Volkswagen Tiguan S 2.0 TDI ... in UK

Volkswagen Tiguan S 2.0 TDI ... in the UK (review)

( http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/216825/volkswagen_tiguan.html )

Why do they get all the new stuff in Europe first ?

I want to test drive the Tiguan with a TDI and 6 speed manual.

Lynn

...drool....

No xenon even in UK?! >\

Move the steering wheel to the left side, leave the 6 speed manual in it, and ship it over here. I'll even take that color if I have to.

VW are your listening??????????

...and with the entry-level diesel starting at £20,500, it can start to look expensive.

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It's a jacked-up Rabbit. (jack-rabbit...ha!) The trunk is no bigger than my Golf's. Just gimme a TDI Rabbit and I'll be happy. My wallet would prefer the Rabbit, too.

LynnMcGuire said:

Volkswagen Tiguan S 2.0 TDI ... in the UK (review)

Why do they get all the new stuff in Europe first ?

Lynn

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Better get used to it. Europe is the biggest economy in the world.

Nice truck, but ... an electronic parking brake? Auto-hold? Park Assist? (thanks but I can manage that part myself) Just more crap to break, raising the cost of ownership and the drive-away cost. I do like the idea of the 4Motion system disengaging the rear axle when not needed, but I think I'd rather have FWD to save money and weight.

The base price of 20,500 pounds converts to $39,921 USD - about 10k more than I'd read it would cost. <sigh> No thanks.

But a Tiguan with pure FWD is pointless. Might as well buy a Touran or Golf Plus...

Oh, and forget the UK pricing, there are taxes in that.

Xenon is an option, for those that are interested. The car configurator is now up on volkswagen.co.uk.

Wow, the price in Britian for their test car works out to $39993.56. No wonder they get theirs first.

Blonde Guy said:

Wow, the price in Britian for their test car works out to $39993.56. No wonder they get theirs first.

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A huge chunk of that price on Treasure Island is taxes, but also there is a good amount of price gouging simply because they can. Something about the UK gets people to pay way more for stuff than necessary . . .

anahata said:

Better get used to it. Europe is the biggest economy in the world.

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Oh, nonsense about the EU economy. They're 27 independent, economically viable countries with crap GDP numbers that add up to BARELY squeak by the USA. The USA is $13.5 trillion with our economy - compared to $2.7 trillion for Germany, and $2 trillion for France. Germany and France have a reputation for being fairly productive countries as far as manufacturing is concerned, but they're still small potatoes when compared to the USA, China, India, and Japan (numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the GDP list ranked by Purchasing Power Parity). The only other EU countries besides Germany and France to be in the top 20 are Italy ($1.9 trillion) and Spain ($1.3 trillion). The UK doesn't count, because they haven't accepted the Euro as their official currency. Wise choice, seeing as how the Pound is on top now (£1 = about $2, with €1 = about $1.45 right now).

Adding the GDP numbers up by population makes things look even better for the USA. Don't get me wrong, most of Europe has a fine quality of life. But the USA's GDP of $13.5 trillion is produced by a little over 300 million people, where as the GDP of the EU ($15 trillion) is produced by a little less than 500 million people. The EU is 66% larger on a population basis, but only has a GDP 11% larger than the USA.

dieselyeti said:

Nice truck, but ... an electronic parking brake? Auto-hold? Park Assist? (thanks but I can manage that part myself) Just more crap to break, raising the cost of ownership and the drive-away cost. I do like the idea of the 4Motion system disengaging the rear axle when not needed, but I think I'd rather have FWD to save money and weight.

The base price of 20,500 pounds converts to $39,921 USD - about 10k more than I'd read it would cost. <sigh> No thanks.

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Never convert European pricing into American pricing. VW already announced that the Tiguan will start at about 22,000 in the US.

DPM said:

But a Tiguan with pure FWD is pointless. Might as well buy a Touran or Golf Plus...

Oh, and forget the UK pricing, there are taxes in that.

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If the Touran or Golf Plus were available in the US, I might consider. I didn't realize the taxes were built into the UK prices already. Yikes. Who can afford an average car in that country?

but CO2 emissions of 189g/km put the diesel in road tax Band F

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So that's another £205 per year to run it.
In Britain the car has to have a valid "road fund license" renewable every year and checked up on with roadside spy cameras called "anpr"

Still it's a small price to pay for living in the "Socialist paradise" that is modern day Britain....cough, gag.

