TIGUAN TAKES ON A TRIBE

The Allspace slots belatedly into occasional seven-seater territory

off-road settings beyond the default snow mode that most people really won’t want to test (but they’ll boast of their vehicle’s capability).

VW Australia managing director Michael Bartsch talks up the Allspace as “a premium SUV that is priced well below the luxury car tax threshold”.

“As has been the case with the normal wheelbase Tiguan, the single best-selling Tiguan Allspace variant will be the 162TSI Highline — almost half of overall take up. Some 70 per cent of these customers will also take up the R-Line option,” Bartsch says.

Plaudits go to the Allspace for not riding as high as some competitors — few seven-seat soft-roader owners will tackle much more than a rain-rutted gravel road. The Allspace by comparison has a solid roadholding ability yet can still deal with bush tracks.

Sadly for VW, among the rivals is the related Skoda Kodiaq SUV, derived from the same platform and our current Car of the Year.

The Kodiaq has a bigger luggage area, more rear room and is cheaper but it can’t match the VW for interior quality or standard features. You get what you pay for.

In the case of the Allspace that equates to a premium of about $3000 over the Kodiaq. In VW’s favour, the soft-touch plastics are playdough pushable, the infotainment screen is one of the best in the business and, in 162TSI guise, the digital display screen is hard to fault.

There are five versions of the Tiguan Allspace, starting at $40,490 for the Comfortline (110kW/250Nm, front-wheel drive) with power tailgate, LED headlamps, eight-inch infotainment screen, three-zone climate control (but no third row vents), fullhouse active safety software, 18-inch alloy wheels and parking sensors front and rear.

Spend $45,490 on the 132kW/320Nm allwheel drive version and the dual-clutch auto adds a seventh ratio. For another $1000, you get the 110kW/340Nm diesel AWD.