VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN 2.0 TSI
Review by Justin Ong 09
This one’s been a long time coming, so long that you might have believed that the
SUV would be out of style by the time Volkswagen came out with a decent compact
version of it. A good example of better late than never, the daftly named Tiguan is
here to haul Volkswagen into the deep end of the compact SUV pool.
For all the hype, the crux of the matter is that the Tiguan is essentially a miniature
version of the Touareg, built on the previous generation Golf platform. Much of this
is hinted at by the way it looks, which, depending on where you’re coming from, is
either Touareg junior or Golf on stilts.
The Tiguan is available elsewhere with a choice of our petrols and two diesels,
though here in Malaysia the selection has been simmered down to the solitary 2.0
TSI. At least Volkswagen have been thoughtful enough to give you the highest spec’
ed engine to make up for not giving you any other choice in the matter.
As it happens, the Tiguan is also the first of the AG brands to offer the latest version
of the 2.0-litre TSI engine locally. The 200bhp powerplant continues to offer
impressive performance and consumption, even if it seems to have lost some
refinement over the superseded TFSI variant.
In the Tiguan, it provides for some serious poke, more than is needed certainly, but
who’s going to complain about too much power? Along the way, it sees the Tiguan
besting any and all comers within its segment in the performance stakes; the
Japanese and Koreans don’t even come close.
What’s more, the Tiguan is commendably more BMW than Kia when it comes to
handling and is possibly second only to the X3 as far as handling is concerned. Of
course, 4Motion isn’t quite xDrive
when it comes to on-road performance and feels very bit the front-biased system
that it is.
Nevertheless, this is still one of the most entertaining compact SUVs around. The
steering is communicative enough but a touch too light, the front end has decent
bite when not under power, plus body control is sufficiently taut to make the Tiguan
feel light on its feet. There could be more pliancy in the suspension but it still rides
well in most cases.
The interior is surprisingly top-notch for something that Volkswagen is setting on the
Asian brands, and lives up to the brand’s usual fare so it’s more Golf and less
Beetle. There are places when things do get occasionally shoddy but you won’t spot
these unless you go out of your way to find them.
There’s also quite a bit of room all around, plus the seats are nice and supportive
even in the back. The rear bench can be split-folded to carry bulkier items that won’t
fit in the decently sized boot, but folding them down can take an extra-ordinary
amount of tugging at the release latches before they finally come free.
Standard equipment falls on the generous end of the scale, with Volkswagen
throwing in a large amount of kit. Dynamic bi-xenon lamps, touchscreen multimedia
entertainment system (still no sat-nav), Off-Road Mode, and Park Assist (assisted
parallel park) all come as part of the package. While still laughable, Park Assist is at
least less complicated than Mercedes’ interpretation.
When Volkswagen first unveiled the Tiguan here, the truth is they sold themselves
short. They’ve certainly taken their time to launch one of these things but it shows
that they’ve spent much of that
time studying the competition. In the end, the Tiguan is a credible alternative to
something like the Land Rover Freelander; it’s probably the smarter alternative, too.
justin
FACTBOX
Model: Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TSI
Engine: 1984cc Inline-four, turbocharged petrol
Power/Torque: 200bhp/280Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic, Tiptronic
0-100km/h: 8.5s
Max Speed: 207km/h
Price: RM249,888.00.
It’s:
• Quality
• Generously equipped
• Fun to drive
It’s not:
• As good as the Freelander
• As expensive as the Freelander
• Just a Golf on stilts.
You should buy it:
• If you’re tired of waiting for Land Rover to finally come around
You should not buy it:
• If you’re serious about going off-road
You could also buy:
• Honda CR-V (RM148K)
• Hyundai Tucson (RM134K)
• Kia Sportage (RM112K)
• Land Rover Freelander (RM271K)
• Nissan X-Trail Luxury (RM148K)
• Suzuki Grand Vitara (RM117K).
Review by Justin Ong 09
This one’s been a long time coming, so long that you might have believed that the
SUV would be out of style by the time Volkswagen came out with a decent compact
version of it. A good example of better late than never, the daftly named Tiguan is
here to haul Volkswagen into the deep end of the compact SUV pool.
For all the hype, the crux of the matter is that the Tiguan is essentially a miniature
version of the Touareg, built on the previous generation Golf platform. Much of this
is hinted at by the way it looks, which, depending on where you’re coming from, is
either Touareg junior or Golf on stilts.
The Tiguan is available elsewhere with a choice of our petrols and two diesels,
though here in Malaysia the selection has been simmered down to the solitary 2.0
TSI. At least Volkswagen have been thoughtful enough to give you the highest spec’
ed engine to make up for not giving you any other choice in the matter.
As it happens, the Tiguan is also the first of the AG brands to offer the latest version
of the 2.0-litre TSI engine locally. The 200bhp powerplant continues to offer
impressive performance and consumption, even if it seems to have lost some
refinement over the superseded TFSI variant.
In the Tiguan, it provides for some serious poke, more than is needed certainly, but
who’s going to complain about too much power? Along the way, it sees the Tiguan
besting any and all comers within its segment in the performance stakes; the
Japanese and Koreans don’t even come close.
What’s more, the Tiguan is commendably more BMW than Kia when it comes to
handling and is possibly second only to the X3 as far as handling is concerned. Of
course, 4Motion isn’t quite xDrive
when it comes to on-road performance and feels very bit the front-biased system
that it is.
Nevertheless, this is still one of the most entertaining compact SUVs around. The
steering is communicative enough but a touch too light, the front end has decent
bite when not under power, plus body control is sufficiently taut to make the Tiguan
feel light on its feet. There could be more pliancy in the suspension but it still rides
well in most cases.
The interior is surprisingly top-notch for something that Volkswagen is setting on the
Asian brands, and lives up to the brand’s usual fare so it’s more Golf and less
Beetle. There are places when things do get occasionally shoddy but you won’t spot
these unless you go out of your way to find them.
There’s also quite a bit of room all around, plus the seats are nice and supportive
even in the back. The rear bench can be split-folded to carry bulkier items that won’t
fit in the decently sized boot, but folding them down can take an extra-ordinary
amount of tugging at the release latches before they finally come free.
Standard equipment falls on the generous end of the scale, with Volkswagen
throwing in a large amount of kit. Dynamic bi-xenon lamps, touchscreen multimedia
entertainment system (still no sat-nav), Off-Road Mode, and Park Assist (assisted
parallel park) all come as part of the package. While still laughable, Park Assist is at
least less complicated than Mercedes’ interpretation.
When Volkswagen first unveiled the Tiguan here, the truth is they sold themselves
short. They’ve certainly taken their time to launch one of these things but it shows
that they’ve spent much of that
time studying the competition. In the end, the Tiguan is a credible alternative to
something like the Land Rover Freelander; it’s probably the smarter alternative, too.
justin
FACTBOX
Model: Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TSI
Engine: 1984cc Inline-four, turbocharged petrol
Power/Torque: 200bhp/280Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic, Tiptronic
0-100km/h: 8.5s
Max Speed: 207km/h
Price: RM249,888.00.
It’s:
• Quality
• Generously equipped
• Fun to drive
It’s not:
• As good as the Freelander
• As expensive as the Freelander
• Just a Golf on stilts.
You should buy it:
• If you’re tired of waiting for Land Rover to finally come around
You should not buy it:
• If you’re serious about going off-road
You could also buy:
• Honda CR-V (RM148K)
• Hyundai Tucson (RM134K)
• Kia Sportage (RM112K)
• Land Rover Freelander (RM271K)
• Nissan X-Trail Luxury (RM148K)
• Suzuki Grand Vitara (RM117K).