VW Tiguan II (2021 minor change) / Tiguan R

The second-generation Volkswagen Tiguan, launched in 2016, gets a minor change for the 2021 model year with new styling, new interior, new performance, and new tech, keeping one of Volkswagen's strong sellers fresh for more, and in addition, the recent minor change welcomes the first-ever Tiguan R high-performance crossover for those who want some more.

The facelifted second-generation Volkswagen Tiguan, starting at 29,310 Euros plus additional costs, is proof that it's getting better than when it was first launched in 2016. Apart from the welcoming addition of the R variant, the new styling, new interior, new performance, and new tech are implied to keep one of Volkswagen's strong sellers fresh for more outings, anyway it can.

Starting with the styling, the new Tiguan features an entirely new front face that makes it more similar to its big brother, the Touareg, and on the back, the Tiguan lettering is now positioned in the center. Dramatic, isn't it?

The Tiguan's interior has been revised as well and once you're in, you will be greeted by its new steering wheel design, revised instrumental panel, new climate control, and a new sat-nav, not to mention the addition of a 15-color ambient lighting system to make it more of a show-and-display occasion. On the R, the dark-themed interior, blue accents, and the additional R button really mean business. Still, it's still as comfortable as the old one and it snugs up to five people on board and still carries up to 1,655 liters of boot space when the rear bench is folded. Fit for all walks of life.

The normal Tiguan features a wide range of powertrains to choose from such as the nippy 1.5 TSi engine, 2.0 TSi, the first-ever 1.4 eHybrid, and the one powertrain to avoid since this is today's Europe, a 2.0 TDi engine. The range-topper of the normal Tiguan comes with the 245PS 2.0 TSi with the rather questionable DSG that can get through 0-100kph in six seconds and onwards to 229kph.

The R, meanwhile, features a more potent 2.0L TSi engine mated to a 7-speed DSG and 4MOITON four-wheel drive system with R-Performance Torque Vectoring for a more lively driving experience on either tarmac, gravel, or snow. This engine produces a surprisingly sportscar-ish 320PS of power and 420Nm of torque, making it capable of going from 0-100kph in four and a half seconds and electronically limited to 250kph.

The dynamics of the Tiguan R are something to get jealous about, wishing that you want to drive one in your whole life until you are fully satisfied, but on the normal Tiguan, it's still a Tiguan. It still works as a sensible offroader fit for all walks of life, be it tarmac, gravel, or snow, and it's easy to get familiarized with the way it behaves. As for the tech, the Tiguan features a whole range of Emergency Assist and Travel Assist features, allowing it to behave in Level 2 autonomous driving at speeds up to 210kph (where permitted). Now that's a big deal.

With its new styling, new interior, new performance, and new tech, not to mention the added R variant for those who demand more from it, the facelifted second-generation Tiguan really is a big deal whether you like it or not. Either way, it's still the Tiguan we know.

Photo: Volkswagen

Opel/Vauxhall Grandland X vs. Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace

With Opel and Vauxhall now under French hands, looks like the change is slowly coming to their lineup and in a few years' time, most of the future models are now pinned with Groupe PSA platforms as demonstrated by the 2008-based Crossland X crossover, which replaced the Meriva MPV, and now this; Opel and Vauxhall's leader of the crossover pack known as the Grandland X.

2018 Opel Grandland X

2018 Vauxhall Grandland X

It's fair to say that by calling the Grandland X the leader of the crossover pack, this newest entry is part of the biggest change in Opel and Vauxhall's history under Groupe PSA's grasp and like we observed on its smaller Crossland X, which is based on the Peugeot 2008, this new Grandland X uses the latest Peugeot 3008 SUV as its basis and the weird thing is that because it's French underneath, it's coincidentally made in France, which is okay because this is the Euro way to do.

