2018 Volkswagen Tiguan vs 2017

What's the difference?

The regular Tiguan is excellent, and the Tiguan Allspace is just more of a good thing... literally, with its extra cargo capacity and the ability to seat an extra two people if you have to. Impressive safety technology, a refined cabin, cool features, practical and great to drive.

The sweetspot in the Allspace range is the 132TSI Comfortline - great value, safety and just enough grunt.

The Tiguan 162TSI Highline with the R-Line pack is consistently excellent across the board from value, features and practicality, to ride, performance and handling. The only area where it loses ground to its rivals is in ownership because, going by Volkswagen’s price guide, it may cost you more to service . Still, this is very possibly the best mid-sized SUV on the planet in this price range, and it would certainly be a huge mistake not to consider the Tiguan 162 TSI Highline (and the R-Line package) if you’re hunting for a sporty mid-sized SUV.

The Tiguan Allspace looks like a regular Tiguan only bigger. But, it’s not a Tiguan that’s just been scaled up in size. Nope, it’s a Tiguan that’s actually been stretched - by 215mm. 

Most of that length has been added to the space between the front and rear wheels, and its boot. That means more room in the cabin and also the way it drives, which I’ll talk about in the sections below.

The dimensions of the Tiguan Allspace aren’t a whole lot different to the Tiguan’s. The Allspace has the same width at 1839mm, and is only seven mm taller at 1665mm, but it’s length is 4701mm compared to the 4486mm long regular Tiguan. Compared to the Allspace the Hyundai Santa Fe is 70mm longer, 50mm wider and 15mm taller.

That elongated body, without much added to its height, and the flat roofline gives the Allspace a slightly wagon-like look and there are some unique styling points to its design, differentiating it from the Tiguan.

There’s the stepped-up bonnet edge, the ridged roof, and the bigger rear quarter windows.
 
There’s beauty in the Allspace’s chiselled looks, those super sharp creases and edges, it’s angular and strong looking with a prestige air.

The interior of the Allspace, too has those well-defined lines and is almost identical to the regular Tiguan.

The Allspace’s interior is a superbly designed cabin, but it’s not as premium feeling as I feel it should be – especially considering the levels competitors such as the Santa Fe are achieving.

There are two grades in the Tiguan Allspace line-up – the entry-level Comfortline and top of the range Highline. You can pick them apart by their wheels – the Comfortline has 18-inch alloys, while the Highline has 19-inch rims. The Highline has more chrome-looking trim around the lower air intake, its tail-lights are darker, and the rear windows are tinted. Inside the Highline has leather seat, while the Comfortline has cloth.

There’s an enormous array of accessories for the Tiguan Allspace including body kits with rear spoilers, sunblinds, sidesteps and luggage pods.

The previous generation Tiguan was quite small and curvy. This new one has grown so much in size that it’s been bumped up into the mid-size SUV class. The Tiguan has gone all angular, with crisp paper crease-like lines down that broad bonnet and along its sides.

Show me the dimensions, you say. Okay, the Tiguan is now 4486mm long (60mm more than the old car), 1839mm wide (+30mm) and 1658mm tall. But even then it’s still smaller than the CX-5 (4540mm long) and RAV4 (4605mm long).

You can spot a 162TSI Highline from other Tiguans by its trapezoidal exhaust tips and the darkened head and tail-lights. The R-Line package adds a front bumper with gloss black air intakes and a rear bumper with a diffuser that also gets the same gloss black treatment. The pack also brings side skirts, a rear spoiler, chrome tailpipes and 20-inch alloy wheels.

It’s a handsome, prestigious, solid looking beast, and wearing that 'Pure White' paint with gloss black bits it looks more than just a bit like a storm trooper helmet.

Then there’s all the R-line badging which is not just on the grille but also on the steering wheel, the headrests, and the illuminated door sills. The R-Line pack gives the interior leather upholstery and stainless steel pedals, too. 

This stylish cabin has a high quality feel and the fit and finish outshines even the best of its rivals.

The Tiguan Allspace is the only seven-seat SUV in Volkswagen’s current line-up. Yes, the big Touareg SUV flagship is 10cm longer but in Australia we get the five-seater version. And yes, there is a real possibility that in the coming years another Volkswagen SUV known as the Atlas (USA) and Teramont (Europe/Asia) with seven seats could come, but for now the Allspace is carrying the responsibility all on its own.

So, does it do a good job of being a seven-seater? Yes, as long as those in the third row are younger children because even my colleague who is not the tallest adult at 175cm found those back seats to be cramped in both head and legroom. 

