It won’t have escaped your notice that Land Rover recently stopped making the Defender after an unbroken 67-year production run.

During that time, Solihull built just over 2 million of the things. And it became a legend.

Now, compare that to the Mk1 Volkswagen Tiguan. In eight years, VW sold 2.6 million of them.

So, quite a popular SUV, then. And the Mk2 model aims to be more popular still.

It’s a little longer and wider, and sits a touch lower than before. It still follows the same five-door, five-seat pattern – though the next couple of years will see the arrival of a long-wheelbase seven-seater and, would you believe, a coupe.

In the nearer future, the Tiguan will go on sale in April with a choice of 2.0-litre engines. The only choice to start with will be petrol or diesel – a 178bhp, 236lb ft TSI or a 148bhp, 251lb ft TDI.

The petrol unit has a seven-speed DSG box as standard. The same unit is optional on the diesel, which also offers an entry-level two-wheel drive option.

You won’t have to wait long for both these engines to become distintly mid-range. Before any of us are much older, the Tiguan line-up will include a 1.4-litre petrol engine in 123 and 147bhp form, and the same 2.0 TSI tuned for 217bhp.

But SUV buyers want diesel. And with 114, 188 and 236bhp versions of the existing 2.0 TDI on the way, plenty of them will want the Tiguan.

So they should, too. The old model’s interior was good, but this one takes the game forward with a strong combination of classy design, quality materials and excellent, well utilised space for people and cargo alike. It’s well equipped, too, taking its technological cues from the current Passat.

In terms of driving, all we’ve done so far is shiver our way around on some icy roads in an Arctic winter. So we can’t yet say too much – though we certainly did see plenty of the four-wheel drive system, which really seems to do the job when traction is at an absolute premium.

If you really want to go places that ask it questions, you can once again get an off-road model with unique bumpers giving it more clearance at each end. As it is, 4x4 models have slightly raised suspension, giving them better ground clearance than the 4x2.

Four-wheel drive comes with four driving modes, too, allowing you to trim the vehicle for road, trail or snow – or to set it up to suit your own personal tastes.

What’s much more likely to be relevant is that it rides very smoothly, even on grotty roads. It’s extremely quiet and refined in the cabin, too – so much so that you do notice the difference in note between the TSI and TDI engines.

So far, what we’ve seen tells us that the new Tiguan is going to cut it with the best in terms of cabin quality and practicality, and that when it comes to what a true 4x4 can do there won’t be much in its class that can beat it. We expect its ride and refinement to remain untroubled by British conditions, too.

Over and above that, there are questions still to answer. But if all the many improvements we’ve noted so far are matched by everything else in the way it drives, this is going to be a worthy successor to a car whose 2.6 million owners can’t be wrong.

Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TSI 4Motion

Location: Sweden

On sale: April

Price: £23,000 (from, est)

Engine: 4 cyls, 1984cc, turbocharged, petrol;

Power: 178bhp

Torque: 236lb ft at 1500-3950rpm

Gearbox: 7-spd dual-clutch automatic

Kerb weight: na

Top speed: 129mph

0-60mph: 7.7sec

Economy: 38.7mpg (combined)

CO2/tax band: 168g/km, 28%