Volkswagen Tiguan review

There’s plenty of room up front for even the tallest driver’s legs and head in the Volkswagen Tiguan. You’ll find loads of adjustment in the seat and steering wheel, and you’ll also discover plenty of room for all of your odds and ends.

The front door bins will each hold a pretty big bottle of drink, there’s a centre armrest with storage, and a cooled glovebox should prevent chocolatey road-trip treats from melting.

Life models and above get handy drawers under the driver and front passenger seats – perfect for hiding valuables if you need to leave them in the car. Add in a few handy cubbyholes and you have a very versatile interior.

If you try to squeeze three adults into the back of the Tiguan, the person in the middle is likely to feel a bit pinched, but leg room will only be an issue for the tallest of people.

If you’re only carrying a couple of rear passengers, the central armrest and its pair of cupholders are on hand to help comfort further. If you really want to push the boat out, heated rear seats are available, as is three-zone climate control that allows the temperature in the back to be set independently, albeit only through the infotainment system up front. The latter feature is standard on Life trim and up.

Isofix child seat fittings are standard for the outer rear seats. The standard-fit panoramic roof on Elegance models does reduce head room; something worth bearing in mind if you plan to carry tall passengers in the back.

Only the entry-level Tiguan does without adjustable lumbar support for the front passenger; Life trim and up get this as standard, and also includes a fold flat front passenger seat for swallowing extra long loads.

All versions have 40/20/40 split, folding, sliding and reclining rear seats to boost boot space or leg room depending on where they’re positioned, while Life trim and up feature releases for folding the rear backrest, which are handily located in the boot.

The Tiguan has a seriously big boot by class standards. You'll fit more in it than you would in the boot of a BMW X1 or Nissan Qashqai, for instance, and there's only a tiny load lip to get luggage over when the floor’s in its highest position. The large tailgate and wide opening also make loading easy.

The boot has a nice square shape and comes with net partitions and a height-adjustable floor on all versions. Raid the options list and you’ll find such things as dog guards, boot trays and a range of other practical accessories.

As you might expect, sliding the rear seats back reduces luggage space, but pushing them forward increases the available space substantially, although at the expense of rear seat space.