I'm betting the car they tested is a PD, perhaps the BKD engine code. I would expect the author to mention the new common rail engine if that was fitted. The fuel economy number also seems low for it to be the CR.

It only comes with the CR unit AFAIK.

So has the CR been launched in the UK? Is it in the Golf Variant? I really don't keep close track of this stuff.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

So has the CR been launched in the UK? Is it in the Golf Variant? I really don't keep close track of this stuff.

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According to this article it has been launched in the Tiguan not sure about the Golf variant though.

http://puregreencars.com/Green-Cars-News/Clean-Diesel/Bosch-Provides-Common-Rail-Systems-for-VW-Tiguan.html

IndigoBlueWagon said:

So has the CR been launched in the UK?

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Released probably in most parts of europe.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

Is it in the Golf Variant? I really don't keep close track of this stuff.

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I am pretty sure that for VW cars, the CR (2.0l) engine option is only available for the Tiguan at this time. You can also get the same engine in the Audi A4. The other european diesel VAG cars gets the PD engines for some more time to come.

Seems like you guys gets most of the CR engines this year due to new emmision regulations.

Compared to the 2.0 PD engine, the mileage and power should be about the same.

With exchange rates the way they are, they'd either have to sell it in the US at a loss, or charge $60k for it.

arnes said:

Compared to the 2.0 PD engine, the mileage and power should be about the same.

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I know this is not what a lot of people are hoping for.

Remember we had the 1.9 PD available in the States, so moving up to a more powerful and higher mileage 2.0 CR will be sweet.
No, the Tiguan will not be anywhere near $60,000.

Had an opportunity to look around a Tiguan today at the dealership. Very impressive! A massive loadspace with easily-folding rear seats. Fit and finish are superb, too.

dieselyeti said:

Nice truck, but ... an electronic parking brake? Auto-hold? Park Assist? (thanks but I can manage that part myself) Just more crap to break, raising the cost of ownership and the drive-away cost. I do like the idea of the 4Motion system disengaging the rear axle when not needed, but I think I'd rather have FWD to save money and weight.

The base price of 20,500 pounds converts to $39,921 USD - about 10k more than I'd read it would cost. <sigh> No thanks.

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I think 22,000 US is a steal for this Vehicle. There is a 9 month waiting list in Europe for this vehicle. Get it while you can! The TDI Can't come quick enough.

Tiguan fuel mileage

There was a gentleman from Bulgaria posting on the vwvortex site that said he was getting 43 mpg highway and 28 city with his Tiguan, I can't figure out why there is so high of a gap between the two figures?

Sincerely, Dweisel

Big heavy wheels are hard to accelerate.

Actually, those figures sound good. About the same as the quoted figures for my 2003 Grand Vitara (diesel, automatic) and better than most other current offerings -emissions controls have certainly eaten in to absolute economy in the past few years...

Here is the first line of the article:

"Car makers are tripping over themselves to build small off-roaders, but Volkswagen is ahead of the game."

Maybe that's true in Europe, but in the US, VW is way, way behind the game. Virtually every other car maker has had a small "off-roader" for years (Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Ford, Kia/Hyundai, maybe you could quality GM, and now Nissan). I'd say VW will have to play some serious catch-up in that market in the US. And if another car maker introduces a diesel version before VW, VW might as well pack up their excuses and head for home.

(Of course the Tiguan is not an "off-roader" any more than the other small SUVs in the US.)

Tiguan is a generation better than any of the current popular offerings- Rav4 is a few years old, Sportage, Tucson, Grand Vitara etc likewise. X-trail and Santa Fe are a class bigger. Whilst the Opel Antara is launched, it doesn't seem to be fareing too well so far.

Short of the arrival of Tiguan, Koleos, and Kuga, the only new small softroader that seems to have made an impact is the Quasquai, IMHO.

DPM, at least in the US, both the Honda CRV and the Toyota Rav-4 are new models. The Kia/Hyundai models are essentially the same size as those. Subaru has introduced a new model of its Forester. The Nissan small SUV is also new to this market. I don't know whether any of these were available in other markets before their US introduction.

If the VW is truly a new generation of small SUV, they had better have it right. Otherwise I'm afraid the Tiguan will suffer the same fate as its bigger brother. When the Touareg was introduced, the reviewers said that VW had had a long time to study the market and the competition, and so they should have come up with a better contender. They also need to carefully consider market position. If it's more expensive than the competition, it will not sell. If VW positions it right and there is enough to distinguish it from the competition (like a fuel-efficient diesel), it can succeed. If it's just another small SUV, it won't.