Topic: New family hauler

[Patrick_D1]

Those who know me know that I have a somewhat "unorthodox" vehicle ownership history, now reaching 46 different cars between my wife and I. However, this rapid change-over cadence slowed recently as we grappled with inventory shortages, during which time we had staff hold onto their cars longer.

This resulted in my wife having her 2021 Tiguan Comfortline for just over two years, the longest we've had a vehicle in our possession by far since we each had our first cars.

With light at the end of the supply chain tunnel, orders have resumed, meaning my wife is now behind the wheel of this shiny new 2023 with a mouthful of a name: Tiguan Comfortline R-Line Black Edition. This particular unit is finished in Oryx White Pearl over Cinnamon interior.

To me, this is the sweet spot of the Tiguan line-up, giving the looks of the top end model and all the key features you need. I love the contrast with the gloss black elements outside the car, and I find the seats strike the perfect balance of being bright-but-not-too-bright. As a bonus, the facelift in MY22 brought a re-calibration of the powertrain that noticeably improves drivability and NVH. Even my wife who is usually uninterested in such things noticed that the car "has more pick-up" than her old one.

Beyond being one of the biggest cars in the segment, I think the Tiguan is aging brilliantly. It has a level of driving composure that most models in the segment can't touch.

Hopefully by Canada Day, I'll have a patriotic-looking driveway... this one is soon to be joined by a little red car.

















My parents were in town this past weekend with their brand new 2023 Atlas Execline, so the driveway looked pretty sharp:

[Fobroader]

Great looking ride. I don't know the first thing about VW suvs, is this the big one like the Audi Q8, or the little one like a Golf wagon??

[Patrick_D1]

Great looking ride. I don't know the first thing about VW suvs, is this the big one like the Audi Q8, or the little one like a Golf wagon??

Small-ish. It's a competitor to RAV4, CR-V, etc., but it's markedly longer than those vehicles. Still, much smaller than our larger Atlas.

[Fobroader]

Ahh, ok. Nice ride!! Love the color combo.

[2JDM]

Looks sharp!

[Dante]

Nice car, but it needs (a lot) more power!!!! Biggest drawback of this vehicle from day one till this day.

[sailor723]

Nice and everything but it needs (a lot) more power!!!! Biggest drawback of this vehicle from day one till this day.

Yep, much of what I read suggests the Tiguan is a decent SUV in search of an engine.

[TheHire]

No bus...er... Buzz... no care 

[Dante]

Nice and everything but it needs (a lot) more power!!!! Biggest drawback of this vehicle from day one till this day.

Yep, much of what I read suggests the Tiguan is a decent SUV in search of an engine.

In my books, it's the only thing it's missing from being a top choice. Sure, a case can be made that is no worse than the competition, but with slightly more powerful engine (around 250 HP) it would be the complete package for me for a mainstream compact SUV.

[Allen]

Nice looking unit inside and out..

[Great_Big_Abyss]

Nice and everything but it needs (a lot) more power!!!! Biggest drawback of this vehicle from day one till this day.

Yep, much of what I read suggests the Tiguan is a decent SUV in search of an engine.

In my books, it's the only thing it's missing from being a top choice. Sure, a case can be made that is no worse than the competition, but with slightly more powerful engine (around 250 HP) it would be the complete package for me for a mainstream compact SUV.

Ah, but then it would compete with the Audi Q3/Q5, and well, we can't have that!

Is Mazda and Ford the only competitors that offers an upgraded engine in the CX-5, Escape, and Bronco? 

Everyone else has smaller, turbo-charged engines around the 185hp mark, or larger, 2.5NA engines also around the same power.   Exception being the Rav4 Prime, with its 300hp. 

[Dante]

Nice and everything but it needs (a lot) more power!!!! Biggest drawback of this vehicle from day one till this day.

Yep, much of what I read suggests the Tiguan is a decent SUV in search of an engine.

In my books, it's the only thing it's missing from being a top choice. Sure, a case can be made that is no worse than the competition, but with slightly more powerful engine (around 250 HP) it would be the complete package for me for a mainstream compact SUV.

