The 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan (pronounced Tee-gwan) is the smaller of the two SUVs offered by Volkswagen and although at first glance it doesn’t appear to be anything special, I guarantee that after driving it for a few days it will win you over. Packed full of subtle yet useful conveniences, this compact SUV has been engineered beautifully for day to day convenience and comfort with a touch of style.
ENGINE & DRIVE
The 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan is manufactured on the Volkswagen Golf platform and as such you can notice two things – firstly, the drive and handling feels like a car and second, although the 2013 VW Tiguan is an SUV, you wouldn’t want to take it offroading.
All models of the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan are equipped with 2.0L turbocharged 4 cylinder gasoline engine outputting 200 horsepower and providing a fuel consumption of 12 L/100km in the city and 7.7 L/100km on the highway. Having driven the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan for 322 kms of combined city and highway driving, the resulting fuel consumption averaged 10.4 L/100km.
Like all other Volkswagen vehicles I have driven, the 2013 VW Tiguan’s drive had a very similar feel –responsive steering and cornering, quick acceleration, power on demand and an overall smooth and reassuring driving experience.
INTERIOR & EXTERIOR
Although the exterior of the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan is quite plain and won’t be turning any heads, it does have a few redeeming features like a full length panoramic sunroof with sunvisor, headlights that light up around your turns (AFS) and slightly larger than average tires for a more aggressive look.
The spacious and classy interior is where the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan really shines. Beautiful brown leather surfaces complimented by black panels and chrome highlights. This tasteful combination showcases the high quality of materials and finishes all coming together in a top notch build. Although the exterior makes the Tiguan look small, the interior offers lots of head and leg room for both front and rear passengers along with multiple options for extending the rear cargo area (60/40 folding rear seats with center pass through for long items, while keeping rear passengers comfortable).
The simple dash uses minimal buttons which is a refreshing design these days with many other automakers complicating the dash with a plethora of buttons. A built in touch screen controls the loud and crystal clear sounds of the audio as well as the navigation system which trusts in the driver and allows destinations to be entered while the vehicle is in motion. Built into the dash are twice the number of air vents compared to the usual, allowing for finer tuning of airflow. The many storage compartments built into the center console increase day to day functionality, while the fully adjustable center armrest is a welcomed comfort feature.
CONCLUSIONS
Although the 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan may not be a class leader in the small SUV market, it does offer a beautifully classy interior with high quality materials and a smooth, powerful and comfortable ride, all for a reasonable starting price of $24,990. My suggestion when taking the 2013 VW Tiguan for a test drive is to focus on the high quality of build and materials you are getting versus the comparables.
