New Volkswagen Tiguan not perfect but still a capable performer

Since replacing the Beetle in 1974, Volkswagen has moved 37-million examples of the Golf over five decades until the reveal of the facelift Mk 8.5 last year.

Tiguan smash hit

By comparison, a total of 21.5-million original Beetles were sold over its single generation from 1938 to 1941 and then from 1945 until its discontinuation in Brazil 58 years later.

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While significantly less, Wolfsburg’s offloading of 7.6-million Tiguans can still be seen as impressive considering the original arrived in 2007 when the Golf still held the upper hand in the comparative C-segment.

Equally as noteworthy is the milestone being achieved after only two generations, the bulk attributed to the second generation (AB) that replaced the original 5N in 2016.

Difficult follow-up

Introduced two years ago, the saying, “a tough act to follow”, couldn’t have been more applicable to the third generation that touched down on local soil late last year.

The most technologically advanced Tiguan to date, the third generation hasn’t been without its detractors, largely due to the ID.4-inspired exterior and concerns about software issues that famously blighted the Golf 8.

Along with a more digitised interior and the retention of the old Tiguan’s engines, the newcomer’s local market debut last year came with some apprehension more so than with its predecessors.

And while the weeklong testing tenure serves as the clearest reference of a vehicle’s abilities, the opportunity to spend more time paints the clearest picture of “long-term ownership”.

This happened to be the case as before the festive season commenced, a Dolphin Grey Tiguan 1.4 TSI Life DSG was assigned as the end-of-year guest that would escort this writer out of 2024 into 2025.

Extra slices

A departure from the facelift second generation 2.0 TSI R-Line 4Motion DSG that had done the same from 2021 into 2022, the Life slots-in as the mid-range derivative instead of the former that topped the Tiguan line-up until the arrival of the R.

Aside from having the smallest engine, the Life came generously specced with a number of options that lifted its sticker price from R702 800, to an as tested R802 400.

These included:

• dual-pane panoramic sunroof: R18 000
• mechanically swivelling and detachable tow bar: R20 500;
• electric tailgate inclusive of keyless entry: R11 600;
• Life Plus Package: Forward Collision Warning, Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Change Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, reverse camera and 18-inch Bologna alloy wheels: R25 000
• Varenna leather upholstery with the front seats being electric, heated, ventilated and further equipped with memory and first-time massaging functions: R24 500

Its arrival for over a month and eventual 4 172 km from Johannesburg to the Eastern Cape and then along the Garden Route to as far as Stilbaai were to be an eye-opener compared to its predecessor.

Yay or nay

Supposedly meant to be more grown-up, the overall execution, in this writer’s opinion, isn’t as visually appealing as the pre-facelift previous Tiguan, even though the illuminated logo bar comes as a unique and welcome touch.

As subjective as styling is, selecting a less conservative colour might have a different outcome for buyers unable to stretch their budgets to the R-Line.

Tech meets functionality

More of a standout is the interior that straddles the line between fully digitised and analogue following well publicised criticism over Volkswagen’s reliance on touch-sensitive switchgear.

Modern but also a trifle dull, the immediate centre of attention involves the new 12.9-inch infotainment system.

Although appearing complicated, the system proved easy to navigate, logically devised, and without too many sub-menus.

However, despite having the latest MIB4 software, it still wasn’t without faults – the first involving the display not showing any visuals but work as per the sound from the audio system.

A second incident saw the reverse camera not popping up, while a third came with a warning notice to check a supposed fault with the LED headlight control.

In both cases, “self-fixes”, without turning the ignition on-and-off occurred, though it still raises questions as to whether the glitches have been sorted out.

Continuing the digital fest, the new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster wasn’t as clear cut either, though in this case, the imitation carbon fibre-finished housing was to blame.

No longer integrated into the dashboard, the upright binnacle felt uncharacteristically Volkswagen cheap, as the rest of the materials were largely soft and upmarket.

Worse still, it developed an audible creaking noise over time, though, like the infotainment glitches, this also disappeared after a few days.

The opposite of the displays is the ergoComfort seats designed to support comfort and back health on long journeys.

Doing their inclusion justice, the chairs provide ample support and not once did a strained back show itself regardless of the length of the journey.

