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Pros: High-quality interior, excellent new infotainment system, space, comfort, long EV range
Cons: Will be quite expensive, styling not as sharp as that of the old Tiguan
Volkswagen Tiguan Design
The new Tiguan almost falls at the first fence here, as the exterior just doesn’t look as crisp and handsome as that of the outgoing model. With the slim new LED headlights and the transparent bar that runs between them and behind the VW badge, it’s clear that Volkswagen is trying to draw stylistic links between this Tiguan and the big-selling ID.4 electric SUV. Which is fine, but it’s spoiled by the big, chunky air intake underneath, complete with an overload of chrome trim that just makes the front end of the Tiguan look too tall and blocky. Elsewhere, it’s a little more generic mid-size SUV which is not a surprise, but the detailing around the brake lights is quite nice. Alloy wheels range from 17-inch items for the basic version, rising to 20 inches for the biggest. There are some nice colour options too, including a bright red ‘Persimmon’ and a dark ‘Cipressino’ green.
Volkswagen Tiguan Interior
If the exterior of the Tiguan is a faint let-down, then the cabin is anything but. VW, clearly stung by criticisms of its cabin quality has decided to hit back hard with this. The Tiguan’s cabin looks and feels really good. The front seats are more or less dropped straight in from the big Touareg SUV, and come with options such as power adjustment, heat, cooling and massage. They are wonderfully comfortable.
In our high-end Elegance version, the dashboard and door tops are covered in a nice, soft-touch ‘pleather’ while in front of the driver is a big, clear 10.25-inch digital instrument panel (there’s an optional head-up display too). In the centre of the dash and measuring 12.9 inches as standard or 15 inches optionally, is VW’s new touchscreen - and it is entirely new. The infotainment team has taken VW’s software and hardware back to basics — again, following some stinging criticisms in recent years — and started from scratch. The effort has been rewarded, as the new ‘MIB4’ software seems much faster and more responsive than before, and the menu layout simpler, easier to understand and requiring fewer presses and swipes to get at stuff. The upper section of the screen uses short-cut icons that can be customised with your preferred functions, while the base of the screen has the climate controls ‘always on’ which is an immense help (if still no substitute for physical controls).
There’s also a new voice control assistant, which VW calls ‘IDA’, featuring ChatGPT AI technology. There’s — probably — no need to worry about a rise of the machines effect, as the AI tech here is simply to allow IDA to be a more naturally conversational companion, and able to do gimmicky things like make up a story on the fly for bored kids, or give you a history of the area through which you’re driving. Revolutionary? Maybe someday, but for now the interface still seems a bit clunky, the synthesised voice unpleasantly robotic, and the intelligence still too likely to return a ‘Sorry, that’s something I still have to learn’ response. VW does say that all the data generated by the system is anonymised, and all questions instantly deleted once responded to.
Down on the centre console, thanks to the gear shifter moving to the dashboard, there’s lots of storage space, big cupholders, and two wireless charging trays for mobiles. There’s also a nice, knurled, rotary switch which is mainly the volume control to the stereo, but at the press of the tiny touchscreen in the centre of the switch also allows you to change the driving modes (the usual Sport, Comfort, Eco and so on) and a new thing called ‘Atmospheres’.
These, variously called Lounge, Joy, Energy and so on, alter the cabin lighting intensity and colours, the climate control, and even the stereo volume and equaliser settings to change the cabin ambience between something that jazzes you up (on the way to a party maybe?) or calm you down (had a stressful day at work?). Again, it’s a bit of a gimmick but your kids will probably enjoy playing with it.
Less gimmicky is the space on offer. The Tiguan’s back seats are cavernous, with way more legroom and headroom than you are likely to need, and lots of useful storage spaces. The boot is massive too, but that’s a little more variable — diesel and petrol versions get a vast 652-litre space but plug-in e-Hybrid models, thanks to needing to package the battery, can only manage 490 litres. Still, you can slide the rear seat back and forth to balance your need for rear legroom or luggage space, and when you fold the seats down you get as much as 1,650 litres of room, depending on the model.
VW Tiguan Performance & Drive
When the new Tiguan lands in Ireland in March, the first arrivals will be diesel versions, using VW’s familiar 2.0-litre TDI engine in 150hp or 193hp states of tune, the latter with standard 4Motion four-wheel drive. To be honest, the upgrade to the higher-power engine doesn’t really gain you all that much — yes, it’s quicker but with 360Nm of torque, the 150hp version is hardly disgraced, and in fact it feels like a bit of a sweet-spot in the combustion engine lineup. There’s plenty enough power for it to feel reasonably swift, but it’s also very economical, easily managing 5.5 litres per 100km on our twisty, mountainous test route. There are 1.5-litre petrol models too, using a mild-hybrid system integrated into the seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox (there is no manual-gearbox Tiguan anymore) but those aren’t coming to Ireland.
If you want a petrol Tiguan, then the only option is the new e-Hybrid plug-in model, and this might be the pick of the lineup. It uses the 1.5-litre TSI petrol engine as its heart (the old 1.4 TSI having finally been pensioned off) and adds an 85kW electric motor and a new 19kWh battery. That gives you total outputs of 204hp and 350Nm of torque, so even though the e-Hybrid is 200kg heavier than the diesel, it feels quick in most circumstances. It’s refined, too. Yes, the engine does the big, long hybrid revving thing when you accelerate hard, but even then, it’s well kept under control and thankfully VW has managed to keep the tyre noise — usually an issue for cars using the MQB platform — under control.
More importantly, this could — and I’m saying could as we need to try this all out at home, on familiar routes to get a proper handle on it — be a very efficient plug-in hybrid. The bigger battery (previous VW PHEVs used a 10kWh battery) means a range of around 100km on electric power. Actually, the official WLTP range is expected to be more like 120km, but VW is talking about 100km as a more realistic figure.
If that’s achievable, then according to the German car maker’s research, that’s enough to cover 99 per cent of all journeys made by an average customer. The range seems realistic too. On our test, our car was showing 42km available from a 39 per cent battery charge. It should be reasonably economical on longer journeys too, although we’ll need to put more motorway miles under it to be sure of that. You can charge it quickly as well — the new Tiguan can charge at 11kW on AC power (up from 3.7kW for the older models) and can now charge at 50kW from a high-speed DC public charger.
In terms of how it drives, the Tiguan is solid, but not thrilling. The steering is light but direct, the ride quality mostly very good (sharp intrusions can be a bit of an issue) and while there’s body lean in corners, it feels stable and sure-footed. It’s just too heavy to be any fun for a keen driver, but as a long-distance cruiser, its refinement and comfort make it a bit of a superstar.
Volkswagen Tiguan Pricing
So far, we only have an entry price for the Tiguan, which will be €48,095 for the basic 2.0-litre 150hp TDI version. That pegs it as quite expensive, certainly compared to the likes of the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage, but it does come well-equipped as standard, including the 12.9-inch touchscreen, climate control and the ChatGPT software (which comes bundled with VW’s WeConnect internet services).
Carzone Verdict
While we’re not that keen on the styling, the new VW Tiguan feels like a very well-rounded product with a roomy, high-quality cabin, an excellent new infotainment system and a plug-in hybrid model that might just be the best in its class.