Looking back at Volkswagen’s lineage of significant vehicles, the Beetle and the Golf come to mind as the big players, while the German brand is gearing up for the ID.3 to take that title in the electric age. But before we reach full electric saturation, there’s another car that’s taking the spotlight: the Tiguan, which is currently the third most popular SUV in the world.
So it makes sense that VW New Zealand is making a pretty big deal about the facelifted Tiguan. After driving it for a week, we can understand the hype.
Launched in 2017, the second-generation Tiguan was due a refresh; this facelift has brought it up to speed with new exterior styling and a tech-heavy interior. There are new headlights, a new grille and new badging. The Tiguan also gets a new front bumper that gives the small SUV a wider and more aggressive aesthetic.
There are four options in the Tiguan range, starting with the TSI Life 2WD from $46,990, and going through to the TSI R-Line 4WD which starts at $68,990.
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DRIVEN tested the range-topping TSI R-Line 4WD, featuring a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine with 162kW/350Nm and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. While this powertrain doesn’t look groundbreaking on paper, it’s one of the highlights of this Tiguan; as always, the DSG transmission does an impressive job of finding power in the engine’s rev range whenever it’s needed.
To see all Volkswagen Tiguan models listed on DRIVEN, click here
The R-Line 4WD gets a set of 20-inch alloy wheels that look the part, but sacrifice some ride quality thanks to the lower profile tyres. With this model’s standard Adaptive Chassis Control, this can be mitigated by selecting Comfort mode.
It’s clear that VW channelled most of its efforts into bringing the SUV’s interior up to date with the rest of its range. As in the new Golf, the German brand has done away with traditional buttons, in favour of haptic touch panels on the steering wheel. There are hardly any physical buttons on the dash; the infotainment display and the climate controls have reverted to touch operation.
The touch panels take a bit of getting used to, and finding yourself with a pair of sweaty palms after accidentally turning the steering wheel heater on isn’t an uncommon occurrence. On a positive note, the fact that VW kept the large gearlever instead of swapping it out for the Golf’s small tab is something to celebrate.
Otherwise, the Tiguan cabin is a comfortable place to be, with a generous amount of leg and head room in both rows. The 615 litres of luggage space at the rear is more than enough for any family holiday.
This 4WD Tiguan gets a tow rating of 2.1 tonnes, which should be more than enough to haul the boat or caravan for a weekend away.
For the time being, this TSI R-Line 4WD is the highest-spec Tiguan offered in NZ, but that’s set to change later in the year when both the Tiguan R and the seven-seat Tiguan Allspace arrive. They cater to different ends of the spectrum, as the Allspace is a family-hauler, while the R is basically an SUV version of the Golf R. This high-performance Tiguan will get a throaty 235kW from an upgraded 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and fancy torque-vectoring rear axle, but will probably land in the $80k region.
As it stands, this Tiguan TSI R-Line 4WD is an awesome package with space and performance to boot. The fancy new tech-heavy interior is something that buyers might struggle with at first, but considering it’s going to be the industry standard, we better get used to it.
VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN TSI R-LINE 4WD
ENGINE: 2.0-litre turbo
POWER: 162kW/350Nm
GEARBOX: 7-speed dual-clutch, AWD
ECONOMY: 8.3l/100km
PRICE: $68,990
