VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN CROSSOVER REVIEW

My car

Bought escape version automatic with full spec March 2009 on road price £31500 but bought new at £28K- it has yet to go back to the dealership! Still waiting for first service indicator (car done 12000miles). Car has been perfect; quiet, smooth, responsive, beautifuly built in typical German style and finish. Absolutely no faults. This i find refreshing after owning at Discovery 3 for 10 dreadful months of faults and breakdowns and indeed 3 RAV4s all had recalls and occ faults with satnavs/engine faults. I hope this is a sign VW are regaining their past reputation for reliability? I particularly like the autohold (standard on tiguan unlike Q5) when paired to the triptronic gearbox driving is truly effortless and a godsend in stop/start traffic. Best car i have ever owned.

My car

With a growing family and an ageing Mk5 Golf 2.0 GT Tdi I had to find a replacement. I spent a couple of months gathering information on the possible options. Then out of the blue I was given a Tiguan 2.0 Tdi SE as a courtesy car whilst the trusty Golf was in for a service. The Tiguan was an instant hit with the family with enough room for my son to sit in either back seat, as both he and I are 6’4”, it was a problem in the Golf. I purchased a Tiguan 2.0 Tdi 170 Sport in September 2009. It came with leather upholstery, Sat Nav, reversing camera, cd multi changer, cruise control and park assist. The heated leather on a cold winter morning is a blessing. The Sat Nav is easy to use but I have fallen foul twice of allowing the ‘route to be altered due to current traffic situations’. This is where it will happily take a 20 mile detour to save you 5 minutes! The reversing camera is very good but a word to the wise ‘Do not rely on the reversing sensors alone’ as I had a very near miss with a tow bar. The park assist is very, very good at parallel parking the car into a space on either the left of right. There is one downside to the system, it is quite tricky to get the system to engage and there are no instructions in the user manual. On the whole I am pleased with the vehicle but still coming to terms with putting 10 litres more fuel in than the golf and returning 450 per tank full, still we can’t have everything.

My car

I eagerly took delivery of my Tiguan last October having waited 3 months for it, I had previously run a CRV for 3 years which I had loved. At the begining of March I take delivery of an XC60 it will be a long time before I buy another VW.

The build standard and equipment levels are first rate, apart from the minor glitche of the wrong steering wheel being fitted in the factory. Having a manual box meant that I had no need for flappy paddles.

Now the downside I too have experienced trouble with repeated stalling and the clutch plays havoc with my dodgy hips. The electronic parking brake has a mind of its own I took it back to the dealer only to be told that no fault showed on the computer!!!!. I have found vision to be a problem both rewards and peripheral which does not inspire me with confidence and to cap it all in the recent cold spell the car froze up and could not be opened whereas no problem with my wifes Peaugot.

As I said never again.

My car

I bought this car new after spending 3 months driving and comparing most of the contenders in the small 4x4 market. I considered the CR-V; Subaru Forester; RAV4; Freelander; BMW X3; and the X-Trail before finally deciding to go with the Tiguan as it offered, in my opinion, the best balance between build quality, residual value, drivability & economy.

The CR-V & Forester were the first to be ruled out as I require an automatic and neither (were) offered as diesel autos, meaning that fuel economy was unacceptable for me. In common with the other Japanese contenders, I found the quality of the interiors to be some way behind the VW, BMW and Land Rover. This was especially noticeable with the Honda, which was flimsy in comparison with the other cars, and having looked at some nearly new CR-V's they had worn their miles poorly, which was a concern.

The others were all very close, and I felt that any of them would have done the job. Having now covered 3000 miles, I am happy with all aspects of the vehicle. The economy is averaging 43MPG which for an automatic is creditable and on a longer motorway run I have achieved 50MPG. The interior is first rate both for ease of use, comfort and quality. The drive is both quiet and refined. Residuals are projected to be strong. Service from the supplying dealer and the discount offered (which beat the target price for a car in stock) was excellent.