I’m a 191cm tall and the only way I could sit with my legs not touching the seat back was by sliding the second row forward as far as it goes which left no legroom for anybody in front of me. The limited headroom back there meant I also had to hunch.

But if your kids are as tall as me, then it might be time for them to get their own car or think about a Volkswagen Transporter (if you’re a fan of the brand) which are proper people movers that accommodate at least seven and with enormous amounts of room even for freaks like me.

Second row legroom in the Allspace is outstanding. I can sit behind my driving position with about 50mm of room between my knees and the seat back and headroom is excellent, too – seriously another whole entire Richard Berry could sit on my lap and still be comfortable. Okay, that’s weird.

Look at the size of those rear doors in the images. They are as big as the ones on a bank vault. When you compare them to the regular Tiguan’s back doors you can see where the extra length has gone in creating the Allspace and the size of the opening makes getting in and out of the second row easy. 

Entry into the third row is helped by those large door apertures, but it seems because this SUV was designed originally with left-hand drive markets in mind the second row splits 60/40 so that the smaller section is on our roadside and not our kerb. It’s no biggie, but it’s just not as easy to slide the larger section forward.

With the second-row seats in use there’s still 230 litres of boot space – enough for a set of golf clubs (as demonstrated by Volkswagen at the car's launch). But if, like me, you don’t play golf that means about as much as saying you could fit 10 chihuahuas in there, so be assured there was enough room two soft overnight bags or maybe just look at the bad photo I took on my phone.

With those rear seats folded flat boot space in the Tiguan Allspace is excellent at 700 litres which is 75 litres more luggage capacity than the regular Tiguan and makes the size of the Santa Fe’s 547 litre cargo area look tiny.

Under the boot floor is a storage area for the cargo cover and under that compartment is the space saver spare wheel. Hooks, hard plastic bins for muddy shoes or wet swimmers and a torch can also be found in the boot.

Coming standard on the Allspace is a power tailgate with kick access, too – it only took me two kicks to open it but I’m uncoordinated, as you can clearly see in the video above.

Storage and utility throughout the cabin is unbeatable for this segment, with overhead luggage boxes galore, there are giant pockets in all the doors, two fold-down tables in the second row with a cupholder each.

There are another two cupholders in the rear centre armrest, another in the third row, two more up front in the cockpit, a dash-top covered box, and a deep centre console bin under the armrest. And that’s on all grades – the entry level Comfortline comes with more storage in the form of drawers under the driver and front passenger seats. All come with a glove box, too which adds more concealed storage and a CD player. Yes, a CD player – that makes me happy.

There are three USB ports on-board (two up front and one in the second row) and three 12-volt power supplies (front, second row and cargo area).

Hugely practical, but not great for carrying seven adults, think of the Tiguan Allspace as a five-seater with one of the biggest boots in the class and the flexibility to carry a couple of extra kids if you have to.

The new Tiguan’s 2681mm wheelbase is 76mm longer than the previous one – that’s a decent upsize and means more cabin space. I’m 191cm, which means I shouldn’t dance unless I have sufficient space around me, and also means I can’t sit behind my driving position in many of the cars I test. But I can in the Tiguan with about 3cm of air between my knees and the seat back. I have about the same amount of headroom back there, too.

Storage is excellent – the luggage capacity of the Tiguan’s boot is 615 litres (VDA), which is 200 litres more than the CX-5’s cargo room, and 30 litres more than the RAV4’s. The boot also has built-in plastic tubs on each side for wet clothes; there are similar moulded tubs on the outside seats in the back row, two cup holders in the centre fold-down armrest and two more up front. 

There are gigantic bottle holders in all the doors, a drawer under the front passenger’s seat and a net pocket on that side of the centre console. The driver has a pull-out tray nearest their door on the dash and there’s also the centre console storage bin, two overhead drop-down boxes, and a dash-top bin with a pop-up lid.

There are tray tables with pop out cup holders on the backs of the front seats and map pockets below them. 

There is a spare wheel, but it’s a space saver.

The Tiguan 162 TSI Highline lists for $48,490, the $4000 R-Line package and $2000 Driver Assistance Package bring that up to $54,490, while our car's non-metallic 'Pure White' paint doesn’t cost extra. 

The 'Driver Assistance Package' swaps the traditional speedo and tacho for a virtual instrument cluster, able to transform into your navigation map, among other things. It's as pretty as it is useful.

