Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure 2023 Review

Escaping a price rise applied to other models in the range on January 1, the 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure charges $51,990 plus on-road costs, making it the third most affordable Allspace.

It sits between the 132TSI Life (from $48,490) and the 162TSI Elegance model (from $56,790), but just 1500 will be made available.

The Mexico-sourced Tiguan Allspace (standard Tiguans are German-built) is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with servicing scheduled at 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

Volkswagen offers a choice of three- or five-year fixed-price servicing plans, the former set at $1350 and the latter $2300.

In both cases the plans cost the customer less than if the work was done via normal scheduled servicing. The five-year plan also comes with a free first service.

Driving through VW’s 4MOTION all-wheel drive system, the 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure adds to its soft-road capabilities with extra underbody protection, all-terrain tyres on smaller 17-inch wheels, variable-rate steering, sports suspension and a larger-capacity battery with a 180-Amp alternator.

Appropriately, the Allspace Adventure responds to the call of the outdoors with a choice of three seasonal equipment packs: Summer, comprising sunshades and rubber mats; Autumn, with rubber cargo mats and a load-lip protector; and Winter, with snow chains and rubber mats.

The cabin is a mix of hits and misses with sat-nav, multi-zone climate control and heated front seats all standard, but there’s no power seat adjustment, power tailgate or leather seat trim – although the cloth used is attractive enough and looks durable into the bargain.

An adequate supply of cup and bottle holders is distributed around the cabin, in the door pockets, centre console and rear centre arm rest. There’s also an auto-dimming rear-view mirror as well as heated and folding external mirrors.

A cargo net, plus a retractable blind, a removable torch and a boot floor with a separate, concealed space beneath it go hand-in-hand with the requirements of aspiring adventurers.

The primary and secondary safety envelope with the 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure is well-stacked.

In addition to the usual stability control, anti-lock braking and multi-collision braking systems, the safety tech comes under the umbrella of Volkswagen’s IQ. Drive.

This adds semi-autonomous driving capabilities with high- and low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB) including low-speed AEB in reverse, pedestrian avoidance, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring with active assist, rear cross traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, driver attention detection, a single rear camera and the ability to park itself either by the kerbside or in a parking bay.

Tyre pressure monitoring is standard, too.

With a total of seven airbags, the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace earned a five-star ANCAP safety rating, though it was some time ago in 2016.

The 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure may not cosset driver and passengers to the same extent as an upper-level R-Line model, but in real terms there’s a generous enough mix of technology.

Central to a classically simple dash display is an easily-navigated 8.0-inch touch-screen that includes gesture control.

Large, clear touch-points make for simple shuffling between functions such as audio, phone, vehicle settings and sat-nav, while there’s a welcome physical knob for volume control.

It’s not quite an Audi Virtual Cockpit, but a limited number of instrument panel views can be selected, prioritising displayed information as the driver sees fit.

There’s also wireless phone charging, three USB-C ports, two Apple-compatible ports in the centre console and a 12-volt power outlet in the boot.

The 162kW/350Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine in the 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure is used in myriad other VWs including the Passat Alltrack and, in tweaked form, the Golf GTI and AWD R models.

The 162TSI provides a lot more lift than lesser 110TSI and 132TSI Allspace engines, with the proviso that it’s relatively thirsty and not as squeaky clean at the tailpipe.

With a decent mid-range torque spread, the engine handles the Allspace Adventure’s already light-ish 1697kg tare weight (around 76kg less than the seven-seat Allspace Elegance 162TSI) with little drama, dispensing its power efficiently through the seven-speed DSG gearbox.

The claimed combined consumption figure for the 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure is 8.6L/100km and our review vehicle got close to that with an average of 9.2L/100km.

This is pretty consistent with other SUVs of similar weight and size such as the Mitsubishi Outlander and Subaru Outback.

The 162TSI engine does ask to be fed with premium 95RON unleaded, though, and the 60-litre fuel tank rates as just big enough.

The 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure is proof that liquorice-strap tyres and oversize wheels, though they look good and contribute to road grip, do not necessarily make for a pleasant-riding, easy-to-live-with SUV.

Plumper than what you’ll find on any other Tiguan Allspace, the Adventure’s 215/65R17 tyres are supposedly there to perform better on less benign road surfaces while also contributing to a more pliable, quieter ride without unduly affecting the Allspace’s handling and grip.

Other changes to the Adventure’s handling package, including the (seemingly counterproductive) sports-tuned suspension and variable-rate steering, all work together to make for a Tiguan Allspace that is generally more liveable than anything else in the range.

As we alluded to earlier, the 162TSI engine is a bit of a gift in the Allspace Adventure. The stats tell us it will reach 100km/h from standstill in a brisk 6.8 seconds (equal to the 162TSI R-Line Allspace), which is a pretty handy figure for an SUV that makes no pretence at being a hotrod.

With its maximum 350Nm of torque coming in at just 1600rpm, it’s responsive from low revs and irons out the tendency among dual-clutch gearboxes to be a bit reluctant on initial take-off.

On the open road it’s a smooth, audibly and viscerally non-intrusive powerhouse that eats steep hills and performs overtaking manoeuvres with consummate ease.

Of course, the 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure is not intended as a true goat-track-loving off-roader but it has been designed to be a bit more rough and tough than many road-biased SUVs.

With its extra underbody protection, more-absorbent tyre profiles and even the heavier-duty electrics which come into play when you’re at your campsite with numerous devices (car fridges, lights, etc) that need power, it’s quite reassuring.

On the debit side, the 186mm ground clearance is the same as most other Allspace models and, against competing SUVs which commonly quote better than 200mm, is nothing special.

If the original, first-gen Tiguan was considered something of a tiddler in the mid-size SUV category in terms of its load area, the 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure is more like an aircraft hangar.

The 1920 litres of seats-down cargo space is almost staggering, way beyond any of its like-for-like competitors and better than some ute-based off-roaders such as the new-generation Ford Everest.

With all five seats in place, the 760-litre boot is more akin to that of an upper-large SUV.

The internal ambience is Euro-restrained, tasteful but not elaborate with good-sized and supportive cloth-trimmed seats, which in some ways suggest better durability than leather.

The manual adjustments are not that much of an inconvenience and, because it’s a five-seater, getting in and out via the extended rear doors (the Allspace is 225mm longer overall than the standard Tiguan) is a breeze.

With the added fore-aft dimensions, the back seat is limo-like with generous leg space and more glassware giving an expanded view of the world outside.

Rear-seat passengers get air vents, adjustable for airflow and temperature and located on the back of the front centre console.

It’s undoubtedly a budgetary factor, but the Tiguan Allspace’s manual front seat backrests are adjusted differently, the driver’s side by a rotating wheel giving a stepless range of angles and the passenger’s side by a convenient but more limiting ratcheted lever.

It all boils down to what the potential buyer is prepared to sacrifice. For those thinking of an Allspace but have no need for extra seat space and no real interest in the added luxury items that come further up the Tiguan ladder, the 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure is really a no-brainer.

The grunty engine and the added equipment that see it well suited to holidays a little bit beyond the beaten track make a lot of sense.

On the other hand, there are plenty of Tiguan owners today who wouldn’t have even been customers were it not for the Allspace’s added seating capacity.

Right now, the Allspace is the more popular Tiguan, selling at a rate about 20 per cent higher than five-seat models.

It begs the question: even with all its extra goodies, its substantial power increase and attractive pricing, how does the loss of seats relate to the concept that the Tiguan Allspace was originally predicated on?

2023 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Adventure at a glance:
Price: $51,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 162kW/350Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 8.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 197g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2016)

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