The ultimate family SUV

THE rejuvenated third generation Volkswagen Tiguan looks a strong package. Jonathan Crouch checks it out.

Ten Second Review

Volkswagen’s third generation Tiguan has been subtly moved upmarket but will retain a familiar appeal to hordes of loyal customers who liked this lower-mid-sized SUV’s two predecessors. It’s been redesigned outside and completely upgraded within. Plus it’s more electrified, bigger and better connected.

Background

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of the Tiguan to Volkswagen. Since the introduction of this mid-sized SUV model line back in 2007, it’s regularly been the brand’s global best seller, consistently since 2018 ahead of the Golf hatch it’s always borrowed its engineering from. The second generation version announced in 2016 was even more successful than the first, contributing greatly to a sales total that had crested 7.5 million by the time of the introduction of the third generation model we look at here in Autumn 2023.

This rejuvenated design shares its general size and market positioning with its predecessor (just above the T-Roc, just below the Touareg); but not a lot else. The evolved exterior look is merely a prelude to a completely redesigned cabin which borrows much from the design revolution also seen in the latest Passat (with which this Tiguan now shares its upgraded MQB-Evo platform). Infotainment’s also on a different level from before, borrowing lessons learned from the ID.7. It all sounds quite promising.

Driving Experience

Both the 2.0-litre TSI petrol units (201bhp and 261bhp) and the 2.0-litre TDI diesels (148bhp and 190bhp) feature updates, the more powerful variants in each case getting the company’s usual 4MOTION 4WD system. Below these, the brand has slotted in new mild hybrid 1.5 litre front-driven eTSI petrol models at the affordable end of the range (choose from 129bhp or 148bhp outputs).

That eTSI 1.5-litre unit makes another appearance as part of this rejuvenated Tiguan’s Plug-in Hybrid powertrain. Which has had its EV range extended with a new 19.7kWh battery claimed to be able to take the car up to 62 miles without troubling fossil fuel. The eHybrid models in question both use this battery allied to a 113bhp electric motor driving only the front wheels and there’s the choice of two versions, one offering 201bhp, the other 268bhp.

Design and Build

This third generation Tiguan is a recognisable evolution of its popular predecessor but it wants to move a fraction further up-market, hence Volkswagen’s decision to make it 30mm longer than before (it’s also 4mm taller). Talking of length, there won’t be an extended 7-seat Allspace version offered this time round because the brand plans to fill that niche with yet another SUV, the Tayron. This Tiguan’s side profile is now more athletic, but the main changes are found at the front, with smart new LED headlights and a vast shark-like lower grille arrangement.

The big differences this time round though, lie inside where there’s a completely redesigned cabin that’s more spacious, better quality and more sophisticated. All the screen stuff is based on the new VW Group MIB4 set-up we first saw in the ID.7. A 10.3-inch digital instrument display is now standard, paired alongside a central infotainment touchscreen that will usually be 12.9 inches but can be upgraded to a rather over-large 15.0inch size on request.

Out back, there’s been a 37-litre increase in boot space (now up to a generous 652 litres), though it’ll be quite a bit less than that with the PHEV versions.

Market and Model

Expect pricing to sit in the £35,000£50,000 bracket, which is pretty par for the course when it comes to upwardly mobile lower-mid-sized SUVs these days. There’s a choice of four trim levels – standard spec, ‘Life’, ‘Elegance’ and ‘R-Line’ variants. Even base spec gives you 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, climate control and a rear view camera. Plus a 10.3-inch digital instrument display and a 12.9inch central infotainment touchscreen. And there’s the usual included app that allows you to interact with your Tiguan from wjherever you are using your smartphone.

With ‘Life’ trim, you get 3-zone climate control, ‘comfort’-spec seats, different alloy wheels, a Park Assist system, auto main beam, adaptive cruise control and ‘Apple CarPlay’ and ‘Android Auto’ smartphonemirroring. If you want to spoil yourself, you’ll want to look at midlevel ‘Elegance’ spec, which gets you larger 18-inch wheels, acoustic glass, a powered tailgate, LED Plus headlights and a ‘Park Assist Pro’ system that will record the last 50 metres of your journey and retrace your steps automatically. At the top of the range, ‘R-Line’ models get 19-inch alloy wheels, sports seats and a sporty body kit. Key options include a head-up display and DCC adaptive damping.

Cost of Ownership

The economy figures aren’t too much different from before. Which means that if you opt for the base eTSI petrol 1.5-litre petrol variants, you’re looking at about 45mpg on the combined cycle and about 140g/ km of CO2. The base 2.0 TDI diesel improves that to around 55mpg and around 135g/km. As we told you in our ‘Driving’ section, the eHybrid PHEV models are capable of around 62 miles of range before you need to use fossil fuel. Volkswagen reckons that will allow many families to use this car as an EV, given German market research suggesting that 95% of journeys are less than 31 miles long and 99% are shorter than 62 miles.

As for servicing across the range, well as usual with Volkswagen models, there’s a choice of either ‘Fixed’ or ‘Flexible’ maintenance packages. You’ll choose the ‘Fixed’ approach if you cover less than 10,000 miles a year and with this, the car will typically be looked at every twelve months. If your daily commute is more than 25 miles and your Tiguan will regularly be driven on longer distance journeys, you’ll be able to work with a ‘Flexible’ regime that can see you travelling up to 18,000 miles between garage visits – or every two years, whichever is sooner. And warranties? Well the standard package is three years and 60,000 miles.

Summary

The Tiguan has evolved – but not beyond recognition. If you liked it before, you’ll like it even more now, with its newly chiselled looks and more advanced powertrain selection. The redesigned cabin we think is key: the previous model’s interior couldn’t really carry off a price tag north the £40,000. With this third generation model, that had to change – and it has.