[Glos Guy]

Much as I’d prefer to keep our current car (2021 BMW X1 2.0i), my wife now really needs a person hoist to get in to the car, so we have no choice but to order a new one. I’m considering a PHEV and am waiting for my local Hyundai dealer to get a Tucson for me to have on test. In the meantime, the new VW Tiguan has appeared on the scheme. We’ve had four different previous generation Tiguans. The first 3 were fine, but we had a number of issues with the last one (a 2018 2.0 TDi 190 Elegance). None the less, I like the exterior of the new Tiguan (more so than the Tucson) but I prefer the interior of the Tucson, so some comparisons are necessary! I stress that I haven’t driven either car yet, so what follows is purely a paper exercise. I am comparing the Tiguan Elegance 204 PS (AP £4,899) with the Tucson Ultimate (AP £4,599) and the Tiguan R-Line 272 PS (AP £5,699) with the Tucson N-Line S (AP £4,599). Both Tucsons are 253 PS. I will just list the differences

Length – Tiguan 4539 mm, Tucson 4510 mm

Width (exc mirrors) – Tiguan 1842 mm (Elegance), 1859 mm (R-Line), Tucson 1865 mm

Height – Tiguan 1658 mm, Tucson 1653 mm (Ultimate), 1650 mm (N-Line S)

Wheelbase – Tiguan 2679 mm, Tucson 2680 mm

Boot space (rear seats in place) – Tiguan 490 mm, Tucson 558 mm

PS & Torque – Tiguan 204 PS / 350 nm, or 272 PS / 400 nm, Tucson 253 PS / 304 nm

Electric Only Range – Quoted figures vary, and are probably somewhat optimistic, but the Tucson is around 38 miles and the Tiguan around 72 miles. Even allowing for real world performance, the Tiguan is likely to have almost twice the electric only range

0-62 mph – Tiguan 8.2 secs (204 PS) or 7.2 secs (272 PS), Tucson 8.5 secs

2WD or 4WD – Both Tiguans are 2WD, both Tucsons are 4WD

Alloy Wheels – 19” on all, except Tiguan R-Line has 20”

Leather Trim & Power Front Seats – Standard on Tucson Ultimate, Optional extra on Tiguan (£2,070 Elegance, £2,120 R-Line). Tucson N-Line S has powered front seats as standard, but full leather trim isn’t even an option.

Heated & Ventilated Seats – All have heated front seats, but both Tucson models also have heated rear seats and the front seats are also ventilated (cooling).

Keyless entry and hands free tailgate – Standard on both Tucsons and Tiguan Elegance, £1,100 option on Tiguan R-Line

Premium Sound System – Standard on both Tucsons (Krell), £1,420 option on both Tiguans (Harmon Kardon)

Matrix Headlights – Standard on both Tucsons, £580 option on Tiguan Elegance and £1,530 option on Tiguan R-Line (has to be bundled with a pack that is standard on the Elegance)

Panoramic Sunroof – Standard on both Tucsons, £1,350 option on both Tiguan’s

360 degree camera – Standard on both Tucsons and Tiguan Elegance, £950 option on Tiguan R-Line

Blind Spot Warning Systems – The Tiguan system is a warning symbol in the door mirror, whereas the Tucson has cameras in the door mirrors that display a side view camera in the instrument cluster when indicating.

In summary, the Tucson clearly outscores the Tiguan equipment wise (quite significantly), but the Tiguans electric only range is almost double that of the Tucson. I appreciate that other PHEVs are available, but these two cars are almost identical size wise and direct competitors. Both are new cars (all new in the case of the Tiguan, extensive interior facelift in the case of the Tucson). Hopefully the above may be of some use to anybody else weighing up these two cars.

Topic

[kezo]

Rene wrote:

I will say, i don’t think that in your example, with the engine running every now and then to sustain heat, rather than just driving the last 3-4 miles on the engine itself makes a big difference in consumption. Particularly if we take into account that, if the engine in your car is running for the heating at a red traffic light, it will also use it to accelerate “while it’s at it”.

As described previously on how the previous medel provides heat and indeed mine but, untill I know any other we’ll assume they work on the same principle.

If heat is demanded over a setpoint a couple degrees over ambiant, the engine turns on and maintains a high idle, say 1050rpm. Coolant is then sent through a bypass valve at the exhaust manifold, quickly heating the coolant to reach the desired cabin temperature, at which point the engine turns off, untill such a time the process is needed again to maintain the set temperature or the user demands a higher cabin temperature. Predominantly the car is still maintaining electric running, provided there is enough juice in the battery for it to do so or the car will switch to hybrid mode if not.

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