Volkswagen Tiguan – What you need to know

Early in 2021, the five-seat Volkswagen Tiguan underwent a sizeable update comprising exterior and interior changes, along with new safety and entertainment features sourced from, or shared with, the latest Volkswagen Golf Mk8.

As before, three Tiguan models make up the range, now sporting new names.

The entry model is now known as the Tiguan Life, the mid-spec variant is badged Tiguan Elegance and the sporty top-rung model goes by the name of Tiguan R-Line.

Prices start at $40,590 plus on-road costs and top out at $56,290 plus ORCs.

There are three turbo-petrol engines and one turbo-diesel to choose from, in front- and all-wheel drive applications, all now standard with a DSG (dual-clutch automatic) gearbox.

With many combinations on offer, working your way through them is no mean feat. But we’ve done the hard yards and come up with a detailed Tiguan range snapshot for you.

Standard in the $40,590 (plus ORCs) entry-level front-drive Life 110TSI with six-speed DSG is:

White is the only standard colour in the Volkswagen Tiguan range, so get ready to hand over $800 for metallic or pearlescent paint on all models – unless you like the vanilla look.

And for $2000 a glass sunroof is available on the Elegance and R-Line models.

It wouldn’t be a Volkswagen without option packs – and there are a couple.

The Luxury pack is exclusive to the Tiguan Life variant and you’ll need to cough up $5000 to enjoy Vienna leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, power-adjustable driver’s seat with memory function, heated front seats and a sunroof.

The Sound and Vision pack adds $2500 and is only found on the Tiguan Elegance and R-Line models. It includes head-up display, area view camera and a premium Harman Kardon sound system.

The beaut thing with the Volkswagen Tiguan is that you don’t need to head to the loftier models to get a swag full of safety kit, with the big addition across the range being IQ. Drive.

IQ. Drive includes several driver assist technologies providing partially automated and semi-autonomous driving through the adaptive lane guidance and adaptive cruise control systems.

All Tiguan models have front assist with pedestrian monitoring, emergency assist, side assist, rear cross traffic alerts, self-parking, front and rear parking sensors and driver fatigue detection. 

A first on all Tiguan variants is the proactive occupant protection system that automatically closes the windows and sunroof (if fitted) and tightens the front seat belts if it detects an imminent collision.

We’re not finished yet, with all variants offering manoeuvre braking and lane change assist, along with front, side, driver’s knee and curtain airbags, ISOFIX child seat anchor points, active bonnet/pedestrian protection, anti-lock brakes with city emergency braking, multi-collision braking, brake assist, auto hold function, lane assist, traction and stability control, auto lights/wipers and a reversing camera.

And all 4MOTION all-wheel drive variants come equipped with active hill descent control.

Adaptive chassis control and 4MOTION active control add greater capability to the chassis and come standard on the Tiguan Elegance and above, and if you want more feel behind the wheel, only the Tiguan R-Line has progressive steering.

Standard in the entry-level Volkswagen Tiguan Life is an 8.0-inch colour touch-screen with smartphone HMI and proximity sensor, gesture and voice controls, an AM/FM radio, 2D and 3D map views and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto via USB and an app.

It also comes with Bluetooth phone and music streaming through eight speakers.

Step up to the Tiguan Elegance and beyond and you get a 9.2-inch configurable colour touch-screen, also with smartphone HMI and proximity sensor, gesture/voice control, AM/FM radio, 2D/3D map views and Apple and Android smartphone mirroring via USB and app connect.

And it has Bluetooth phone and music streaming, playing through a premium Harman Kardon 480W nine-speaker system with amplifier and subwoofer.

No matter which Volkswagen Tiguan model you chose, you face a 10.25-inch customisable colour digital instrument display.

Keeping everyone comfortable in all variants is three-zone climate-control air-conditioning with vents in both rows.

Like a coffee or a cold drink? There are cup holders in the front and rear arm rests and bottle holders in all doors of all models so nobody misses out.

Leather trim is available, but for that you bypass the Tiguan Life and its cloth trim seats and head to the Elegance trim instead.