Proving just as handy, the ventilation function worked a treat in the heatwave that blazed the Eastern Cape and Western Cape throughout December, while the massaging function proved equally as popular, especially with those in the opposite chair.

As with the infotainment system, the ergonomics take some getting used to, the biggest being the touch sliders for the dual-zone climate control.

Located at the base of the display in the form of touch-sensitive icons, the interface works well as it does with the seats, however, the positioning of the central air vents proved too low and in need of careful adjusting to direct air onto once’s face.

Easier to fathom is the rotary dial on the centre console. Flanked by the starter button and electronic handbrake, the dial doubles up as the volume knob and, when pressed down, the selector for the drive modes, they being Eco, Comfort, Sport and Individual.

A welcome addition, but one confused at times for being a touchscreen interface alternative, the dial also changes colour as the infotainment display does based on a series of ambient lighting hues.

Taking some time getting used to, the now steering column-mounted gear selector become second nature, while the physical buttons on the steering wheel proved a lot easier to grasp and much more intuitive than the frustrating touch-sensitive “pads” on the 2.0 TSI.

Practicality talented

Streamlined as a result of the gear lever’s new position, thin centre console proved a storage area boon as apart from the flip-up lid that hides a pair of type-C USB ports, a pair of cupholders are included, as is a storage box whose lid doubles-up as an armrest.

In addition to being spacious at the front and rear, with no headroom hindrance caused by the glass roof, practically impressed just as much.

Besides holiday luggage, lowering the rear seats had to be implemented twice, the first for boxes and yet more bags, and the second to haul bulkier items ranging from jerrycans and fishing rods, to an edge trimmer and even a tile cutter.

As standard, the Tiguan’s boot accommodates 632-litres, which increases to 1 650-litres with the rear seats dropped.

In both stances, no careful packing technique was required as the boot swallowed everything without any coming into contact with the roof, or obscuring rearwards visibility.

‘Old heart’ surprises

Tasked with taking on the open road, the tried-and-tested 1.4 TSI engine was to be biggest unknown and although it had anticipated to be a frugal drinker, the readouts on the instrument cluster left most observes stunned.

Used in place of the newer 1.5 TSI Evo as a result of South Africa’s poor fuel quality, the unit develops the outputs of 110kW/250Nm directed to the front wheels through the seven-speed DSG.

Unsurprisingly no ball of fire, power delivery is more linear than explosive, but with just enough tractability for the Tiguan not to feel sluggish.

That being said, the DSG still hampers progress somewhat by suddenly shifting down and leaving the Tiguan without poke on hiller terrain.

At lower speeds, the typical dual-clutch shudder is noticeable, though it smoothens out before going away once at speed and with no hillocks in sight.

Its nose pointed cost-side, the ride made for a relaxing and comfortable journey as the suspension tuning ironed-out imperfections with no nasty after effects, while the cabin remained quiet and refined.

In fact, the only unfortunate occurrence was a rogue nail penetrating the right rear wheel that, fortunately, could be fixed quickly.

It was, however, the mentioned frugality that stunned given not only the Tiguan’s mass, but also the age of the EA211 engine Volkswagen has, admittedly, refined over time. 

Only requiring seven visits to the pumps, the TSI eventually drank a mere 274.18-litres of 95 throughout its tenure.

Never switched to Sport mode or indeed with the cruise control being used, the eventual indicated figure of 6.6 L/100 km not only improved on the 7.1 L/100 km set by the previous generation 1.4 TSI that formed part of our long-term fleet but at one point, dipped to as low as 5.2 L/100 km.

What makes this even more remarkable was that extensive use was made of the climate control, seat ventilation and spells stuck in heavy traffic in 30-degree plus heat.

Conclusion

The “go to” vehicle in Volkswagen’s range since Golf sales began to decline, the real challenge facing the new Tiguan involves its price.

A finely tuned step-up from its predecessor it is, progress brings costs and at over R800 000 as tested, it is uneasily class expensive when taking into account its spec and what could be had from the increasing number of Chinese alternatives.

While still able to appease the Volkswagen faithful, it nonetheless faces a tough task in winning buyers from other legacy brands in spite of being an overall worthwhile product.

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