Review: Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TDI

 The Volkswagen Tiguan's name - a portmanteau of 'tiger' and 'iguana' - matches its nature. The Tiguan combines various elements of the automotive rainbow to come up with a form factor increasingly embraced by car manufacturers - the crossover SUV.
With fuel prices continuing to rise at the bowser, Australians are being driven into smaller cars. The compact SUV, or crossover, is a relatively new beast and its popularity is rising as people downgrade from full-size SUVs. Volkswagen's Tiguan is hoping to capitalize on this trend by offering the practicality and safety of an SUV in a package designed to suit today's concerns over fuel use and the environment.

In keeping with its dual identity, the Tiguan sits on the same platform as the Volkswagen Golf, a car well known for its small size and relative ubiquity both in its home country of Germany and overseas as well. Starting with such a small platform makes the Tiguan a lithe handler, and when combined with VW's 4MOTION all-wheel-drive system there is definitely an emphasis on using it as a city car rather than a true off-roader.

In Australia, the Tiguan comes in three variants, including two petrol engines and a diesel engine. The 2.0-litre diesel engine is expected to be popular amongst a new breed of fuel misers, and hence the one that we tested.

Rugged looks in a compact package

From the outset the Tiguan attempts to live up to the rugged image of its older brother, the full-sized Volkswagen Touareg SUV. The dominant front grille is flanked by aggressive headlights, which give the car a much more serious look than similar cars from other manufacturers, such as the Honda CR-V. The sloping windscreen and the tapering rear roofline give the Tiguan a coupe-like appearance and further confirm its status as a hybrid of car and SUV body styles.

While the standard Tiguan comes with 16-inch 'San Francisco' alloy wheels, our test car featured optional 'New York' 18-inch wheels that definitely gave the Tiguan more presence, although at $2290 some buyers may be left feeling a little short changed.

The car certainly doesn't look small, but it is both shorter and narrower than a Honda CR-V, although similar in height, meaning that the Tiguan is relatively simple to park and yet still provides a good driving position with plenty of visibility around the Tiguan's corners. When combined with the optional $1390 'Park Assist' option, which adds rear parking sensors, the Tiguan is even easier to manouvre into the nearest available space.

Interior styling shows European flair

The European styling for the exterior is matched by a handsome interior, and while the plastics and materials used throughout aren't quite up to the standards of compatriots BMW and Mercedes-Benz, they are still high quality for a relatively cheap car.

Our test car's centre console housed the (optional) RNS510 Satellite Navigation system, which offered an easy line of sight for the driver, and the climate controls were placed beneath this to ensure easy access while on the move. Interior space was excellent at the front, however the rear was not as spacious as it could have been, and ensuring the comfort of rear passengers means relinquishing some of the cargo space in the back. Additionally, the Tiguan can only take 5 passengers, and no third row is available.

The leather package on our test car went a long way in improving the ambience of the car, giving it a much more luxurious feel - but at a cost of $3990 for the Vienne leather package and electric driver’s seat, most purchasers will likely stick with the standard cloth upholstery.

With the rear seats flattened the Tiguan has ample room for cargo space, and the front passenger seat can even be folded flat for long items, such as skis. A full load of five passengers cuts storage space to 395 litres. However, up to 1,510 litres and 650kg of gear can be stowed when the rear seats are folded down.

Standard on-board features include a multi-function leather steering wheel, cruise control and a MP3 CD stereo with an auxiliary input and eight speakers. Many of the other interior parts come straight from the Golf, such as the gauges and gearknob, though they don't look too out of place and overall the interior is well constructed and thought out, providing for a spacious and intuitive layout.

In the driver's seat

The 2.0-litre common rail turbo-diesel engine found in our test vehicle was a strong performer, as well as being fuel efficient. Generating 103kW and an impressive 320Nm of torque, almost 50Nm more torque than that found in a Porsche Boxster, we never found the engine lacking for pulling ability - especially when overtaking on the highway.

Combined with the six-speed manual transmission, the Tiguan uses just 7.4 litres of fuel every 100km, a figure which rises slightly higher for the automatic transmission. This figure matches up with most of the Tiguan's diesel-powered compact SUV competition.

In terms of handling feel, the Tiguan drives almost like a car, thanks to its shared platform with the Golf. While the suspension setup is the conventional McPherson struts up front and a multi-link at the rear, the car felt poised in the corners and had great grip for its class. Volkswagen realises that the vast majority of Tiguan purchasers will never take the car off-roading, allowing them to take the features of SUVs that people like, such as high seating position and AWD, and get rid of the features they don't like, such as vague steering, boring exteriors and utilitarian interiors.

This doesn't mean that the Tiguan is completely hopeless off-road - its raised height and AWD system mean that small bumps and slippery dirt roads are well within its grasp, but anything beyond this will require something a little more serious.

Verdict

As far as the Compact SUV segment is concerned, the Tiguan is a latecomer to the game. Commanding a mere 1.2% of the market for 2008, well-established rivals such as the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4 boast significantly higher sales and customer bases.

However, the Tiguan's European styling plus its combination of SUV-safety and car-like handling may be what sets it apart from its Japanese rivals, although its pricey options list can run up a large bill rather quickly - our test car had over $10,000 worth of options for a total RRP of $54,500.