SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.
My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.
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Posted: 25 May 2017
The numbers
Base price: R532 200
Engine: 1968 cc, four-cylinder, turbodiesel
Power: 105 kW between 3250 and 4000 rpm
Torque: 340 Nm between 1750 and 2750 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9.5 seconds
Maximum speed: 197 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.3 l/100 km
Tank: 60 litres
Luggage: 520-615 to 1655 litres
Off-road specs: See text
Maximum, braked towing capacity: 2200 kg
Warranty: 3 years / 120 000 km
Service plan: 5 years / 90 000 km at 15 000 km intervals
• Second generation Tiguan released August 2016 with 1.4-litre turbopetrol engines
• March 2017 update adds three versions of 2.0 TDI, one 2.0 TSI, 4Motion awd
• Dial-a-road with 4Motion Active Control
• Increased approach angle with optional Off-road package
The 2.0-litre TSI, good for 162 kilowatts and 350 Nm, sprints from zero to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds and tops out at 220. Claimed average fuel consumption is 7.8 l/100 km. But it isn’t the one we drove.
Our test machine was the ‘middle child’ of the 2.0 diesel range. It develops 105 kW and 340 Nm, comes only with VW’s famed seven-speed DSG and has 4Motion all-wheel drive built in. A bonus is 10 mm more ground clearance, lifting the car from 190 mm to 200. The ‘baby’ in the lineup produces 81 kW with 280 Nm, offers manual transmission and is a 4x2. Topping the diesel range is a 130 kW/380 Nm Machine with awd and automatic.
Because Tiguan engines are transverse, power is fed via a Haldex limited slip coupling - that’s an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch - to the front and rear axles via open differentials. (Longitudinal, native rear-wheel drive, setups use Torsen diffs.) The Haldex unit functions as a pseudo- centre diff that allocates power as demanded, dependent on wheel slip, between 97.5:2.5 (percent f-r) and zero percent front to 100 percent rear.
When a front wheel loses traction, ASR (active skid regulation) and EDL (electronic differential lock) transfer grip to the opposite wheel. There is no similar service for rear wheels which is a disadvantage, but this thing was never meant to be a Touareg Escape.
Like lesser Tiguans, 4Motion versions have the familiar Eco/Comfort/Normal/Sport mode selector that one finds in the menus and a rotating four-way dial, on the console, for Snow/Auto/Off-road and Off-road Individual. Ordinary Off-Road overrides Eco, Sport and Comfort while Individual lets you deselect hill descent assist, audio warnings and lights should you want to.
Our Tenderfoot Trail, with its mild washaways and fairly steep hill with loose rocks, about as hectic as most weekend adventurers would be prepared to tackle, posed no threat. We simply dialled in Off-road and sauntered up in automatic although one could slip the stick over to the left and hold first gear if necessary.
For sharper approaches, an off-road kit priced at R3500 adds an aluminium skid plate and swaps the front bumper for one that increases the approach angle to 25.6 degrees rather than the usual 18.3. Departure- and break-over angles are respectable at 24.7 and 20.0 degrees.
The Tiguan proved comfortable and stable over regular gravel roads with a fair selection of washboard ripples and embedded small stones; surfaces that upset a few vehicles we have driven lately. City and freeway performance was solid, with plenty of thrust available at all times. The engine turned over gently at about 2000 rpm in seventh, while the ‘coasting’ function (in Eco mode) could be used even while driving in town.
We won’t repeat all that was said in our report on the 4x2 version with 1.4 TSI, but will add some things we left out. Tiguan’s loading sill is at about 68 centimetres, the floor is flat, there is one light (and a second, doubling as a torch, if you take the R1600 option that adds a 230-volt Euro socket in the boot), a pair of remote seatback releases, four lashing rings and a pair of bag hooks. Two side wells help to stop small parcels skidding around.
The spare supplied with our test vehicle, that came with an R-Line pack at R18 700 including 255/45 R19 wheels, was a standard-size (215/65 R17) steel unit. Volkswagen SA says that all South African Tiguans are supplied with this spare regardless of what it says on the spec' sheet, or options fitted. The rest of the pack consisted of an “R-Style” spoiler, bumper and sill extensions, black wheel arch flares and wheel locks.
This engine is available in Comfortline trim only, so if you really must have 18” wheels, smarter front seats, a 6.5” touch screen rather than this one’s 5-inch job, LED lighting inside, a luggage net and overhead storage, standard ambient lighting and a few extra trim items, buy either of the more powerful versions that come in Highline. On the other hand, most of these goodies could be added back as options.
As it is, however, this 105-kW Tiguan diesel is punchy, smooth and comfortable, has more than enough passenger- and luggage space, is pretty competent off-road and offers good value at today’s prices.
Test vehicle from VWSA press fleet
Read our report on the 2017 Tiguan 4x2 with 1.4 TSI motor here
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This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.
If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles. And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8