There you’ll find Vienna leather pews in black or storm grey; they’re also power-adjustable with three position memory settings, have power lumbar support and a heating function.

Take another step up to the Tiguan R-Line and you get Vienna leather seats in black that have heating and power adjustment.

While leather upholstery for the steering wheel and gearshift paddles is standard on all models, if you want to keep your hands warm in winter go for the Tiguan Elegance or R-Line and the heated wheel offered on those models.

Differentiating the interiors are the ‘weave’-style inlays found on the dash and door trims of the Tiguan Life, the ‘cross’ inlays of the Elegance grade and ‘carbon grey’ in the Tiguan R-Line flagship.

Aluminium scuff plates are employed on the Tiguan Elegance and specific R-Line numbers adorn that model.

Exclusive to the Tiguan R-Line is a black roof lining. But if you want to funk up the interior head to the Elegance variant as a minimum for its kaleidoscope of 30 ambient light colours.

A very handy feature is an electrically-operated tailgate and this feature comes standard on all models.

Inside the cargo area are restraining hooks, a height-adjustable floor, shopping bag hooks and a 12-volt socket.

In the Tiguan Life there are storage drawers under the front seats, and in all models front seatback pockets, a net on the passenger side of the console and an overhead roof console.

While the Tiguan Life comes with LED headlights and tail-lights plus LED daytime driving lights and auto high beam, moving up to the mid-spec Elegance variant affords you Matrix LED headlights with LED daytime driving lights, dynamic cornering lights and strobing turn indicators.

An auto-dimming interior mirror is a fixture across the board. Likewise, the power-folding mirrors with the left featuring an auto kerb function, to show the gutter when reversing.

Heat-insulating glass is found on all models too, but if privacy glass is a feature on your tick list, mosey on over to the Tiguan Elegance.

Are 20-inch alloy wheels a must? They belong to the Tiguan R-Line, while the mid-range Elegance has 19-inch alloys and the wheels of the base-grade Tiguan Life are an inch smaller again.

And don’t fret about them being knocked off, as all models have anti-theft wheel bolts. And all have a space-saver spare.

Spotting each model at a glance isn’t difficult with the Tiguan Life having chrome around the windows and on the lower body and the grille.

The Tiguan Elegance and R-Line add a bit more chrome to their grille and the R-Line has its own design strip on the front guards, gloss black intakes on the front bumper, lower body side extensions, an R-Line grille badge, a rear spoiler and a rear diffuser also in gloss black. 

And finally, let’s take a look at the engine, transmission and driveline combinations available across the Volkswagen Tiguan range.

The bad news for lovers of manual gearboxes is this type of transmission is no more in the Tiguan.

The good news is the Tiguan Life comes with the 110kW 1.4-litre turbo-petrol, six-speed DSG and front-wheel drive combo or the optional 132kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol with seven-speed DSG and 4MOTION all-wheel drive.

Step up to the Tiguan Elegance and you can choose the 162kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol or 147kW turbo-diesel. Both come with a seven-speed DSG and 4MOTION all-wheel drive.

Hop up to the top-step Tiguan R-Line and your choices are the 162kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine or 147kW turbo-diesel. Once again, both are equipped with the seven-speed DSG and 4MOTION all-wheel drive.

There’s little doubt the latest Volkswagen Tiguan, even at base level, is very well equipped.

And if I was choosing this model for budgetary reasons I’d try and find the cash for the extra dash of the 132kW engine and seven-speed transmission.

However, the real sweet spot for me lies with the Tiguan Elegance 162TSI.

You get the full brace of safety features, a decent dose of performance, plus loads of luxury by the way of leather seats and the bigger infotainment screen with the more powerful audio system.

Everything you could want, really.

How much does the Volkswagen Tiguan cost?
110TSI Life six-speed DSG – $40,590
132TSI Life seven-speed DSG – $44,590
162TSI Elegance seven-speed DSG – $51,790
147TDI Elegance seven-speed DSG – $53,290
162TSI R-Line seven-speed DSG – $54,790
147TDI R-Line seven-speed DSG – $56,290
* Prices exclude on-road costs