Volkswagen Tiguan TDi 2009

The German built Volkswagen Tiguan tdi ,All wheel drive presents itself as a small agile vehicle ready to take on the likes of CRV, Rav 4, Freelander and X-trail.

In most cases it does, its neat , tidy cheap to run and offers some great features from this smaller market segment. Towing for example, and the Tiguan can tow 2000Kg. Construction is strong and rigid it is defiantly not a flimsy lightweight coke can.

Features wise just think Volkswagen touareg here the tiguan is just a scaled down version of the big brother and that vehicle is in most cases in Australia is overlooked as a serious 4x4.

Tiguan is smaller

But .. the Tiguan is what it is a smaller all wheel drive offering a neat package to the motor buying public that will suit a city based life style..

Price starts at $38,290 AUD-to $47,840 +, the engine is a 2 litre Turbo diesel intercooler offering 103 kw of power at 4200 rpm. Torque is nice 320 Nm @ 1750-2500 rpm .Expect acceleration of the Tiguan for 0-100km to be about 10.7 seconds. Its no speed machine but economy here is 7.9 ltrs/100 kms and CO2 emissions are 209g/km.

Turning circle for city life is a bit disappointing being 12 metres just like the old Mitsubishi Magnas

Weight 1630 kg

Height 1686 mm

Length 4427mm

Width 1809 mm

Wheelbase 2604 mm

Clearance 200 mm

In summary the Volkswagen Tiguan  has a terrific economical turbo diesel , is comfortable, has a five star NCAP rating for saftey and is priced right

Power is down and handling seems a bit top heavy. Space is limited forget the double stroller for the twins and has a small temp spare . The trans seems odd and may take some getting use to.