TWEAKED TIGUAN IS A WORTHY UPGRADE

A HOST OF SMALL IMPROVEMENTS HAS UPPED THE VW’S GAME

Oh, no. This was one where I had to make the call of shame. That’s when you have to phone a car company to explain to them that something has gone a bit wrong during a test drive.

I’ve had to make a few over the years. The worst was when I drove a Porsche 911 into the back of a Ferrari and had to phone both companies to apologise.

Today’s faux pas was a little less dramatic. While testing the newly revised Volkswagen Tiguan at an event in the Cotswolds, I decided to not follow the official route and do my own thing. This I often do without any problem – other than getting myself lost.

This time I managed to get myself down a single lane paved farm road that after about a mile suddenly ended. A U-turn being required, I nosed into a field. Bad mistake. While the Tiguan is available with four-wheel drive, our test 1.5 eTSI Elegance is only front-wheel drive.

After several futile attempts to reverse out over the sodden mud I ended up well and truly stuck in the field and had to ring VW for help. The car might well still be there. All £41,700 of it.

The Tiguan has been a huge success for Volkswagen with around 7.5 million sold around the world since it was launched.

Unsurprisingly, for this facelift the designers and engineers haven’t messed too much with the mix. You also get plenty of choice when configuring a Tiguan. You can have a diesel engine, 129bhp or 148bhp versions of a 1.5-litre petrol engine, and later in the year a couple of plug-in hybrid powertrains, plus more powerful 2.0-litre petrol engines.

Four or two-wheel drive are also available and there are plenty of trim levels to choose from plus several option packs that can be added.

Exterior changes to the Tiguan are just a tweak here or there to the lights but the more substantial changes have been made to the car’s interior.

As you go up through the trim levels, the prices get quite fruity and you’re facing some stiff opposition from BMW and its X1, so the quality needs to match the price tag. The big change is a new free standing infotainment screen that measures 12.9in, unless you order the Infotainment Package Plus in which case you get a 15in screen.

The latter looks a bit too big so I probably wouldn’t bother.

More important than screen size is the software that drives it and the facelifted Tiguan gets the latest version of VW’s operating system. It’s much improved with quicker responses and sharper graphics.

It’s easy to get comfortable in this car and the ride quality is excellent, even if you haven’t ticked the box for the optional variable damper suspension.

The engine is smooth and quiet, and the automatic gearbox is seamless in its changes.

Elegance trim brings with it massaging seats which is something one used to find only in top-end luxury motors.

Space is excellent and the boot holds an impressive 652 litres of luggage. The rear seats are more versatile than those of several rivals because they fold 40/20/40 rather than 60/40. There’s no new seven-seat option – which used to be called the Tiguan Allspace – but Volkswagen is planning to launch a new seven-seat SUV next year to satisfy those customers.

The revamped Tiguan is full of small improvements, all of which add up to a incrementally better car. Existing Tiguan owners will finding nothing to stop them moving onto this facelifted model.

Perhaps just don’t try doing any impromptu off-roading in a wet and muddy farmer’s field if you are behind the wheel of a two-drive version!

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Ride quality is excellent and Elegance trim gives you massage seats too