I HAVE a good friend who, having been used to a Range Rover, got a VW Tiguan as a company car and he was really disappointed.
He loved the presence of the bigger car and thought the Tiguan a poor substitute.
But I have a lot of time for VW’s first 4x4, which is comfortable and refined, economical in diesel form and reasonably quick.
Petrol 2.0-litre models with around 200bhp are very quick but the diesel is the one to go for if you want economy.
They are well-built and solid in the VW tradition and have a strong reputation for reliability in the trade.
Until this year, petrol engines were all 2.0-litre turbos with either 167, 180 or 197bhp and diesels were all 2.0-litre with 110, 140 or 170bhp.
As well as five and later six-speed manual gearboxes, there are also five-speed automatics and six or seven-speed DSG versions.
If you can find one of these for the right price, they are the best gearboxes made, and can change gear quicker than you can do it yourself.
Interior
Inside all is high quality and well put together. The seats are excellent, if a little hard in the German tradition and even lower order cars come well equipped, with excellent seat and column adjustment and plenty of interior space.
FAST FACTS
Volkswagen Tiguan
Price: Pay about £14,000 at a dealer for an ’08 08-reg S, or £18,200 for an ’09 59-reg Sport
Mechanical: 138bhp, 1,968cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving four wheels via 6-speed manual gearbox
Max speed: 116mph
0-62mph: 10.2 seconds
Combined mpg: 48.7
Insurance group: 18
CO2 emissions: 150g/km
Marks: 10/10
Main rival: Land Rover Freelander