2018 Opel Grandland X interior

2018 Vauxhall Grandland X interior

Starting on the design, the Grandland X looks very fluidic and very dynamic from top to bottom and while some call it sexy, others call it clever and this crossover takes it as a supreme compliment because every angle is a story to tell for the owners who experienced it first hand. On the interior, meanwhile, it's surprisingly spacious, comfortable, and very roomy indeed for your everyday activities, even trips to the grocery shopping. While everything seems nice to look at or toy at because of the seats, the dashboard, the sat-nav with smartphone connectivity, and everything you can expect in an ideal crossover, a fair warning to picky passengers is that the crossover can seat up to five people. Yep, five people and better pray that there shouldn't be another baby coming out because if that happened, the second-row seats are becoming a baby territory and you have nowhere else to seat to except in the middle. So, five seats is a bad mark for a family car but for joyriding use with your mates, it's not half bad.

Under the hood, the Grandland X is powered by a choice of three available engines with the most powerful being the 2.0L diesel engine producing 177PS of power and 400Nm of torque. The lesser engines can be mated with either a 6-speed AT or MT but the 2.0L diesel variant is mated exclusively with an 8-speed AT and as a result, it does 0-100kph in 9.1 seconds and onwards to 214kph. Your Japanese crossover can't do that, you know, so the Grandland X wins but doesn't celebrate just yet because, for a couple of years, the Grandland X may become a useless roadside little because Europe's gone nuts over banning cars with internal combustion engines for the next decades or so.

Performance aside, since it runs on Peugeot 3008 genes, the Grandland X behaves pretty much like it was based on, meaning it's typical French on the dynamics. It can be downright wonky or can be downright dull but it's surprisingly decent for a midsize crossover of that magnitude and I think they're really onto something here.

The Grandland X starts at 23,700 Euros (22,310 GBP) and that makes it one of the most competitively priced midsize crossovers on the market today while some call it a worthy alternative to those Japanese midsize crossovers, others call it a fair share because while the crossover is now French to the core, it's hard to accept the Grandland X for how it's made and also, the seats are the big issue here. Clearly, for a wildcard, perhaps here's an ideal alternative to the Grandland X for those picky passengers...sort of...

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace

2018 Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace interior

Crossover aficionados will be familiar to them as the Volkswagen Tiguan but it looks rather different from the Tiguan we are familiar with because this is the long-wheelbase seven-seater version dubbed the Allspace. As Volkswagen's answer to the most demanding families wanting more seats for their loved ones, even kids, the Allspace stretches the normal Tiguan by 110mm in wheelbase and 226mm in length.

The added length and wheelbase make the Allspace capable of putting third-row seats in the back so picky passengers can seat here in case the second-row seats become a territory for child seats. However, while the addition of third-row seats sounds nice, there's a problem; it's kinda squishy to get in and out off and that sounds like a bad mark for heavyweight apes like me. Another problem here is the pricing as the Allspace starts at 29,975 Euros, which is more expensive than the Grandland X but still, I rather want to spend it on this crossover that has some extra seat for me at the back in case babies took over the second-row seats, no matter how squishy the seats are.

The Tiguan Allspace is powered by a choice of 1.4 TSi and 2.0L TDi engines, both producing 150PS of power output, and mated with either a 6-speed MT or an 8-speed DSG. It's hard to say that both engines produce the same amount of power but for food for thought, the front-wheel drive 2.0L TDi variant with the 6-speed MT is the fuel efficiency of the Allspace range with combined fuel consumption of 5L/100km, which sounds like it wants to go for more trips but the wisest of the wise shouldn't count on such numbers because how fuel efficient the Allspace is is up to them. Besides, despite being longer, it behaves much like the normal Tiguan is. Not very exciting but very decent indeed for a crossover.

So, which would you rather pick? The Grandland X for its value for money but only seats up to five people or the Allspace that has extra seats for picky passengers like me but costs more?

