Review

The six months that we have had the Tiguan have not been entirely trouble-free. It arrived with a faulty thermostat (which Volkswagen quickly rectified) and in the past few months I have been caught out by coolant level issues (something Volkswagen says can happen with new cars due to possibly having had air trapped in the system and the levels then settling down as the car is ‘run-in’) and the AdBlue warning light coming on.

The positive with the latter was that the car had done 5,400 miles at the time – better than the 3,000-4,000 miles Volkswagen suggests it might manage before needing an AdBlue top-up. However, arranging a top-up at our local dealer wasn’t as straightforward as it should have been and we ended going for a DIY approach.

Those niggles aside, it’s been a pleasant few months with the Tiguan and I’ve appreciated the high driving position, refined interior and good level of safety technology. The fatigue detection (which analyses steering wheel movements and other measures to detect if you need a break) has proved pretty accurate and has come on at times when I’ve been driving late at night and admittedly felt tired.

Also standard on our model are sign assist, front and rear parking sensors and park assist (which helps you parallel park). The rear-view camera (a £410 optional extra) is one of the best we’ve tested, particularly in low light.

Our model is also fitted with lane assist (a camera controlled warning system should the vehicle drift out of its lane), high beam assist (automatic sensing for switching between dipped and main beam) and cruise control for £780.

The new Tiguan is set to add city emergency braking and automatic post-collision braking and will offer more bootspace (615 litres with the rear seats up and 1,655 litres with them folded, versus our model’s 470 litres and 1,510 litres) making it more practical for families.