Volkswagen Tiguan 2020 review

I'm Tom Baker, this is Chasing Cars, and this is a Volkswagen Tiguan. It's been a year or two since you and I took a good, up-close, detailed look at Volkswagen's midsize crossover here in Australia. When we first reviewed this car, we thought it was a really nice, refined option in the midsize SUV segment that gave you a bit more luxury, a bit more of a premium feel than vehicles like the Toyota RAV4 or the Hyundai Tucson. But the market has come a long way since the second-gen Tiguan arrived on the scene. Is this still as good as it first seemed? Well, we're going to be finding out today, and we're making it difficult for the Tiguan because this is the absolute base model. This is a 110 TSI trendline. It's under $35,000 list in Australia, and usually offered at $35,000 drive away. So this is an inexpensive vehicle, but it does pack in a number of features that you don't usually find at this price range, including a nice, refined turbocharged engine, and we're going to be taking that for a drive shortly. But first, we'll do our usual thing. We'll check out what the Tiguan is like in the cabin, what the space is like in the back seat and in the boot, and how practical this vehicle is, and then we'll take the Tiguan with a 110-kilowatt turbocharged petrol engine out onto the road to see how it drives. But before we do that, make sure you hit subscribe and the notification bell. We're expecting the Tiguan to receive a fairly comprehensive facelift later this year, but for now, it's the same as it was when it launched in late 2017, and that includes the interior, which is conservative and typically German, but it's also handsome, functional and practical. You'll find other SUVs in this class with much more shouty interior design, but not all of them will be able to match the ease of use and the quality feel of the Volkswagen, and I know that sounds like rattling off the brochure, but once you sit in this car and take it for a test drive, you'll see what I mean, because it does have a nice cabin and a nicely laid out cabin. So, it's fairly broad. We have this standard 8-inch touchscreen here, which does have gesture control. Now, you don't get navigation as standard in the base model, which I think is a bit of a blind spot for the car, but very few of these trend lines actually get sold. Most people will go for comfort lines, high lines, and especially the top-spec R-line, which looks particularly cool. And also in those cars, you get the option to upgrade to a 9-inch touchscreen with a digital driver display. This car still has the quite pretty analogue gauges, but just a basic black and white screen between them. Still, you have Bluetooth audio, a decent stereo, and all the functionality is basically there. Plus, of course, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with two fast-charging USB ports here ahead of the shifter, with a rubberised space. Now, there's also a big rubberised space here for the cup holders, which are adjustable in size and deployable. Relatively decently sized central box here underneath, an adjustable armrest in cloth, so it's nice and soft. And you also get flock line door bins, so that bits and bobs don't scratch around, and that's a little refinement Volkswagen never really seemed to forget. That being said, while the steering wheel, the dash, and the door tops are all nice soft plastic, it is a bit hard and scratchy down here below the belt line, and that's a bit of a letdown. But this aluminium trim is quite attractive. Here in the back of the base model Tiguan, it's a story of lots of space for your passengers, and some included amenities above and beyond rivals. But in other ways, the base model gives you good reasons to upgrade because of what it doesn't give you compared to other Tiguans. But first, we'll start on the space. So, I'm six foot, headroom is massive in this car, especially because we don't have a sunroof. Legroom is totally generous, and there's heaps of toe room as well, mainly because of that quite high-set driver's seat. However, Volkswagen allow you to slide the seats to maximise boot space, and, you know, the maximum boot figure, you can see that I don't really have any knee room sitting behind myself, but it's still nice to be able to have that ability to customise, especially if you've got little kids who don't need all that much legroom. In terms of the amenities, every Tiguan gets air vents, which is great to see, a little storage shelf here, and another third fast-charging USB port with a 12-volt socket as well, plus those flock-line door bins. However, in the base model, there's no flip-down armrest, there's no backseat pockets at all for an iPad or whatnot, which seems especially cheap, and as soon as you start going higher up the range, you also get included tray tables as standard, which is really clever. So, basically, I'd pretty much skip the trendline, go up to the comfort line. You don't have to change engines, so it's not a massively expensive upgrade, but if you've got kids, you will weep the benefits. And one final point, shame to say that the materials go to hard here in the back row. Here around the back, I've always thought the second-gen Tiguan had quite a utilitarian look to it. It's fairly trucky, but at the same time, quite handsome. But these things are subjective. One thing I do like quite a lot, though, is the Atlantic blue paintwork that sets it off pretty well. Now, here on the base model, we have a manual tailgate, but you do get an electric version as you start to step up through the Tiguan range, but, you know, it's not an especially heavy door, nor is it especially light. But opening up that door, and you will find that there's a good amount of space in the back of a Tiguan. Over 500 litres, it's a little bit difficult to pin down a specific figure, because Volkswagen quotes the figure with the rear seat slid forward, as I showed