Volkswagen Tiguan 2019 Review

Well, a Wolfsburg is a special Edition Volkswagen, usually limited to 500 units and fitted with loads of extra features. Named after Volkswagen’s global headquarters, this one costs around $6000 more than its donor car, the Tiguan 162TSI Highline, but gets plenty of extra goodies, such as the Sound and Vision packages that together are worth $5900.

Those packs add the gorgeous 12.3-inch active info display – a virtual cockpit by any other name – an above average nine-speaker stereo system (with subwoofer), tinted windows and loads of other stuff you can read more about here.

There's more. This brooding SUV rides on dark 20-inch alloy wheels as part of an R-Line pack that add to its street presence, not to mention a black pack that provides gloss black mirrors, grille, spoiler, roof rails and window frames.

Chuck all that into the mix along with a sporty body kit and you're looking at a rather striking machine.

Although only a handful of the 500 Tiguan Wolfsburg Editions were left in dealerships at the time of writing, Volkswagen Australia is planning to bring more to Oz in the first half of 2020, such was the vehicle's popularity.

"It's been one of the brand's most popular special editions and it's reasonable to think that we'll pursue a bigger allocation," said Paul Pottinger, Volkswagen Group Australia's corporate communications boss.

One of the biggest issues I have at home is parking. Not because I have some sort of cerebral dysfunction that makes me incapable of judging a vehicle's extremities, it is because there's a curve in the suburban street and it's notoriously difficult to get a car aligned.

Enter the top-shelf Tiguan Wolfsburg, which as it turns out is the special ops of tricky parking.

It comes with a reversing camera and a top-down 360-degree camera offering a birds-eye view.

"But Feann, even Nissan SUVs have this feature," you may chide… and that's true, oh metaphysical protagonist. But the Tiguan delivers the overhead visuals via super-high resolution, in one of the largest (9.2 inches) and most detailed LCD screens in the medium SUV segment.

It's exactly what you need when living – and attempting to park – on an unconventional and narrow street that demands you virtually kiss the kerb or invoke the wrath of your neighbours.

Indeed, parking is a doddle in this machine but it also has a plethora of parking sensors front and rear that come in handy during tighter underground carpark manouevrings. If you're feeling particularly anxious (a common affliction in today's homogenised world) the Tiguan will park itself – although similar systems have scratched rims before, so on a curved street I wasn't game.

But parallel parking on a straight street? The auto-parking gizmo works well and is fun to use, kind of like white-out and blu-tac in the '80s.

This German SUV is a measured machine with light steering that, together with a veritable cornucopia of techno doodads, take the stress out daily driving, commuting and metro scenarios, such as school runs and shopping centre gauntlet runs.

There's no doubt the Volkswagen Tiguan does the slow speed stuff fairly well, and I really like rear cross-traffic alert which comes in handy when backing out of a busy shopping mall car park surrounding by other cars while a six-month old baby screams at 98 decibels in the back seat.

Outward vision is very good, the slightly raised ride height provides a haughty view of the road and the side mirrors are sizable too.

The safety feature list is impressive, with almost everything in the Volkswagen Group's armoury thrown at this SUV bearing Wolfsburg badges. We're talking autonomous emergency braking (AEB), auto-dipping adaptive high-beam headlights, lane departure warning, active lane-keep assistance, driver fatigue detection, adaptive chassis control, emergency assist that stops the car if it thinks the driver is unresponsive.

It's got a decent-sized 615-litre boot cavity – I managed to get the pram in the back along with some shopping, no drama – the baby seat slotted straight into the ISOFIX anchorages and rear seat passengers are well taken care of too.

This is a fun SUV to drive, no doubt about it.

When you reach twisting, turning roads, it exhibits a tenacity and potency which isn’t too surprising when you consider its genetics are shared with the iconic VW Golf GTI hot hatch.

Plying twisty coastal roads, the Tiguan Wolfsburg Edition is in its element.

The thrill of blasting out of corners with all-wheel drive grip, the tried-and-tested 162kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol burbling between full-throttle gearshifts is a memorable experience.

Initially my performance drive was a "Back in 20 minutes, just checking the surf!" early morning cruise near Fairhaven on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria. But it quickly turned into a 90 minute blast, all thoughts of wave riding forgotten.

The brakes are seriously potent – at least compared to most medium SUVs – the chassis is impressively balanced and acceleration is punchy. Not quite Mike Tyson punchy, but certainly Mark Latham taxi-driver punchy. You know, surprisingly swift for a tubby (1637kg) individual.

