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If you don't go off-road, and don't pretend to, then the 118TSI is worth a look. Photo Gallery
Philip King road tests and reviews the Volkswagen Tiguan.
WHEN every vehicle on the road is a sports utility one of the reasons we bought them in the first place will have gone: you will no longer be able to see over the car in front. We'll all be high and mighty.
That could prompt an arms race to even greater heights but all the signs are things are going the other way. SUVs are reversing out of their origins to become less and less like real off-roaders and more and more like, well, cars.
They have got lower so they handle better and are less ruggedly practical in design. And they are ditching all-wheel drive in droves. It turns out most of us never really wanted to go off-road. We just wanted our neighbours to think we did.
VALUE
Volkswagen was one of the last to join the stampede to compact SUVs with the Tiguan, launched three years ago. It has been luring about one in every 20 compact SUV buyers with all-wheel drive and a starting price of $34,000.
For its mid-life facelift, it adds a front-drive version with greatly improved efficiency and the range kicks off $5500 lower. Compared with other European SUVs, such as the BMW X1 or the closely related Audi Q3, due next year, the Tiguan was already affordable. Now made-in-Germany encroaches on Japanese and Korean territory.
The 118TSI uses the 1.4-litre supercharged and turbocharged four-cylinder already offered in the Golf, among others. The $28,490 price buys a six-speed manual transmission; two-pedal drivers will have to wait until the auto arrives next year.
TECHNOLOGY
Restricting power to two wheels has several benefits. It reduces weight -- typically, at least 100kg -- by removing a lot of driveline components. So, better handling and, even more important these days, an immediate reduction in fuel use. And with fewer bits, a two-wheel drive SUV is cheaper but you still get practical space and an elevated ride height.
Even large SUVs such as the Ford Territory include a don't-go-anywhere version and at the compact level they are rife. A carmaker without one risks being undercut by rivals and can miss a lot of sales. Two-wheel drive SUVs can be half the volume for some models.
The 118TSI, as it's badged, has substantial running cost advantages over other petrol models with 6.9 litres consumed per 100km, against 8.7 for the next best. It's not a whole lot more thirsty than the 2.0-litre diesel.
However, it's much quicker to 100km/h than the diesel, achieving it in a respectable 8.9 seconds. That's only 0.6 slower than the 132kW 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol.
DRIVE
It feels like that on the road, too, with a likably feisty quality to the way it goes down the road. The main reason is lower weight: it sheds about 130kg. It has the same suspension but lacks a driveshaft to the rear wheels. That makes it noticeably lighter on its feet than its siblings and it drives much like a large, tall hatchback.
Which, in effect, it is. The 2.0-litre petrols both feel more like traditional off-roaders by comparison, with less of their mass concentrated in the nose. Both get a bit more power in this upgrade and emit a pleasing snarl under load. The 132TSI pulls with conviction while the 155TSI is the desirable unit of the three.
VERDICT
But if you don't go off-road, and don't pretend to, then the 118TSI is worth a look. And not everybody has one. Yet.
VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN
Price: From $28,490 (118TSI) to $42,990 (155TSI) plus on-roads
Engines: 1.4-litre super and turbocharged four-cylinder petrol; 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol or diesel
Outputs: 118kW at 5800rpm and 240Nm at 1500rpm (118TSI); 132kW at 4300rpm and 280Nm at 1700rpm (132TSI); 155kW at 5300rpm and 280Nm at 1700rpm (155TSI); 103kW at 4200rpm and 320Nm at 1750rpm (103TDI)
Transmissions: Six-speed manual or seven-speed double-clutch automatic, front-wheel drive (118TSI) or all-wheel drive
