Volkswagen is getting adventurous. The Concept A, making its public debut at the Geneva motor show later this month, is a precursor to VW’s all-new compact four-wheel drive SUV, planned to launch in the United States in 2008. Billed as a four-door coupe with go-anywhere capability, the production version of the one-off show car will be less flamboyant in production form. Still, now that Wolfgang Bernard is calling the shots in Wolfsburg, the small SUV is crucial to VW’s efforts to give its North American sales a desperately needed boost.

Like the Concept A, VW’s upcoming Golf-based SUV (it will be priced to compete against the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V) will have its transverse-mounted engine delivering power permanently to all four wheels via a Haldex multi plate clutch—the same combination used in the 4wd Golf 4Motion and Golf R32. In production the new ute will also have the concept’s taut lines and neat detailing, VW says.

So get used to that bold front end: VW claims the Concept A previews the production car’s face, all the way down to its curvy headlamps, brushed aluminum grille and prominent wheel arch flares. The raised ride height and considerable ground clearance also help provide the characteristic off-road look, played to full effect by 20-inch alloy wheels shod with chunky 295/40 profile tires and exposed rear suspension—both aimed at communicating the new car’s off-road capability. Also look for the heavily shouldered flanks, split tailgate and tail lamp design on the production car.

The biggest change, according to highly placed Volkswagen officials, will be the roofline, which is set to forgo the sloping effect applied to the Concept A for a much straighter structure. VW claims this will give the Touareg’s baby brother with class leading versatility, and the more upright rear end will add luggage capacity. The one-off show car’s expensive coach style doors will be replaced by conventional front hinged ones, with a B-pillar set to provide the sort of rigidity required in off-road driving.

At 171 inches long, 72 inches wide and 61 inches tall, the Concept A is six inches longer, four inches wider and two and a half inches higher than the fifth-generation Golf. The wheelbase is three-fourths of an inch longer than the Golf’s; the additional length and differing proportions being achieved via slightly longer front and rear overhangs as well as a rather shallow glass house topped with a fully retractable sunroof.

Considerable attention has been paid to the Concept A’s interior, which boasts a luxurious mixture of stitched black leather and brushed aluminum. There’s seating for five, although the middle rear seat looks cramped. The center piece of the elegantly styled dashboard is a large singular dial that doubles as both a speedometer and rev counter, while also housing a secondary monitor for satellite navigation commands and other information.

Powering the Concept A is Volkswagen’s 148 hp, 1.4-liter direct-injection Twin Charger engine, recently launched in the European market Golf GT. The engine has both a supercharger (for solid low-end pull) and turbocharger (for a strong top end).

Other engines are rumored for production, including the Golf GTi’s 197 hp turbocharged 2.0-liter and Golf GTD’s 170 hp 2.0-liter turbodiesel.

Volkswagen has christened its new compact SUV, as previewed by the Concept A at last February’s Geneva motor show, Tiguan following an internet poll of European automotive magazine readers .

A combination of the words Tiger and Leguan, the Tiguan name was chosen over a list of nomenclatures dreamt up by Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg-based marketing department, including Rockton, Nanuk, Samun and Namib.

Some 350,000 readers were involved in the poll conducted over the internet, according to the German car maker which plans to unveil a second, more production orientated concept of its compact Golf-based SUV at the Los Angeles motor show in December before unveiling a definitive production version at the Frankfurt motor show in September 2007.

Commenting on the poll, Volkswagen boss, Wolfgang Bernhard, said, "This is demonstrative of how Volkswagen is opening up: we made a clear appeal to the market - potential buyers could help choose the name Tiguan. The positive reaction shows that this is the right approach."

Volkswagen's new small sport wagon is developed on the Rabbit platform and will debut as the Tiguan concept in Los Angeles. Insiders say the concept is very similar to the vehicle that goes into production in 2008.

The Tiguan is expected to have a V-6 engine for the United States and all-wheel drive. A diesel that complies with all 50 states may be available.

The new Tiguan cute-ute factored big into Volkswagen's press conference at this year's LA show. And no wonder, as Vee-Dub is hoping its new small sport-ute sells big, especially in the all-important US market, and especially in California where nobody needs a truck yet everybody has one (and parks it next to their Prius).

Volkswagen of America revealed that Tiguan is priced to sell with a starting MSRP of just $22,490. With just two sport-utes in its lineup, that gives VW a huge price-point spread that stretches all the way up to $68,320 for the bigger Touareg 2 with the jumbo-jet-pulling V10 TDI.

Volkswagen is evidently hoping that the Tiguan will become the Golf of the sport-ute market after it hits US dealers this coming summer. Check out our gallery of the US-spec Tiguan below, and VW's official press release after the jump.