VW will probably introduce Bluemotion tech to deliver modest gains in fuel economy and CO2 emissions. It's also possible that DSG dual-clutch transmissions may be made more widely available across the range.

More details are expected to be released on 17 February. The UK order book will open in June, and the first deliveries are expected in August.