2022 Volkswagen Tiguan review: 162TSI R-Line

The second-generation Volkswagen Tiguan landed in 2016 and it landed hard, but in a good way. After a fairly lacklustre entry into the mid-size SUV market with the original car that wasn’t really a mid-size SUV, VW’s product planners and engineers came up with something vastly superior.

Sure, it had its quirks like missing out on LED headlights (baffling) and a slightly frumpy front end, but both of those things were sorted out in the mid-life facelift.

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Six years is a long time in the car world. Some cars land in a blaze of glory but find themselves staggering along to their unmourned deaths after such a period. Others just kind of fade into insignificance as fresher metal with shinier things come along. The Tiguan still has some way to go before replacement while almost every other competitor is new or close to. Can the Tiguan still really play at the front?

Pricing and Features

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For $55,990 before on-road costs, you are playing at the top end of a segment brimming with quality, so you’re going to want a lot of stuff, in a well-built and attractive car that drives well. So not much to ask, really.

The Tiguan 162 TSI R-Line ships with 20-inch alloys, an eight-speaker stereo, multi-zone climate control, auto LED headlights, electric and heated front seats, keyless entry and start, auto parking, wireless mobile phone charging pad, reversing camera, powered tailgate, power everything, leather trim (some of it real, some it not), front and rear parking sensors, digital dashboard, adaptive cruise control, auto high beam, auto wipers, heated steering wheel and a space-saver spare.

R-Line in the name refers to the sporting character of this Tiguan's cosmetic accoutrements rather than anything technical, but for me it’s more attractive than the luxury-skewed Elegance.

For $55,990 you are playing at the top end of a segment, so you’re going to want a lot of stuff, in a well-built car that drives well. Not much to ask, really

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VW’s media system is alive and well on a large central touchscreen with sat-nav, DAB+ digital radio and support for Apple CarPlay (wireless) and Android Auto.

Five-star ANCAP safety comes courtesy of seven airbags, the usual stability and braking controls, forward and reverse auto emergency braking (AEB) with collision warning plus reverse cross-traffic alert, driver fatigue detection, speed limit warning and tyre pressure monitoring.

The forward AEB has pedestrian and cyclist detection at city speeds.

Comfort and Space

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The interior space of the Tiguan is among the best in the class and comes with a trick that still amuses me to this day. Its rear seat slides forward and back and I remember that being the subject of absurd delight when I first drove this car.

I’ve always joked that it brings the children within striking distance but since becoming a dog owner (reluctantly and resentfully), it was also useful on the very long trip we took to bring the mithering little idiot closer so she didn’t whine incessantly. There’s a handy tip for 0.3 per cent of the population because, apparently, I’m one of the few people on earth to like dogs but not want to own one.

Rear seat passengers are further spoilt with their own climate control zone and air vents

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What it also means on a far more practical level is that you can optimise the space in the boot. You start with an already hefty 520 litres with the seats all the way rearward – providing tons of legroom along with the generous headroom – and then when you slide it forward, you can get all the way up to 615 litres of space. I always find that the smaller the child the more stuff you need to carry, so this is very clever (and yes, I know other cars have this but the Tiguan does it really well and it’s not common in this segment).

Rear seat passengers are further spoilt with a pair of cup holders in the armrest, folding tray tables built into the front seatbacks (including a groove to stand tablets and phones) and their own climate control zone and air vents.

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The front seats are very comfortable and even with the sunroof, you have tons of headroom and the driving position is excellent. A natty roll-top covers the cupholders, you have bottle holders in every door and a sunglass holder on the ceiling that actually takes sunglasses rather than those old cheap 3D glasses you got in the sixties. The glove box is also cooled for your…I dunno…blood samples? Hey, it could happen.

On the Road

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Here at the top of the range is the 162 TSI. In true VW style, the 162 refers to the number of kilowatts produced by the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine under the bonnet. This unit is familiar across the VW group as is the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

As always, the 2.0-litre is an absolute belter, smooth and quiet but with plenty of power even with nearly 1700kg to lug along. The torque figure of 350Nm isn’t startlingly good, but bests a good chunk of its competition.

Also familiar is the all-wheel-drive system, which had plenty to deal with during our week with the Tig. As has been the whole deal with Sydney in the last few months, the rain absolutely tipped down for a few days of the car’s time with us. Not only did it have to handle that around town but on the giant mess that is the surface of the M5 motorway, a road that somehow holds more water than a medium-sized dam whenever it sprinkles a few drops.

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The trip down the M5 took us all the way to Jindabyne for a few days in the Snowy Mountains. Fans of the area will know the roads are tremendously winding and the Tiguan’s chassis is a big fan of that kind of thing. The adaptive suspension (standard on the Elegance and R-Line) is always taut but can run into firmness on rougher tarmac in Sport mode. That’s something you might want to know if you’re looking for a plush ride and is probably down as much to the R-Line's 20-inch alloys as the impressive handling balance.

It’s an excellent highway cruiser, with well-damped road noise and an easy gait at speed, with just a little wind noise around the mirrors. The trip to Jindabyne is roughly 500km and a few more if you swing through Canberra on the way for a vast improvement on the coffee and food available on the Federal Highway. We got out at the other end fresh as daisies and even the dog was reasonably happy.

The trip took us to Jindabyne and the Snowy Mountains … the roads are tremendously winding and the Tiguan’s chassis is a big fan of that kind of thing

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The Tiguan 162 pulls well on overtaking manoeuvres and while it’s not a rocketship, the power available is rare in this part of the market (at least in petrol form), with really only Ford’s Escape and Mazda’s turbo-petrol CX-5 coming close. Well, the Escape has more, but neither the Koreans nor Japanese tend to get very close to this kind of grunt.

In the suburbs where – say it with me – these cars spend most of their lives, the Tiguan is handy. Its footprint isn’t too big so it’s super easy to live with. The steering is nicely weighted around town without losing touch with the road and the firm suspension never gets crashy over the inevitable potholes.

Volkswagen says you’ll get 8.5L/100km on the combined cycle and our week with it absolutely nailed that figure, although a good portion of it was highway running.

Ownership

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Volkswagen offers a five-year warranty with unlimited kilometres and was one of the earliest of the European marques to do so. You need to return to the dealer every 12 months or 15,000km for a service.

Rather sobering is the Assured Servicing pricing. Over five services you’ll pay between $474 and $1627 for a service, totalling $3973. A five-year care plan offers a substantial saving over pay-as-you-go, with five services totalling $2580 (saving $1393), bringing the pricing more into line with its competitors. If you want, a three-year plan is $1500 for a saving of about $350. VW’s website seems to undersell the savings of the five-year plan by a hefty $500 so if you can, I strongly recommend paying upfront.

VERDICT

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The Tiguan is as it has been since its launch – one of the leaders of the mid-sized SUV pack. It was a long time between Tiguan drives and I’m still mightily impressed by its versatility, driveability and practicality.

I can see why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, especially in the 162 form where it is starting to look very pricey indeed and putting it in reaching distance of the more premium brands (albeit with a lot less gear).

Otherwise there are few complaints beyond some stiff service prices and the lack of a more economical drivetrain to rival the RAV4 Hybrid. Comfortable and stylish, quick enough and good to drive, there’s not too much more buyers need from an SUV.

2022 Volkswagen Tiguan 162TSI R-Line specifications