Volkswagen Tiguan Review (Ich liebe die Tiguan!)

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8 January 2009 1,635 views No Comment

Some cars say volumes about their owners.

By: Motormensch

Cadillac’s say, “I’m a rolling stone (or) I’m a MAN (or) I’m retired.”

A Toyota Camry says, “I could care less about the driving experience, so long as I’m comfortable (and) I don’t care for wild sex.”

A beat up, topless, unmodified, old Jeep CJ5 with a few surfboards strapped to the roll-bar says, “I’m broke, I party, I drink Corona and I listen to Jimmy Buffet/Bob Marley (or/and) I am a millionaire in hiding and I listen to Jimmy Buffet/Bob Marley.”

The Volkswagen Tiguan says, “I’m cool enough to have chosen a crossover that is kind of fun to drive – I like wild sex, I have a pulse (hear that Toyota?) I’m NOT retired, I party and I MIGHT listen to Jimmy Buffet and Bob Marley.”

I’ve driven a few Tiguans and I like em’ all. The base model with its front drive and 6-speed manual is kind of like a tall-in-the-saddle GTI. The fully loaded, 6-speed automatic with 4motion and a MASSIVE panoramic sunroof (it covers the whole top) is like driving a shrunken Toureg. Best of all, they both (the base and fully loaded one) have the venerable 2.0 turbocharged 4 banger. This is one of the best power plants you could hope to have with a vehicle like this.

Sure, some competitors have a bigger V6 while others have a more frugal, normally aspirated 4 cylinder. There is a touch of turbo lag too – in time the learning curve straightens out and you know what to expect. Regardless, you get good power at useful passing speeds while returning an overall average of 19-22 mpg.

Other writers moan about the heavy price – babies…

Sure it bases at about 23K (front drive, 6-speed manual) and climbs up to a fully loaded to the gills price just under $38,000. Okay, it’s a bit hefty for a small crossover, but you get what you pay for. The interior alone out shines ALL of the competition (I’m reefing to the Acura RDX, BMW X3 and Land Rover LR2).

Oh, and the $1,300 panoramic sun roof is SOOOO worth it – but I’ll get to that in a minute.

The interior is built the way ALL interior should be made, with quality materials, meticulous craftsmanship and economy of design. The dash has real metal and not a hint of hard or cheap plastics – anywhere. Hell, even the very back of the dashboard was soft to the touch.

Get this: the front seatbelts have a velvet-like cover on one side to prevent scraping against the center armrest/container!

Handling wise: The mid level SE Tiguan I drove had 17 inch wheels with outstanding 235/55/17 Michelins. I had a seriously hard time making the rubber squeal despite my best impersonation of a squirrel on crack. I found a dirt road near Golden, Colorado which was muddy, icy and every so inviting. With no switches to flip or buttons to push, I simply slammed my foot down and TORE down the road. 4 wheel powerslides and maximum traction on a nasty-as-hell road? YEA! Rally racer MOTORMENCH! (Sorry) The Tiguan handles great, even in dirt…. On the road the body motions are well controlled and the ride is firm but never harsh.

There are a few problems.

I hate the parking brake… Let me type that again – I HATE THE ELECTRIC PARKING BRAKE! It’s a small paddle/flap that you push down to engage and pull to unlock. It DID work when I wanted to freeze up the rear wheels to do a power-slide, but it took forever to disengage. Come on VW, gimme a lever to pull!

The electric power steering is too vague and a bit light. You only notice it when you try way-too-fast driving; it’s tolerable. The 6-speed automatic gearbox is okay but when you go into manual mode, it’s slow as hell! I’m flying down the road and want to use the engine to decelerate and – uh, wait for it – damn, gotta hit the brakes…

THERE, now it down-shifts… WAY too slow!

Despite the minor idiosyncrasies, the Volkswagen Tiguan is a great machine and a damn sight better than the (sleeping-pill) Honda CRV.

Oh, that HUGE sunroof? Well, my lady caught me trying to use its reflection to get a better view of her (fill in the blank). AFTER she elbowed me in the ribs, I simply rotated a knob and slid the roof back for an easy, breezy drive.

In this Tiguan, I pound my chest and say, “I may not get the nookie tonight – at least I can have some fun (driving) while being denied.”

By the way, the brains at Volkswagen came up with the name “Tiguan” by adding “Tiger” to “Iguana.” I’m not kidding. I think they held a contest in Germany for the name and considering their proximity to Amsterdam…

Forget the lame name and drive the cool car – it’s worth it!