Photo: Opel/Vauxhall/Volkswagen

VW Tiguan II

Volkswagen, despite facing the biggest setbacks in the history of the cars' fuel economies, is still going on strong with a range of new models coming their way and this latest example, the second-generation Tiguan, shows that this car company, no matter how many problems it face, is always rising up to the challenge, no matter what.

2017 Volkswagen Tiguan

So, what's so new about this all-new Tiguan? Judging from its newly enhanced look in departure from the previous model, the new Tiguan now utilizes the MQB platform as seen in most models from the Volkswagen Group family tree, meaning it promises to behave better than the previous one and let's just hope it will seek revenge against the Mazda CX-5 after the whole Top Gear crossover caravan carnage thing years ago. Because this is an entirely new model, for the first time, we can expect a long wheelbase model soon. But in the meantime, what's it all about the new Tiguan?

2017 Volkswagen Tiguan interior

2017 Volkswagen Tiguan interior

At first look, the new Tiguan looks like an oversized Volkswagen Golf with some heightened ground clearance to make it look adventurous, but in reality, it's just another basic car fit for garage sales and groceries alike. Yep, it's like one of those rides your auntie or your granny's friend would drive on faraway trip to buy antiques. Despite being a crossover built for the long shopping trips for some hunk of junks, the new Tiguan, thanks to its new platform, is now slightly lowered, more rigid, slightly lighter than the old Tiguan, and more behavable elsewhere. In truth, the new Tiguan behaves just like the new normal Golf in the city streets but don't get too surprised about this because despite all the improvements, you'll never get away from the fact that one of your relatives will have one in the future.

Of course, even with more room than the old model, this is basically a five-seater model and whichever you are seating on, be it on the front or in the back, there's nothing to go wrong with it, well, save it to the front because you have some time to toy around with the gadgets in store such as the sat-nav that allows mirroring with your smartphone, a speedo that looks broadly similar to Audi's Virtual Cockpit, and, well that pretty much about it. Even if you're sitting in the passenger side, that's okay but let's hope that the new Tiguan is a barkada car because if made into a family mover, you will be crushed by the dreaded child seat situations. It's a five-seater, it's only reserved for barkada trips only.

At the back, thanks to the new platform, the new Tiguan can carry up to 615 litres with five persons on-board or 1,655 litres of boot space when the rear bench is folded. That's enough to carry almost most of the stuff you bought from a certain estate sale, by about 74 percent coverage.

2017 Volkswagen Tiguan

Volkswagen believes that the new Tiguan has to be technologically advanced not just for convenience but also for the safety at all corners. That's why it's been loaded with the finest safety technologies available for the new model, especially the clever active bonnet, which raises the bonnet if a pedestrian or bicyclist comes into contact with it in a crash. They stole that idea from the Swedes but, oh well.
Yes, the new Tiguan comes with a 1.4L petrol engine and two-litre engine in two versions; a petrol and a diesel, but let's not mention more about the 2.0L TDI BlueMotion Technology stuff because of the ongoing crisis that Volkswagen felt, even though this engine promises more than the diesel-powered Mazda CX-5 (enough for some revenge match on the countryside, perhaps). Oh no...guess the only powerful version offered in the Tiguan is...nope, not the 180PS 2.0 TSi petrol, it's the 2.0 TDI BlueMotion Technology with 190PS of power and 400Nm of torque. With the 7-speed DSG gearbox armed, it gets through 0-100kph in 7.9 seconds and onwards to 212kph. A diesel-powered Mazda CX-5 can't do that, you know. And with the available 4MOTION four-wheel drive system, the Tiguan is a good all-weather trekker that loves to go anywhere, be it rain or shine.

Should you buy it? The new Tiguan starts at 25,975 Euros, which is about 1,600 Euros more than its biggest competitor, the Mazda CX-5. Sure, it's expensive to own than the CX-5, but with the new Tiguan trying to correct its mistakes from its failed predecessor, this car can guarantee it will hit back against Mazda on the spot to the park...or should this new Tiguan flunk, it will be the second time the loser will sleep in the remains of the caravan. Perhaps how the new Tiguan stacks up against the Mazda CX-5 is anyone's theory.

