Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace 2018 Review - International

Volkswagen already has a number of seven-seat models for big families. It also already has a five-seat Tiguan that Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess insists could become the world’s biggest selling SUV.

And now it has a car with a foot in both camps, with the five- and seven-seat Tiguan Allspace – the latter becoming VW’s first three-row SUV.

Already Volkswagen’s third-biggest seller (behind the Golf and Polo), the polished, tech-savvy Tiguan now has a longer brother, with an extra 110mm stuffed surreptitiously inside the wheelbase and the option of a variation of the Touran’s versatile folding third-row system to bolt into the rear-end.

Oddly, the 4701mm long, Allspace is 215mm longer than the standard Tiguan, which means there’s 105mm tacked on behind the rear wheels to accommodate the extra space.

And there’s plenty of extra space, even with the third row as an option. That’s because Volkswagen’s research insisted the majority of buyers wanted the extra space, but not necessarily the extra row of seating.

Keep it all standard as a five-seater and the Allspace delivers a rear-seat bench that slides 180mm, just like the stock Tiguan’s, but gives another 54mm of knee room.

Another major difference is that it delivers another 145 litres of luggage capacity behind it (now 760 litres if the seats are max forward) and boosts the folded capacity up from 1655 litres to an astounding 1920 litres. German taxi drivers will be ecstatic.

The Multivan remains the better option if a genuine Volkswagen seven-seater is what’s needed day-to-day, but the Allspace is pretty useful from time to time. The third row seats are designed for kids, rather than adults or even teenagers, and the head- and leg-room is accordingly limited.

And not for little kids, either, because there are no ISOFIX points for the clip-in chairs, but to be fair on Volkswagen, they only call it a 5+2, in reference to the just-in-case status of the third row.

That third row eats into the luggage space, too, with 700 litres there when they’re folded down and just 230 litres with the rear seats sitting up.

Up front, the Allspace carries the same Tiguan story, with an impressive array of technology buried within a dashboard that at once screams exacting design, width and not a single trace of excitement.

A fully digital active-info display instrument cluster dominates the wide cabin and if that doesn’t deliver enough information, there’s also an optional head-up display and the enormous, dash-mounted, touch-screen central multimedia screen.

There’s also a tonne of connectivity, three-zone climate-control air-conditioning, parking sensors, active cruise control and a raft of active safety features.

The beauty of the extra length is that you can only notice it at a second glance, so cleverly has it been integrated into the Tiguan design. There’s a slight difference in the C-pillar to add the length, while the B-pillar remains the same and the rear door is a little longer.

Under the bonnet
There will be three petrol and three diesel fours (at least, there will be in Germany), plus front- and all-wheel drive, though we only tested the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel version with 176kW of power and a 2.0-litre TSI petrol motor with 162kW.

There is also a 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (with 110kW of power, a six-speed transmission and front-wheel drive) and a 132kW version of the 2.0-litre four cylinder, which comes with all-wheel drive, a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and is probably the best bet out of the petrol engines.

For those brave enough to push on beyond Dieselgate, the three-motor diesel range starts with a 110kW version of the 2.0-litre turbo four, with either front- or all-wheel drive and a choice of six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch gearboxes.

It rises to a 140kW version of the same engine and tops out with the stonking 176kW diesel, both of which carry all-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch as standard.

The mix of petrol and diesel engines is expected to vary depending on the market, though Europe will chew through more than 70 per cent diesels and the UK is thought to be in line for a 90 per cent oil-squashing model mix.

Just like a Tiguan
The core goal of the engineering team was to deliver all of this extra space and versatility without messing up the Tiguan’s good road manners and benign balance, and they’ve achieved that to an impressive degree.

While it could never be mistaken for a sporting or remotely interesting car to drive on winding roads, it’s a solid, dependable, comfortable package, and that’s probably all it needs to be to move seven people appropriately.

While the lesser powertrains are likely to be the biggest sellers (and, if the short-wheelbase Tiguan is any guide, the middle power outputs are likely to be the best all-round packages), we weren’t given those options.

The petrol engine is smooth, with the engine’s exertions isolated to the point of being non-existent inside the cabin, even though you could hear it working and feel the car pulling strongly. It works well from all engine speeds, hauling up in a smooth, linear way until it falls away beyond 6000rpm.

But it’s the strongest diesel that’s the most impressive. Volkswagen has pulled the sound levels down until they equate to a petrol engine that’s not quite front line, and that’s impressive in its own right.

More impressive is how it gets around. Prod the throttle from any revs and it just jumps forward, even more enthusiastically if the car’s in its sport mode.

There are enormous reserves of performance, especially at lower rpm where it crunches out 500Nm from 1750rpm, and Volkswagen says it’s good for a 6.7-second sprint to 100km/h. And that’s not bad from an 1880kg SUV with seven seats.

It’s also smooth and flexible, mating superbly with the now-mature seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The ride quality is also excellent, as it should be with a longer wheelbase, and the dynamic engineers have done well to mask both the extra weight and the extra overhang at the back.

It feels utterly composed everywhere and astonishingly capable, though it never remotely encourages you to push its handling envelope. Or its performance envelope. It’s just there, lurking in the background should circumstance require it.

It’s happier to cruise most of the time, oozing from traffic light to roundabout and back again, relying on things like active cruise control, push-button parking, lane-departure warning systems and a host of other safety tech to keep people out of trouble of their own making.

Heart of the matter
All of this ride, handling, performance, comfort tech and good road manners are really there as a life-support system for a versatile interior, which does its job very well.

It’s a little awkward to climb into the back seat for adults and even more awkward to sit there, so forget we mentioned it. Kids will fare better and be happier, though it’s still easier to climb into a Multivan’s rear row.

But a Multivan doesn’t pull the carpark cred like an SUV, does it?

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace TDI pricing and specifications:
Price: TBC
On sale: Early 2018
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 176kW/500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Fuel: 6.5L/100km
CO2: 170g/km
Safety rating: TBC