The pack also brings the excellent adaptive cruise control, which takes care of all the tedious stopping and starting in heavy motorway traffic, as well as rear cross traffic alert and lane keeping assistance.

We’ve been through what the R-Line package brings in our chat about the design of the car including the leather seats with embossed R-Line logos, but looks aside it also adds 'Adaptive Chassis Control' which is normally only on Volkswagen’s GTI and R models.

Being the top grade, the 162TSI Highline has pretty much Volkswagen’s entire inventory of features thrown at it. There’s the 8.0-inch touchscreen with the top of the range 'Discover Pro' media unit with voice control. It’s also ready for Apple Car play and Android Auto, plus there’s an excellent eight-speaker sound system. 

Add in a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, auto parking, an automatic tailgate with kick open function, three-zone climate control, proximity unlocking, LED headlights and DRLS, and tinted rear windows.

There are five engines in the Tiguan Allspace range – three specifically for the Comfortline grade and two just for the Highline. 

Comfortline first: there’s the 110TSI, which is a 110kW/250Nm 1.4-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder and comes with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The 110TSI Comfortline is the only front wheel drive Allspace in the range – the rest are all-wheel drive and have seven speed dual clutch autos.

Next in the Comfortline grade is the more powerful 132TS,I which is a 132kW/320Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol. Then there’s the diesel 110TDI which makes 110kW and 340Nm from its 2.0-litre turbo-four.

The Highline gets the most powerful engines. There’s the 162TSI which makes 162kW/350Nm from its 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four cylinder and the 140TDI which produces 140kW/400Nm from the turbo-diesel four. 

The 162TSI Highline is powered by a 162kW/350Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine. That’s a lot of power - as much as a 5.8-litre Ford Falcon V8 from the 1970s. This is the same engine which is in the current Golf GTI (although the new GTI, due here by the middle of 2017, will have a smidge more power).

It’s an excellent engine, and even though the Tiguan is about 300kg heavier than the Golf GTI it has the same 0-100km/h time of 6.5s, which is quick for a hatch, and unmatched for a mid-sized SUV in this price bracket.

The most powerful engine in Mazda’s CX-5 range is 138kW/250Nm 2.5-litre four, while the best a petrol RAV4 can do is 132kW/233Nm. The 162 TSI would leave both in its rear vision mirror. 

The transmission is a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, called a DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) by VW.

Oh, and it’s all-wheel drive.

The R-Line package doesn’t add any extra grunt, but it does give it better handling.

Volkswagen calculates its fuel economies over a combination of open and urban roads. I carried out testing on the same 27km country loop on each variant and recorded my own mileages off the trip computer.

So, officially the 132 TSI Comfortline gets 7.9L/100km (I recorded 10.1L/100km). The 162TSI Highline’s official figure is 8.3l/100km (I recorded 11.2L/100km). The official 140TDI Highline consumption is 6.0L/100km (I recorded 8.3L/100km).
 
It’s important to point out Volkswagen’s not wrong, this is a bit of an apples and oranges comparison as a combined average takes in motorways which will reduce your fuel economy a lot, my loop was on a hilly winding road with hard acceleration and no use of stop-start tech.

While I drove the 110TSI Comfortline it was not on the same route, but officially the fuel consumption is 6.6L/100km. The 110TDI Comfortline wasn't driven at all but its claimed mileage is 6.1L/100km.

The 162TSI Highline is the most powerful Tiguan and also the thirstiest. Volkswagen says it will need on average 8.1L/100km. After a week, according to the car’s trip computer it was sucking 95 RON premium unleaded at an average rate of 13.6L/100km. I do drive like I eat though, and I wolf my food down… it’s not pretty.  

A stop-start system will also save you fuel, although it is quick to kill the engine, and that takes a little getting used to.

In my view the regular Tiguan is the best driving mid-sized SUV in its price range – particularly the 162 TSI.

But how does stretching the front and rear wheels apart by more that 200mm, plus the extra weight of the rear seats, bigger doors and body affect that? If you’ve ever put on weight, like me, and then had to run in attempt to drop the extra kegs, you’ll find bits jiggle more and you don’t corner, stop and accelerate like you did when you were slimmer. Same goes for cars. This was going to be interesting.

First, let’s start with the 162TSI Highline with the R-Line package. Okay, it’s still quick – we’re talking 0-100km/h in 6.8sec which is only 0.3s slower than the regular Tiguan 162TSI. While I’d like to say I actually tested that figure, those are Volkswagen’s claim, but I can confirm it feels that quick.
 
