As a few others have added reviews of cars that they have had for some time, I thought I would do the same, especially as nobody has reviewed a VW Tiguan yet.
2018 VW Tiguan 190PS 4Motion (4WD) DSG (Auto) SEL (forerunner to the Elegance).
Good points;
Interior Space – The passenger compartment is tardis like. Tons of room for front and rear passengers. The rear seats slide and recline, which is useful as I move it one click forward to make my wife’s wheelchair fit easier in the boot.
Seat Comfort – Good size and supportive. Did a 2,500 mile touring holiday over 3 weeks and had no problems at all.
4WD – I didn’t expect much from this but it’s great. I had to go out one day in a decent snowfall and it didn’t miss a beat. In a car park where loads of cars were struggling I had no issues.
Looks – It’s grown on me. The lower spec Tiguans look just that IMHO, but the higher spec versions look quite smart if you get the right colour. We chose Indium grey, primarily to mask the great plastic side skirts, but it makes the car look classy.
Bad Points;
Lag when pulling away – There is an annoying lag of a second or so when you put your foot down which can be a right pain (and at times dangerous) when overtaking. It’s better in standard or sport mode but this lag issue renders the Eco mode unusable IMO.
Fuel Economy – OK it’s 4WD and 190PS, but we only get around 38mpg which is poor for a diesel. I had a heavier 5 Series BMW diesel with the same output engine and even though it felt tons quicker than the VW, I could easily get near 50mpg.
Sat Nav – The VW system is dire. Probably one of the worst I have used (and I’ve tried dozens). Where to start? Poor quality mapping (roads disappear when you zoom out), constantly telling you to divert off motorways and A roads to avoid non-existent ‘problems’, touch screen difficult to use when on the move (BMW’s iDrive is 100 times better). I could go on.
Voice Control – Hopeless. It’s not my voice as I could make the BMW one work faultlessly, but I have given up on it. It’s wrong 90% of the time.
LED Headlights – The fully adaptive functionality is far too slow and not a patch on the system I had on my BMW, which was instantaneous. It could be that the newer iQ lights are better. They need to be.
Forward Collision Assist – Quite dangerous. It can react to shadows when going under bridges on the motorway and suddenly brake without warning. It’s been in the garage for this but still does it very occasionally. Nervous drivers be warned!
Adaptive Cruise Control – It can brake too readily when a car you are following turns off and then takes too long to pick up again, meaning that I end up having to accelerate manually which somewhat defeats the object. I actually prefer normal cruise control.
Summary;
All of the above means that it’s a functional car but not one that I enjoy driving, in the way that I have many other cars. Frankly, it’s a bland driving experience which probably won’t be an issue for most people, but I’m looking forward to getting back to a car that is more engaging to drive. Whilst the kit count on the Tiguan is high, the VW systems don’t work as effectively as the same systems that I’ve had in several BMW’s. It’s a case of quantity over quality and several of the VW’s shortcomings are really grating on me now! Next car (BMW X1 20i xDrive xLine) has just been built and is due end of July. I will post a review on that one in due course.