2017 New Volkswagen Tiguan Road Test Review

Exterior design and features of new 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan

The new Volkswagen Tiguan is adorned with crisp and neat lines making its looks sculpted and chiseled. The facade gets a bold and butch look with a boxy design for the LED headlamps and DRLs. The chrome finished grille integrates well with the headlamp's design to finish off a suave look in the front. Volkswagen has made the front even more bold with a broad bumper which adds class to the Tiguan. It gets honeycomb air ducts as well as crafty fog lamps and cornering lights. The Tiguan like all other Volkswagen vehicles has been built with 100pc galvanised steel and has been shaped tastefully. The sides are adorned with prominent wheel arches, a pronounced shoulder line and a gently sloping roofline. The rear looks classy with LED tail lamps and a  high mounted LED stop lamp. The overall look of the new Tiguan is contemporary and elite. It has a great on-road presence and fares up well when compared to its competitors.

Interior design and features of new 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan

Move inside the cabin and a distinct Volkswagen like character greets you. It is best described as suave and refined, all of this while being functional and handy. The fit and finish of the new Volkswagen Tiguan is easily as premium as its rivals and will not disappoint you. The overall build of this SUV speaks volumes of this German company’s stellar record and obsession with quality. On offer are seats with inserts and bolsters in Vienna leather. The seating is arguably the best and felt the most comfortable amongst its rivals. The front seats also get individual heating functions with three different levels of intensity. Volkswagen has also added flat bottom leather wrapped multifunction steering and a leather wrapped gear shift knob. To enhance the luxurious feel in the cabin you have on offer a massive panoramic sunroof. The cabin of the new Tiguan is airy and spacious there is ample of room to seat five adults with ease.    

Volkswagen has built in a lot of comfort and convenience features which have been neatly tucked away. You get 3-zone automatic air conditioning, electrically adjustable driver seat with a memory function for the seat position and the ORVMs, self sealing tyres, automatic headlamps, rain sensing wipers, keyless entry with push button start/stop, electrically operated tailgate release and any more handy features. Alongside improving comfort and convenience Volkswagen is also catering to the safety by offering customers with features like pedestrian protection - reactive hood wherein the hood gets raised by a few inches in the case of a frontal impact with a pedestrian, thus making the hood act as a buffer cushion for the pedestrian. Other safety features include driver and passenger curtain and front side airbags, hill descent control, electronic stability control with driver steering recommendations, ABS, ASR, EDL, EDTC and a lot more. All this enhances the appeal the Tiguan has going for it and ensures it renders some solid blows over its rivals.

Engine and performance of the new 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan

At the heart of this posh SUV is a 2.0 litre, turbocharged, 4 cylinder diesel engine which churns out approximately 140 horses and 340Nm of torque. The engine has been mated to a slick 7-speed DSG transmission. The power delivery is smooth and feels linear. Driving this SUV around town or on highways is quite a lot of fun thanks to seamless shifts of the gears. Even if you want to get going in a hurry or want to milk the engine for more performance, you have the option of a sports mode which allows you to shift gears manually if you please. Adding a little more flavour to the sporty appeal are paddle shifters. Take the Tiguan out on a highway and it will not disappoint you. Even if you wish to take the road less travelled, the Tiguan has an AWD (All Wheel Drive) setup tucked under its belt. The 4MOTION AWD enables the driver with adequate torque distribution and enhanced off-road capability. Also on offer are different drive modes which can be selected via a dial on the centre floor panel to tackle varying terrain.

The suspension setup on the new Tiguan leans slightly towards the stiffer side. It gets a McPherson strut with lower transverse link, stabiliser bar in the front and a multi-link suspension in the rear. The ride is smooth over most terrain and the suspension gobbles up undulations rather easily. The in-cabin comfort as well is at par with other premium offerings. Volkswagen has bolted on disc brakes in the front and rear. The braking is progressive and its efficiency inspires confidence even at high speeds. The overall performance on and off the road is quite admirable but certain aspects were a letdown. The steering did feel a little wooden and while driving off road it would have been an advantage to get more feedback from the wheels.

Verdict

This swanky new SUV from the stables of Volkswagen has got the 'eye of the tiger'. In every department the new Volkswagen Tiguan is either as good as its rivals or is even better when considering the features and safety elements that have been incorporated.