Ride on those 225/40 R20 Pirelli Scorpion tyres was good for such big wheels and low-profile rubber, but not as comfy as the lower grades. The ride overall is more comfortable than the regular Tiguan thanks to the longer wheelbase. 

Steering is light, which is great for car parks but even in sport mode the weight could be heavier.

Handling is also good. The Highline comes with adaptive chassis control - but just to labour the body weight analogy a bit further, as when you put on a bit the car’s body control isn’t as composed as the regular (lighter) Tiguan. In the twists and turns of the test route I found the chassis wrestling to restore order – and it did.
 
Steering is light, which is great for car parks but even in sport mode the weight could be heavier. 

The seating position is a bit too high, but that’s the case for the regular Tiguan, too. I prefer the Mazda CX-8’s lower driving position. 

Visibility out of the Allspace is excellent. Well-designed A-pillars, non-obstructing wing mirrors and big windows (including the rear quarter window) give you a clear view all around.

Next the 132TSI Comfortline and 110TSI Comfortline. Right, the 132TSI is probably as low as you should go for engine power in the Tiguan Allspace. While both look identical inside and out, that 110TSI engine may not give you the grunt you’ll need to easily carry you, the family and the mountain of gear which goes with it. The 132TSI performed well, with great shifts from that seven speed 'DSG' dual-clutch auto.
 
Ride is excellent and so is handling, but again you can feel the extra size and weight. Does being bigger make it harder to drive? No because while the Tiguan is longer, it’s the same width, and not much taller. This means the Allspace feels more like a little van or wagon to drive, not a monster truck.
 
Finally, the 140 TDI Highline. Great torque and enough power from this diesel engine with that excellent seven speed DSG shifting intuitively coming into corners, up hills and on inclines. Our test car wore different tyres to the 162TSI ,with the 235 50 R19s delivering good grip and a comfortable ride.

The only variant I didn’t have the chance to drive was the 110TDI Comfortline, hopefully I’ll be reviewing that down the track.

I put more than 350km on the clock of our test car and spent hours at a time in the driver’s seat, and here’s want I learnt. 

The 255/40 R20 Pirelli Scorpion Verde tyres on our car are far more cushioning than the 235/55 R18 Continental ContiSportContact 5 rubber on the 140TDI I tested recently, even though they’re much lower profile. 

Combine this with well sorted suspension and you’ve got a comfortable and composed ride, that feels reassuringly firm and not floaty.

Handling is excellent for a mid-sized SUV in the price bracket, thanks to the MQB chassis and the R-Line package’s drive modes which allow you to firm up the suspension. It’s agile and changes direction superbly, but cornering at higher speed does reveal a bit of body roll, and with that comes some tyre squeal. But that's normal for an SUV, which has a high centre of mass and suspension with more travel than a 'normal' car.

Forward and rear visibility is excellent, although the window sills in the back row are too high for my toddler in his car seat to see out.

The front seats could be more figure hugging – and if at 80kg and 191cm I’m moving about a bit in the corners, somebody leaner and littler would definitely not be supported much. 

The all-wheel drive system is spot-on. Some of the roads I tested this SUV on had a worrying amount of moss making a home on them and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have made it through those bends in the same controlled fashion if there wasn’t a computer adjusting traction and drive to the four wheels. 

Steering is light in Comfort mode and is given more weight in Sport mode. There’s such great feel and communication through the steering wheel. The steering wheel itself is small and fitted my hands perfectly. 

A quiet cabin with almost no wind or road noise finding its way in tops off a driving experience which is well above the norm in this segment.

The Tiguan has the maximum five-star ANCAP rating. AEB is standard on all Tiguans, but the Driver Assistance package on our test example brings adaptive cruise control, 360 camera, blind spot warning with lane changing assistance, and rear cross traffic alert.

There are three top-tether anchor points and two ISOFIX mounts for child seats. 

The Tiguan Allspace is covered by Volkswagen’s three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. 

Servicing is recommended every 12 months or 15,000km for both diesel and petrol variants, with capped price servicing for the first five years. 

Servicing can be more expensive for the Tiguan than Japanese and Korean rivals and you can expect to pay $426 for the first service on a 132TSI and 162TSI engine, with prices heading higher for subsequent services.

Free roadside assistance is also offered for the first three years of ownership (from new).

The Tiguan 162 TSI Highline is covered by a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. 

Servicing is recommended at 15,000km/12 month intervals with the first costing $417, the second will be $606, the third is $674, the fourth is $1183, and the fifth is back to $417.