Available colors: Pure White, Uranograu, Atlantik Blue Metallic, Caribbean Blue Metallic, Dark Moss Green Metallic, Habanero Orange Metallic, Indiumgrau Metallic, Nutshell Brown Metallic, Ruby Red Metallic, Titanium Beige Metallic, and Tungsten Silver Metallic.

Photo: Volkswagen AG

Volkswagen Tiguan Minor Change

2012 Volkswagen Tiguan

Back in 2007, Volkswagen created the Tiguan that considers to be the little brother of the behemoth Touareg SUV. Like the Touareg, the Tiguan is a rugged crossover utility vehicle that can seat up to five people and can accommodate various seating arrangements. Now, the Tiguan minor change for the 2012 Model Year really describes it the Touareg's little brother because the front view now is now similar to the second-generation Volkswagen Touareg! It's been working out for about four years but now, the crossover from VW gets an extensive minor change to satisfy the demands of European customers.

For the exterior, the minor change Tiguan sports a new front view that is highly similar to the second-generation Touareg, making it more tough and destined to call this crossover "all grown up" to take on the world. The rear view has been redesigned as well to give it more like the Golf VI, thus making it the best of both worlds.

There are four styles to choose from; Trend & Fun, Track & Field, Sport & Style, and Track & Style.

2012 Volkswagen Tiguan interior

The interior has been mildly upgraded to make it more luxurious and comfortable like the Touareg. The instrumental panel's been retouched, the steering wheel's been changed, the air conditioning's get even more better, the new interior really makes it up to the ever-changing demands of the customers but that is just only the beginning. The new "Dynaudio Contour" Sound System will provide a dynamic sound experience inside the new Tiguan and listening to music will never be the same. A radio navigation system is also provided to keep themselves updated on the go when it comes to directions, traffic reports, breaking news, top 20 musics, and more.

There are two petrol engines and three diesel engines available on the Tiguan minor change, with the addition of the new CAVD (1.4 TSI) engine and the new CCZB (2.0 TSI) engine. The new CAVD engine provides 160 PS/5800rpm of power output, 240 Nm/1500–4500rpm of torque output, 0-100 km/h in 10.9 seconds, top speed of 184 km/h, and fuel economy of 15.4km/L. The new CCZB engine provides 211 PS/5300–6200rpm of power output, 280 Nm/1700–5300rpm of torque output, 0-100km/h in 7.9 seconds, top speed of 202km/h, and fuel economy of 11.6km/L. Most variants are equipped with 4MOTION for the ultimate in four-wheel drive experience while some are equipped with the BlueMotion Technology (applicable for TDi versions of the Tiguan) to bring out the best in eco car technology. Available transmissions include a 6-speed manual transmission and a 7-speed DSG.

Available exterior colors are Candy-Weiß, Deep Ocean Blue, Acapulcoblau Metallic, Night Blue Metallic, Pepper Grey Metallic, Reflexsilber Metallic, Silver Leaf Metallic, Titanium Beige Metallic, Toffeebraun Metallic, Wild Cherry Red Metallic, Deep Black Perleffekt, and Veneziengrün Perleffekt.

My comment:


Get a load of that, huh? The Tiguan minor change do really behave as its big brother, the Touareg, did. What can you say? Does this minor change really suit your expectations. Being an off-roader is a tough act to follow for the new Tiguan but with its minor change, I guess that this Deutsche crossover is all grown up to take on new challenges left by other competitors like the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage R, Ssangyong Korando C, Renault Koleos (Renault Samsung QM5), Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain, Dodge Journey, Fiat Freemont, Toyota RAV4, Mitsubishi Outlander, Peugeot 3008, and other crossovers I know.

Photo: Volkswagen AG