Commentary on Volkswagen’s new small SUV
Posted By RichC on August 6, 2008
Volkswagen’s 2009 small SUV, the Tiguan, hasn’t exactly taken North America by storm, but at least VW finally has a vehicle to compete with Honda’s CRV and Toyota’s Rav4. I wouldn’t say that Volkswagen has struck out with the Tiguan, but in my opinion they have at least two strikes against them. After owning a 1998 Toyota Rav4 for 11 years (my wife’s car), the functionality of the Tiguan falls significantly behind even the older Rav4. I was surprise at how small the space was behind the hatchback fifth door compared to the sideways opening door of our “boxier” Rav4; from what I could tell, there looked to be about as much cargo space as a VW Golf. (Speaking of VW Golf, check out the next generation A6 VW Golf.)
Strike two for me was the price. The Tiguan window stickers I glanced at were all close to or over $30,000 mark. This is pretty steep for a small compact SUV and parallels what one might expect from competitors mid-sized SUVs. That said, sitting in any seat was very comfortable and along with the huge sunroof and non-plastic feel, I wouldn’t mind at least test driving one — but I’ll wait for the TDI diesel!
Here’s what the folks at Motorweek had to say:
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