Light off-road vehicle: this is how the new VW Tiguan drives

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This is how the new VW Tiguan drives

Light off-road vehicle: this is how the new VW Tiguan drives-this

The new Volkswagen Tiguan

Source: Volkswagen

The Tiguan is here, VW’s contribution in the field of light off-road vehicles. The new car doesn’t look particularly original, it can’t necessarily offer more than others – but it’s a clear candidate for number 1 in its class.

TEurope’s largest car company, Volkswagen, rarely sets trends. In Wolfsburg, one rather observes, weighs up, thinks and sees what mistakes others are making. And then you strike. So it was with the minivans, the Touran almost rolled over the previous top models Opel Zafira and Renault Scenic; and even the VW Eos, although started late, is at the top of all convertible convertibles in Germany, even ahead of the significantly cheaper Peugeot 207 CC

The first day after the opening of the IAA showed that the Tiguan can also achieve such success. 3000 firm orders had been received within three hours; and when the day was over, VW had sold 7000 Tiguan – at least a car that apart from the press and trade visitors, no one had really seen, let alone test driven.

The Tiguan is not an eye-catcher

To all those who may have had doubts after having signed, let me tell you: you can calm down again. The Tiguan is like a Touran, like an Eos and like almost all VW models: solid, very well made and at the same time completely inconspicuous. The last new Volkswagen that someone would have turned around on the street was the New Beetle, but the new edition of the Beetle was only moderately successful.

Even with the Tiguan you swim incognito in traffic. A light off-road vehicle, known in technical jargon as an SUV (for Sports Utility Vehicle), is simply nothing special these days. The number of people who want to own such a car is growing steadily, and the additional consumption that high and comparatively heavy cars have does not seem to bother them – regardless of climate change or carbon dioxide limit values.

However: The new 2.0-liter diesel engine that VW is presenting for the first time in the Tiguan is hardly suitable for angry protests by Greenpeace and other organizations. 7.2 l / 100 km at 140 PS, 1590 kg weight and really good performance (186 km / h, 0 – 100 in 10.5 s.) – VW doesn’t have to be ashamed of that (although the engine is of course in the lighter and smaller one Golf would use less).

A completely new diesel feeling

More importantly, there is a completely new diesel feeling. VW has finally discovered the common rail technology for diesel engines, which it had been introducing for ten years. This special type of fuel injection has some advantages over the pump-nozzle technology previously used: the engine runs more smoothly and clearly – really significantly – quieter. And it reaches the exhaust emission limits of the future at lower costs. The Tiguan 2.0 TDI is the first production car that already complies with the EU5 standard, which will not come into force until 2009.

That is pleasant, but in everyday life you don’t enjoy these things every day. What counts here is the high torque of 320 Newton meters, which is applied between 1750 and 2500 revolutions. In practice, this means that sixth gear can be used even on city streets with a speed of 60 or 70 km / h, and on country roads you don’t have to permanently shift down to third gear when you are happily cornering. The fourth does it too, and thanks to the quieter engine running, the front passenger may not even notice how quickly things are going.

Because here, too, the Tiguan is a typical VW: It lies full and tight on the road, and for some it may be too tight. The Tiguan reveals deficits in driving comfort, especially when it comes to dirt roads or country roads of the third or fourth order. Safe cornering was simply more important to the developers here – and with long-legged cars this requires dry damping that keeps the body steady. Advantage for the driver: The Tiguan doesn’t rock any more than a normal car.

In addition to the squeaky clean TDI, there will also be a TSI model with 1.4 liter displacement and 150 hp at the start of sales in mid-October – achieved through the combination of compressor and turbocharger, as VW is already offering for the Golf and Touran. The petrol engine almost compensates for the power disadvantages compared to the diesel: Here, too, the greatest torque is already available at 1750 tours, but it is only 240 Newton meters. Since the petrol engine revs higher, it achieves a slightly higher top speed (192 km / h) and a slightly faster acceleration (9.6 seconds) – paid for with an equally higher, but not really high standard consumption of 8.4 l / 100 km.

Inconspicuous, but good

All Tiguan models currently have permanent all-wheel drive, which is controlled by a fourth-generation Haldex clutch. It usually directs most of the power to the front wheels. From the road conditions, wheel speed, accelerator pedal position and steering work of the driver, however, she can read fairly quickly whether the rear axle should not be occupied more briefly. The driver does not notice any of this, the electronics work here like the whole car: inconspicuously.

That only changes when you try the AutoHold function of the new electronic parking brake. There is no handbrake lever in the Tiguan, you just press a button in the center console. Behind it is another button – if you press it, the Tiguan helps you start up on the mountain. If you roll back, the car will noticeably step on the brakes with a noticeable noise development, only to let go again when you have made sure that the drive wheels are getting enough power for the mountain. This works with both the automatic and the manual transmission.

The simplest Tiguan model with TSI engine and 150 hp costs 26,700 euros, which is just 100 euros more than Toyota wants for the base model of its RAV4 with 152 hp. The new TDI engine costs 2100 euros extra, here too VW does not have to hide from the strongest competitor, whose D-4D model with 136 hp also costs 28,600 euros.

Six airbags are included in the price as standard in the basic Tiguan model Trend & Fun, plus ABS, ESP, air conditioning, electric windows, on-board computer and CD radio. It can be done even better, but that’s just what you get

VW also seen worse. The Track & Field variant (plus 1175 euros) contains alloy wheels, real underride protection, better seats, a compass in the on-board computer and a tire pressure monitor. In addition, the underside of the body is beveled at the front and rear, so that there is a slope angle of 28 instead of 18 degrees – the Track & Field can tackle significantly steeper slopes without the driver having to worry about scratches on the expensive car. There is also an off-road button in the center console that automatically adjusts all important electronic systems for driving over loose ground.

Even without a special reduction gear, the off-road capabilities are more than sufficient for 99 out of 100 trips off the road in Central Europe. Dirt roads and mountains, so it is said at VW, are important for Tiguan customers, but not gravel pits and mud holes.

And that’s how they made the car: Still compact on the outside at 4.43 meters, but spacious and practical on the inside, with 505 to 1510 liters of luggage space and a rear seat that can be moved lengthways and easily folded down; In addition, the car is technically superior, ecologically not too disastrous, and optically it matches its no-experiment design. With everything, the car costs well under 30,000 euros. VW Tiguan is anything but an adventurer – it is the modern interpretation of the family carriage.

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