VW Tiguan keeps on cruisin’ with the help of clever system

Some two months after The Citizen Motoring welcomed a VW Tiguan 1.4 TSI Life to our long-term fleet, we are happy to report this popular SUV hasn’t skipped a beat.

It tackles the school run, daily commute and regular stops at the grocery shop with aplomb. We have even put it through its paces with an open-road trip to Bloemfontein and back.

VW Tiguan as safe as a house

Over the 3 142km we have covered, overall fuel consumption stands at 9.5 litres per 100km. But there has been little open-road driving. But one open road 800km round trip to Bloemfontein worked out to a decent 7.4 litres per 100km.

Making the trip more comfortable, apart from the generous cabin space, optional leather seats and seat warmers, was the optional IQ Drive Package, which includes adaptive cruise control and autonomous emergency braking front assist. These are features often mentioned, but never explained.

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Every motorist should have at least once in their experience behind the wheel been introduced to cruise control. It allows the driver to set the cruise speed, which the car will maintain without any input from the driver.

Cruising made easy

Adaptive cruise control takes this one step further. When the Tiguan approaches a car travelling at a slower speed, it adapts to the situation by slowing down. If, let’s say, 120km/h was selected and the VW Tiguan approached a car travelling at 100km/h, it slows down to the speed of the car in front of it and maintains a safe distance. The gap to the car in front can be selected by the driver.

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Should the Tiguan want to overtake the car and pull out from behind it, the adaptive cruise control system will automatically pick up that the road in front of it is clear and speed up without any input from the driver. This is done through a radar at the front, which is also used for the emergency braking front assist.

The latter feature will alarm the driver when approaching another car and not detect the required brake input. If the driver doesn’t act in time, the VW Tiguan Life will automatically analyse the situation as dangerous and apply the brakes.