you just a moment ago. But I've positioned one seat forward here, so you can see the difference in how much you get in the boot. But either way, it's a flat floor, so you can slide things straight in and out easily. Carpeted, little storage spaces off to each side, and shopping bag hooks. In terms of underfloor storage, there's just a touch, plus a space saver spare wheel. So, all in all, it's a fairly practical vehicle. But I think where the Volkswagen's trump card really lies is in how it drives. So, let's go there now. So, what is the Volkswagen Tiguan like to drive? Well, for anybody that's familiar with Volkswagen's current range of vehicles, this is going to be really similar. And that's a good thing, because at the moment, Volkswagen have driving dynamics really nailed. The MQB platform, the modular front drive platform that sits underneath this car, the Golf, the Passat, the Polo, it's a really expensive and high quality platform that basically always leads to a good driving experience, with very, very few exceptions. And so, it goes for the Tiguan. But let's start on the engines, because there's been a real kind of wacky story with the Tiguan engine since it was introduced to Australia. So, when this car arrived, it was available with five engines, which is, you know, rare to get so much choice. But then Volkswagen were beset with WLTP emissions testing delays, and that wiped out a bunch of engines, and they're just sort of piecing it back together. So, this base model 110 TSI, which is a 1.4 litre turbocharged petrol, same engine as the Golf, 110 kilowatts of power and 250 newton metres of torque, that was taken out of service for a while, and then replaced with the Euro 5 version of the engine with no start stop. So, that's what we're driving now. But, this is still a great unit, and I'll come back to why this engine is so usable in a sec. But you can get two other petrol engines, a 132 kilowatt 320 newton metre 2 litre unit, and then 162 kilowatt 350 newton metre 162 TSI flagship, and that's the engine from the Golf GTI a couple of years ago, and it puts up six and a half seconds zero to 100 times, and so there's something of a performance flavour to that vehicle. Now, there's, well, there were two diesels, a 110 kilowatt and 140 kilowatt, which were the torquiest choices in the range. They're no longer available for the five-seat Tiguan, but they are available for the seven-seat Tiguan soon. So, you know, in terms of engine, you really have to look at what's available in stock. But there's really nothing wrong with this 110 TSI, especially if the car isn't going to be full all the time. Now, there's no wonder at all that this 1.4 litre has won so many awards, because it just punches above its weight. It is so superior to the wheezing 2 litre atmospheric engines that you'd find in a Hyundai Tucson or Kia Sportage, or even a Toyota RAV4 base model, which are all about the same price as this car. You know, it's deliciously refined, torquey at low revs, fuel efficient. You know, it will return 8 litres per 100 Ks without trying too hard, which is good for a vehicle of this size. And it even sounds, you know, reasonably decent when you're up it. Plus, Volkswagen have really got this seven-speed dry-clutch DSG gearbox to be pretty good. And it's a good partner for the little 1.4. It always keeps it on the boil and that strong torque flowing. And those virtues really apply to all of the engines. So there's not really a problem in terms of the engine and gearbox choices in the Tiguan. They work well. Thankfully, the other virtues of the car are really broad. So I like the steering. This base model doesn't have any customisable drive modes and it definitely doesn't have adaptive suspension. So this just has the standard fixed setup and it works beautifully. So the steering is reasonably quick, direct, predictable. Not a massive amount of feel, but it really gets the job done. And the chassis is really decent too. So you can hustle the Tiguan along down a country road and actually have a bit of fun if you're a keen driver. The ride is firmer than most Asian rivals, but it isn't crashy or uncomfortable. It's a really good blend of compliance and control. And it's well done. And the 17-inch wheels that give you a really chunky sidewall on this base model give it a great ride. Probably the best ride of the Tiguan lineup. The higher you go in the wheel sizes, the harder it is to get a great ride. It's also pretty quiet inside. The visibility is good thanks to reasonable sized mirrors and lots of glass. And you get front and rear parking sensors and AEB as standard. But that's about it in terms of the safety features. You don't get lane keep assist as standard or adaptive cruise, which rivals are starting to filter out at this price point. You can only add that stuff as an option pack to more expensive Tiguan. So that's something to keep in mind. All in all though, the Tiguan is a joy to drive in this class with punchy efficient engines, really nice dynamics. And it just makes you feel like you're buying into something more expensive than you are. So those are our detailed opinions on the 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan. There's still a lot to like about this midsize SUV. Even though vehicles like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V have gotten a lot better since the Tiguan was introduced, this is still an option that gives you a slightly more premium feel for really around the same amount of money as the rest of the segment. So I'd really make sure to test drive it if you're shopping for one of these five-seat crossovers, as so many Australians are. And the availability of a seven-seat model is also a nice option if you want something a bit more practical. Let me know what you think about the Tiguan down below this video. Any suggestions or comments on the channel. And as always, thanks for watching Chasing Cars.