Fast not furious

that’s used in many different performance VWs, Audis, Seats and Skodas. In the Tiguan R it produces

320PS and 420Nm of torque. There are some pretty impressive performance figures too: 0-62mph is dusted off in 4.9sec and the top speed is 155mph.

The acceleration time is particularly impressive since the Tiguan R weighs a lardy 1,746kg. Its fourwheel-drive system is a big help.

You can’t miss the R version of the Tiguan. The body has been lowered by 10mm, it sits on massive ‘Estoril’

21-inch alloy wheels through which you can see sexy blue brake calipers which at the front have an ‘R’ logo, and the front and rear bumpers are unique to this model.

Our test car is painted in Lapiz blue which looks great and is the only option fitted to our car, adding £755 to the £45,915 price.

Worth it? Not if you’re expecting a sports car in the body of an SUV.

You sit very upright in the Tiguan R, albeit in very impressive looking Alcantara-trimmed sports seats.

In front of you is a steering wheel, behind which are prominent paddles that will allow you to buzz up and down the 7-speed DSG gearbox. On the steering wheel there’s a blue ‘R’ button that will fast-track you into the various driving modes that will be shown on the infotainment screen. You can choose between Eco, Normal, Sport and Race.

The latter two open flaps in the exhaust to give you a suitably rorty soundtrack.

Adaptive dampers are standard on the car, and while you’re sitting too high and the car is too heavy to make you feel like you’re driving a sports car, the Tiguan R certainly goes like one. It is seriously quick and handles much better than you’d expect thanks to those dampers.

The ride is fairly harsh especially in those sporty two modes, but even in Eco there’s a fair bit of crashing over bumps and those 21-inch wheels represent a lot of unsprung weight.

Thanks to Mr Piech’s strategy there are lots of ways to sample the Tiguan R’s powerful engine and four-wheel-drive system.

Personally, I’d go for a Golf R estate, or a Cupra Formentor if I was told I had to have an SUV.