REVIEW: Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace 1.4 TSI sails through daily life

Review: Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace 1.4 TSI

Johannesburg - Back in 2020, the Volkswagen Tiguan overtook the Golf as the company’s best-selling vehicle internationally, underscoring the rising popularity of SUV products as traditional sedans and hatchbacks become less of a common sight on the roads.

The secret to its success, in our view, is its combination of sophistication, comfort and practicality. It’s a classy SUV but it’s not trying too hard to be fancy. These days, there’s a model to suit just about every need, including the recently-introduced Tiguan R performance version.

The Volkswagen Tiguan also caters for those seeking a seven-seater, with the recently facelifted Allspace model. We got to experience it over an extended test period during the recent Festive Season break, which also meant taking it on a road trip to the KZN South Coast.

Design and practicality

With an overall length of 4 728mm, the Allspace is a good 217mm longer than the regular Tiguan, and 111mm of that has gone into the wheelbase. Designers did a decent job of integrating the Tiguan’s key design features into the stretched format. Although it lacks the taut appearance of the five-door, it is easy on the eye.

The inside is where the magic happens, but you’ll have to keep in mind that the pair of seats in the third row are better suited to children than adults.

With the second-row seats in their normal position, I was unable to squeeze myself into the third row. Thankfully, the middle-row seats slide forward and backwards, and after giving myself just enough legroom there, I was able to slot into the third row.

The bottom line here is flexibility – and I’m not referring to my own or lack thereof! If you need to transport six adults or teens to a rugby game or a trip to the movies, the Tiguan’s seven-seat layout would serve you just fine, but just don’t think of it as a vehicle that can take the same human load on a holiday – for that, you might want to consider the Caddy instead.

For my December road trip, it was just two of us and a large load of luggage, for which the Tiguan’s flexible boot system came in handy. The third-row seats fold flat onto the floor, giving you a luggage capacity of 760 litres, which is 240 litres more than what the standard-wheelbase Tiguan offers when its rear seats are in their regular position. It swallowed our holiday luggage with ease.

What’s it like to drive?

This is possibly the highlight of Tiguan ownership as its overall sophistication impresses in just about every driving situation.

The Tiguan is quiet on the road and free of unwanted noises and vibrations. In spite of the beefy-looking 19-inch “Valencia” alloy wheels that are fitted as standard on the R-Line model we tested, the ride quality was comfortable throughout our December travels.

Those aforementioned rims give the Tiguan a more purposeful look and help its road holding cause. When chucked through some twisty bits, the Tiguan feels agile “for an SUV” and the well-weighted steering system imparts confidence.

Power comes from the familiar 1.4-litre TSI turbocharged petrol engine, with direct injection, which produces 110kW and 250Nm.

If I have to nitpick, I did find it a little laggy when trying to pull into busy avenues but not to the point of feeling endangered or frustrated. Once on the boil, however, the little engine delivers relatively brisk performance and there’s also sufficient overtaking oomph on the open road.

Speaking of the open road, the Tiguan Allspace averaged around 7.0 litres per 100km on most of my freeway journeys. On easier sections, I averaged as low as 6.5 l/100km, while some of the more demanding and hilly stretches would see it creep up to about 7.5. That’s really not bad for a vehicle of this size and stature. In town driving, of course, the figure will climb somewhat, and in such situations it often crept past the 11 l/100km mark.

Cockpit and gadgets

The Tiguan has a classy cockpit, with neat lines and higher-grade materials that give it a semi-premium vibe.

It became a bit more digital with the facelift but, thankfully, unlike the latest Golf, the central touch screen hasn’t swallowed the climate controls. In the facelifted Tiguan, you’ll find a separate ventilation control area beneath the infotainment system, with touch sliders (something you’ll also find on the steering wheel). While this is better than having to dig through the infotainment system to change your fan speed, the sliders are not as user-friendly as conventional buttons or rotary knobs. Thankfully, Volkswagen is doing away with them in future models.

One thing we did miss was a rotary knob for adjusting the volume, which must either be done via the steering controls or digital buttons next to the touch screen.

Speaking of infotainment systems, the Tiguan ships as standard, with the 8.0-inch Composition Media audio system with App-Connect and Voice Control.

Our test car had the optional Discover Pro infotainment set-up with navigation and wireless App-Connect, which adds an extra R19 000 to the bill. The system synced easily with our phones through Apple CarPlay, although it did get a little flustered when more than one previously connected device was present.

Our December chariot was also equipped with a 480W Harman Kardon sound system (R12 600) and the IQ Drive suite of semi-autonomous driver aids (R20 600), which includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Change Assist and Autonomous Emergency braking among others.

Standard features in the Tiguan R Line include Vienna leather seat upholstery, three-zone climate control, digital instrument cluster, 30-colour ambient lighting system, electric tailgate and cruise control.

VERDICT

At R767 400, the 1.4 TSI R-Line is not priced out of the segment ballpark and it offers the flexibility of seven seats for shorter trips across town.

We were impressed with the Tiguan’s overall sophistication and it feels like a premium product in almost every respect.

FACTS: Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace 1.4 TSI R-Line

Price: R767 400

Engine: 1.4-litre, 4-cylinder, turbopetrol

Gearbox: 6-speed dual-clutch automated

Drive: Front-wheel drive

Power: 110kW at 5 000 to 6 000rpm

Torque: 250Nm at 1 500 to 3 500rpm

0-100km/h: 9.2 seconds (claimed)

Top speed: 200km/h (claimed)