Ah, but then it would compete with the Audi Q3/Q5, and well, we can't have that!

Is Mazda and Ford the only competitors that offers an upgraded engine in the CX-5, Escape, and Bronco? 

Everyone else has smaller, turbo-charged engines around the 185hp mark, or larger, 2.5NA engines also around the same power.   Exception being the Rav4 Prime, with its 300hp.

I don't think a more powerful engine would make it compete with Q5. Q5 has enough going for it to differentiate from Tiguan.
It's all about theoretical fuel economy crap, perhaps some marginal cost...

[Patrick_D1]

Nice and everything but it needs (a lot) more power!!!! Biggest drawback of this vehicle from day one till this day.

Yep, much of what I read suggests the Tiguan is a decent SUV in search of an engine.

Sadly that narrative was justified at launch, but in my view is irrelevant now. Early units had really soft throttle tip in and less than ideal gearbox tuning. They felt anemic - I remember driving an early 2019 on competitive trade back when I worked at Genesis and came away really disappointed by the motor.

But it saw annual updates including for customer cars, plus a big leap forward with the facelift in 2022. Now it’s like most EA888 cars - the performance and refinement belie the horsepower figures. It has the best standard engine in the segment now in my opinion.

Of course, I would love to have a version with more power, but I’ll simply say the early (deserved) reputation is way out of date.

[rrocket]

. It has the best standard engine in the segment now in my opinion.

I guess it depends what your definition of "best" is.

[Dante]

Nice and everything but it needs (a lot) more power!!!! Biggest drawback of this vehicle from day one till this day.

Yep, much of what I read suggests the Tiguan is a decent SUV in search of an engine.

Sadly that narrative was justified at launch, but in my view is irrelevant now. Early units had really soft throttle tip in and less than ideal gearbox tuning. They felt anemic - I remember driving an early 2019 on competitive trade back when I worked at Genesis and came away really disappointed by the motor.

But it saw annual updates including for customer cars, plus a big leap forward with the facelift in 2022. Now it’s like most EA888 cars - the performance and refinement belie the horsepower figures. It has the best standard engine in the segment now in my opinion.

Of course, I would love to have a version with more power, but I’ll simply say the early (deserved) reputation is way out of date.

This may be true as my assessment is based on a test drive back in 2018 I believe. Now you made me curious to test drive a current model next time I'm at the dealer (if they have one available). Maybe I change my perception.

Nevertheless, like you said, more power (very attainable IMO) would not hurt and I'm pretty sure the FE would not suffer in any meaningful way.

Now that you are an insider, if not confidential of course, what was the real reason VW did not tune this engine for more power?

[Guy]

Nice ride! Congrats!

[Blueprint]

Funny enough, this is the exact spec of this week's presser, right down to the Pirelli tires. Once I reached the photoshoot location I checked to see if it was still on the snow tires - nope. The Scorps have a noisy thread - or the Tiggy has a lack of soundproofing from road noise.

It's my first drive of a 2nd gen Tiguan, so I can't compare the improved engine tuning but it feels fine for the class and fuel economy appears good so far. Front seats are great, but it feels like you're sitting lower and squarer than in CR-V and others. Feels smaller too, will have to check how the specs play out. The colour combo looks great, and the no-cost cinnamon interior is great, not light to the point of being soiled easily yet it lights up things.

Not crazy at all about all the haptic controls (HVAC) and simili-haptic (steering wheel).

Prices have crept up - a lot. Initially the Tiguan was a good deal, but this mid-trim unit is priced quite near the CX-5 Signature while its direct CX-5 competitor would be a less expensive Kuro.

[OliverD]

Black Edition but there's still chrome on the front grille?

Other than that it looks great. 

[Jaeger]

Sweet!  I love black wheel and trim on a white car.  Enjoy!

[Blueprint]

Sweet!  I love black wheel and trim on a white car.  Enjoy!

Exactly the colour combo my daughter wants in her new ride. Black alloys pair very well with light colours, especially white. They are just hard to photograph !! Looking at it right now through the Starbucks windows - it looks great and maintains a bit of "square" in an ovoid world.