Everyone’s friend or clear compromise?
You don’t have to be an accomplished car spotter to see a Volkswagen Tiguan every day. The first generation sold reasonably well, but it was the second generation that really paid off. Especially in 2017, 2018 and 2019, when almost 6,000 copies were sold annually. Many sales – and of course business lease – also represent many opinions and findings. What do owners and users think of their Volkswagen Tiguan?
The second generation Volkswagen Tiguan was introduced in 2016 and is still available. The model did receive a facelift in 2020, with the characteristic front taking on more subtle shapes. The Tiguan is – or was – available with a wide choice of petrol and diesel engines. A plug-in hybrid should not be missing and a special mention is made for the Tiguan Allspace, an extended version with seven seats if desired. Some owners have also written a review of this XL variant.
Tiguan, comfortable family car?
The Tiguan not only competes with other brands, brothers such as the Volkswagen Touran, Golf and Passat Variant also have to believe it. The Tiguan is therefore a family and business car and appears to be very satisfactory in that capacity. “Space and seating comfort are really sublime! Both in the front and in the back you sit like a king and the luggage space is above average,” writes an enthusiastic owner. Another continues with superlative terms. “In the back, the seating comfort is business class. The adjustable backrest also contributes to this, as does the beautiful view with the glass roof. In the evening there is lighting in the roof, a thin LED strip along the edges of the glass, looks chic.
Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace, nice and spacious inside.
Not only the space, but also the seating comfort suits most owners and their passengers, as the following user of a 2019 Tiguan Highline Business writes. “The interior remains beautiful, the seats are really comfortable, even over long distances. Lots of space and my daughters are tall like me, but everyone sits well and likes to ride along.” This said comfort does not come naturally, let the next user know. “I regret that I did not order a more comfortable ErgoActive chair, if necessary I would have paid a few thousand euros more for a Highline, which includes that standard. This chair is slippery, does not provide good lumbar support and is difficult to adjust.”
How does the Tiguan drive?
The driver of a Tiguan Allspace summarizes his experience for you: “How does it drive? Extremely relaxed. You can enjoy cruising with it and you also notice that the car invites you to do that.” An owner who previously drove a Mazda 6 endorses the experience. “What the VW excels at is driving pleasure for me. I really enjoy the peace, comfort, many gadgets and luxury in the Tiguan.”
The silence on board is mentioned positively by many owners. The owner of a Tiguan 2.0 TDI wants to add something to that: “That will probably apply to the petrol versions, but not to this diesel. I could be wrong, but it’s not noticeably quieter than my Octavia with the same engine or other diesels in the same class.” And indeed, owners who experience the peace and quiet mainly drive units with 1.4 TSI or 1.5 TSI petrol engines.
The suspension comfort of the Tiguan is appreciated, although this applies to a lesser extent to the extended Tiguan Allspace. This version seems remarkably stiffer than its shorter brother and that is noticed by several owners. “In my opinion, the suspension travel is very short,” writes the user of a 2019 Allspace, “because without really driving over a threshold you can hear that the damping has already reached its maximum travel.” He also has comparison material. “Our neighbors have a normal Tiguan, which steers much better and handles bumps much better than the Allspace.”
Infotainment and driving assistance
The Tiguan is equipped with relatively classic infotainment systems and, as usual, physical buttons. Owners, in contrast to, for example, the new Golf 8, have no complaints about the user-friendliness. The speed and interface are appreciated, although the voice control seems to be improved. “You can expect the craziest reactions. For example, ‘Call aunt Sjaan’ becomes ‘I call 112’.”
Roughly the same applies to the driver assistance systems. People are very pleased with the adaptive cruise control, also in combination with lane assist. The owner of a 2.0 TDI Highline Business R also experiences this: “The adaptive cruise control in combination with the lane assist is a very nice option. I’ve never been so relaxed in a traffic jam. The car brakes itself and also accelerates when the traffic starts moving.”
However, a relatively large number of drivers report ‘ghost braking’, the intervention of the emergency brake assistant out of the blue. “This regularly happens on an empty road that is not even lined with houses or bushes. Why? No idea… 1x the emergency braking system was activated on a dark deserted road; fortunately without tailgaters.” The owner who shares this experience also sees a bright spot. “However, the system has already helped me by braking in a parking maneuver that was estimated to be a little too optimistic.” The driver of a 2018 Tiguan Allspace has had the workshop look at the system. “Recalibrated and sensor cleaned. Seems to work better now, but at dusk and a lot of metal on and around the road, it remains to pay attention. Then you can just brake hard.”
Annoyances and malfunctions
The intervention of the emergency brake assistant seems to be the biggest annoyance for drivers, but there is more minor suffering. “An update after 20,000 km,” writes the driver of a 1.4 TSI from 2016, “Car drives well, but I don’t think the quality is top notch. I expected more. Lots of squeaks and creaks, you don’t expect that with an expensive car.” The owner of a four-wheel drive 2.0 TSI experiences creaking noises in the chassis in winter, noises from the steering column and a remarkable noise from the engine.” One user with a 1.5 TSI complains about oil consumption. “Volkswagen says casually that it is quite normal that you have to add a liter of oil every 5,000 kilometers. Every once in a while the yellow oil light comes on, one time after 7,500 kilometers, the other time (in winter) after 10,000 kilometers.”
Engines and powertrain
Apart from the car with oil consumption, owners are quite satisfied with the engine and drive of their Tiguan. In most cases, this concerns the 1.4 TSI and 1.5 TSI petrol engines, both of which are equipped with cylinder deactivation. The owner of such a 1.4 TSI writes about it: “The car has cylinder deactivation that works well, but which I had to get used to for the first 1,000 kilometers. I still feel a little bit of the switch every time. With the more modern 1.5 TSI, the transition between two and four-cylinder mode seems to be smoother, the driver of such a copy describes. “The cylinder deactivation is very smooth; comes in very quickly and you only notice it when you know it’s on and when you look at your dash.”
Judging by reviews from users and owners, the Tiguan seems to be a great alternative to the Touran, Golf and Passat Variant. It convinces with space, tranquility and seating comfort, although the last two are somewhat dependent on the chosen engine and version. The autonomous emergency braking system could intervene less violently and the finish could be better on points, but below the line, daily users seem satisfied.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl