Volkswagen Tiguan test drive since 2008 SUV

Four and a half meters of pleasure

The Volkswagen lineup is not a large number of mass demand SUVs. For example, the appearance of the Tiguan crossover with a metal -plastic estimate of the tiger and iguana had to wait more than 20 years.
 
Breeding paradoxes
It would seem that it could be easier than determining the fruit of love, which of the parents made great contribution to the behavior and capabilities of the child. However, the German designers managed to remove the genes responsible for the characteristic appearance. Naturally, I did not expect that 16-inch tires would turn out to be claws, and holding a 100-kilogram cargo of the roof on the roof with cloves, like a crest of Varan. But there should be at least something justifying the name in the exterior! Maybe headlights? Partly straight lines of the eyelids on top and semicircular from below, like Touareg. It was possible to detect several outstanding details, however, only in the truly off -road version of Tiguan Track & Field. Like the rest of the current modifications, the model is equipped with all -wheel drive, but its device is special: their lower parts are braked out and protected. Well, with such a design at least on borders, at least in ayed. But this is closer to the habits of Iguana.
 
However, tiger behavior is more understandable to a person, and it is fully implemented in the modification of Sport & Style with tires 235x55 / R17 and the most ordinary bumpers in the color of the body. By and large, there are no fundamental differences between versions with basic engines, and everyone has the same suspensions: McPherson in front and multi -link behind. We will not take the equipment of the cabin with additional equipment in the calculation.
 
In search of blue blood
The study of the salon for designer delights ended faster than the motor warmed up. You can’t say anything, the people's beast, but the details are perfectly fitted, the skin of the seats is fastened as it should, and everything is in order with ergonomics. With the exception of door decoration, everything is very reminiscent of the Golf Plus interior, strictness, bordering on asceticism. Nevertheless, at the same time, here you have an on-board computer, a good sound of an audio system, climate control, a lot of compartments for small things and holders for containers with drinks. For passengers of the second row, which can be removed by 16 cm in the longitudinal direction, there are niches in a folded armrest, as well as in the floor area, near powerful central ducts.
 
By the way, a two-zone climatic installation with protection against drafts, even on a 30-degree heat, quickly cooled the salon, powerful deflectors on the front panel, which will also be useful in winter, is vertically. But these are all the elements of equipment, getting used to them is much easier than the character of Tiguan.
 
Miracles of technology
There is no doubt that the car will go, the question is how. Although the motor and a 150-horsepower 1.4-liter TSI with turbocharged, for 1700 kg of a crossover weight with a driver and passenger it seems inappropriate. True, for those who do not believe in new technologies, there is a 170-horsepower TSI 2.0, but only with a 6-speed automatic transmission. The turbodiesel is promised a similar in liter, but it will appear on the Russian market later.
 
The first gear of a 6-speed manual transmission was so short that the next time I try to move with the second and at increased speeds. Wow, such a small motor, but it pulls like! That's what a turbine supplemented by a compressor means! It would seem that at a sharp start there should be a screech of tires, the car is led to the side due to the difference in the length of the half-axles, but I do not notice anything like that. The steering wheel with an electromechanical amplifier does not think to break out of his hands, and the car does not scour. And the case is in ESP and a full drive automatically included at the start.
 
However, it is worth gaining speed to the car, the reins of government immediately go to the front axle. The fourth-generation with the Haldex clutch also automatically works in turns. For a winter driving, the best distribution of the moment is than 50:50, and I can’t come up with, but I am more concerned about the IAD and engine interaction algorithm. The clutch pedal is still with a very large course, and the machine in the city is preferable. But this, alas, is a prerogative of a 2-liter version.
 
Animal ring
Everything is different on the highway, and Tiguan demonstrates the best features of his tiger character. Here they are, the charms of the tandem of Volkswagen mechanics and the rolled -up stream of the fuel mixture of the motor: the effect of cognac from the siphon is evident. For the SUV, dial a hundred for 9.6 C just class! However, the fuel consumption is slightly larger than that of the Dolf Class sedan. And, of course, low -profile rubber does not like potholes, although the suspension, borrowed from Passat, as well as the brake system, extinguishes vibrations well, stabilizing the crossover. Yes, not everyone can boast of such behavior on the road.
 
Eh, if it were not for the noise in the cabin, when the engine works at speeds close to 4 thousand! But with a lower rotation of the engine, I do not experience special pressure on my ears and I feel quite comfortable. It is a pity that the sixth gear only maintains the gained speed, and switch when overtaking a step below the acquitted need.
 
I must say, Tiguan copes with the laneshole not badly: it does not catch the belly of bumps and does not scare the deep puddles. Only his heguan is already painfully tough. The same plot, later passed on the off -road version, seemed more even. And the whole thing is in rubber, which is higher and softer on special equipment. But the passages of pendants, and their settings in both cars were identical. It’s worth noting anything with such a car, and therefore it is better to think about traveling somewhere.
 
But on the off -road I appreciated the short first gear, especially in tandem with a gaze named Gaza version of the Track & Field version. A cunning button besieges an accelerator and prevents ESP to dissolve
their electronic tentacles are in full expiration. However, the main thing is to understand that Tiguan is not a hybrid of Spider-Man and Ichthyander, but the result of a more modest experiment. And unlike crossing the terrible and hedgehog, we got not a prickly wire, but a real pleasure.
 
And experience, son of difficult mistakes
The fact that the experience turned out to be successful is an undeniable fact. And the main advantage of the car is its indiscretion for future owners. Indeed, for the basic price of 904 thousand rubles. The buyer receives
almost everything that competitors offer in the most expensive trim levels. These are climate control, and music, and ESP, and airbags in a circle, and other electronic benefits. Yes, and a full -wheel drive system that does not work like everyone else can only be applied. And by multiplying all this on the traditional German quality and you will even think about whether to go immediately to the car dealership.
 
The only thing that embarrasses is turbocharged. Indeed, when replacing, this system is almost the most expensive in the car. But Volkswagen has not yet given reason to doubt the reliability of his cars. Therefore, we will bring the turbine and the compressor to the category of positive and, perhaps, the unique qualities of Tiguan.
 

Source: Magazine Cars and Prices September 01, 2008