With a sticky front-end that carves neatly through most corners, backed up by a flat 350Nm torque curve that spans 1500-4400rpm, the Tiguan Wolfsburg can hustle. Yes, it's got a 200mm ride height so you can't go blotto like in a hot hatch, but the adaptive chassis dials out a lot of body roll in sport mode.

A savvy seven-speed dual-clutch transmission sends drive to all four wheels, which together with excellent throttle response conspires to provide the Tiguan with a wicked turn of speed, sprinting from 0-100km/h in a hot-hatch like 6.5sec.

The only other options in the ballpark in a dynamic sense are either more expensive, such as the 185kW BMW X3 xDrive 30i ($72,900) or the 170kW Mazda CX-5 2.5 Akera Turbo ($50,130) or the 178kW Ford Escape Titanium ($45,840). But the latter two are not German and can't compete in terms of equipment, sophistication, pace to 100km/h or refinement.

Indeed, ride comfort is decent considering the Tiggy's 20-inch alloy wheels shod with grippy Continental ContiSport Contact5 (255/40) tyres.

On less razzed-up drives – perhaps journeying to a beach house for the weekend or a mercy run to the country to bail a good mate out of the lock-up after a somewhat grim hens night – the Tiguan is effortless and relaxing to drive. The cabin is luxurious and quiet and as a bonus it's equipped with some of the best semi-automatic driving aids on the market.

The adaptive cruise control is never abrupt or manic yet assertive enough to keep things brisk.

The automatic steering (active lane keep assist) is also very, very good, able to navigate medium radii bends in the freeway, and far more capable than most systems today.

You can also customise what you're looking at thanks to the gorgeous 12.3-inch digital dashboard, replacing the usual speedometer and rev counter with a massive map and navigation guidance details. The Tiguan Wolfsburg also gets a head-up display which project road speed and other info onto the windscreen in your line of sight.

Fuel consumption is claimed at 8.1L/100km. I struggled to keep it under 11.0L/100km and the fact it only takes premium petrol (95 RON) means it can be expensive to run.

While expensive, at around $60,000 after on-road costs are added, the Tiguan is a luxurious SUV with a lot of amenities.

It starts with the soft leather upholstery that covers all seats, including the power-operated front pews, with overt stitching adding another layer of luxe. Even the door inserts are covered in leather and everything about the vehicle feels special.

The big 9.2-inch flush-fit infotainment touchscreen not only looks gorgeous but has everything you could want or need, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Ambient interior lighting is part of the Wolfsburg package as are a pair of adjustable front cup holders.

There are two USB ports up front and overall the interior has an incredibly polished look and feel, every button push and every dial twist has a premium feel. If you wanted this level of pomp in an Audi you'd want deep pockets.

There's three-zone climate control too, which means back seat passengers getting their own temperature settings. In fact back seat passengers get a lot of goodies. We're talking fold out tables – with cup holder! – a USB port, 12-volt socket, fold out arm rest, big bottle holders in the doors and the sort of barely-legal window tint that keeps things cool (and private) inside.

Legroom isn't too bad in the back and there's even individual reading lights. Since when did the medium SUV become a luxury limo?!

As mentioned the boot is pretty spacious and the rear seats fold down easily to expand the 615 litres to 1655, allowing for the loading of bulkier items or a bicycle.

This has been a very positive review for the most part, and rightly so – the Tiguan is an accomplished SUV. But there are a few caveats. Firstly, the a space-saver spare. I'd almost prefer less boot space and full-sized 20-inch spare given the distances I travel in search of the truth (read: surf).

Like all VW passenger vehicles, it gets a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty now but servicing can be expensive with European product. For instance, if your car needs parts they have to come from Germany, which is considerably further away than Japan or Thailand.

And there are only 500 units of this particularly strapping variety of Tiguan with almost all of them snapped up in five months since going on sale in late 2018. Yep, they're more popular than Tae Bo in the 1990s.

While this review is ostensibly for the Volkswagen Tiguan Wolfsburg Edition, take away a bit of the razzle dazzle and the Tiguan is still a fundamentally sound machine. I wouldn’t want to own one outside of its warranty period but those five years should be memorable.

If you don’t want (or need) loads of engine power, the Volkswagen Tiguan 132TSI R-Line Edition offers a similar package for a bit less cash at $46,990. But again, it's limited to only 1000 units.

What's clear is that customers are finding sporty and luxurious medium SUVs more and more appealing and at the moment, the Tiguan the class-leader in this respect.

How much does the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan Wolksburg Edition cost?
Price: $55,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 162kW/350Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 8.1L/100km (ADR Combined); 11.6L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 186g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP