Comments on: 2008 Volkswagen Tiguan TDI offroad review

By: Svirala

Svirala — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 07:38:15 +0000

Fully agree with people blaming VW Australia for poor sales strategy. Bought mine 125TSI auto a year ago. No manual with an off-road pack were available @ taht time thanks to VW AU.
As for off bitumen performance, if I would like to go around WA beach-side I would pick Land Cruiser series 100 or 200, not any small SUV.
This still does not make me an unhappy Tig owner. It handled so far all gravel and choppy roads to most of landmarks here in WA with no problems whatsoever and at same time looks so cool washed and waxed when parked at evening in front of Burswood casino ;o)

By: ET

ET — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:36:43 +0000

Tell me do the rear wheels fall off this one i prefer the Nissan Patrol myself built like a tank goes anywhere & you know where the V/W’s are built yep its true in India in the same factory as the TATA’S

By: Smokey

Smokey — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:04:17 +0000

Covered 3000kms so far in my TDI auto and what a gem of a car. It is supreme along all roads- yes an all road vehicle is what it is. average 7.2 ltrs/100kms country driving likley 8.2 city which might be better than Subaru. only complaint is if I want an Ipod you have to purchase the interface etc at $650 plus. not good VW. I also ahve a Hyundai i30 hatch at half the price and has a supplied memory stick USB for all my music.

By: Wallaby

Wallaby — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:07:26 +0000

Volkswagen are certainly playing their cards here. No stock available so they are after the highest price they can get. I am after one but me thinks I will be looking at another brand, by VW, too greedy. This will turn people off offering NO deals.

By: Shaun H

Shaun H — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:48:09 +0000

PS Anyone doubting the Tiguans limited offroad capabilities and safety specs Vist U Tube there are some very interesting videos on there especialy the crash test videos of the competition.

By: Shaun H

Shaun H — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:37:30 +0000

Why does VW Aus not follow VW South Africa in model spec???? Their client base/market is very similar! VW is no 2 behind Toyota is sales in SA BECAUSE THEY GIVE THE CUSTOMERS WHAT THEY WANT NOT WHAT VW AUS WANTS YOU TO WANT!

The Tiguan had extensive trial development undertaken in the harsh conditions of Nambia which are very similar to WA.

Tiguans sold in SA are basically sold in 2 versions one for around town as you get here and an off road “track & field” model which comes standard with the off road fuction AND the 28 degree off road front bumper package

It’s a pity this variant was not avaliable for the above test I am sure there would have been a different outcome.

I have a basic diesel manuual and would like to fit the offroad package if possible now that I have read the manual and driven it off road. $290 is nothing compared to what advantages it offers over the standard setup

At the time it was the only model avaliable without all the bells and whistles that I didn’t want at an enormous cost. I have had it for just in a year and have now done 15k km’s and it has been an absolute pleasure. Only advice to potential buyers get the auto. Manual gearbox is a dog!

By: observer

observer — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:47:43 +0000

VW is to blame….their own marketing of the Tiguan says “Goes Anywhere You Can Imagine”.

Errrr….Yeah right as long as its a sealed road or mild fire trail.

By: BSM

BSM — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:50:20 +0000

I can remember they said the same about the territory when I bough it but I left Prado’s behind in Karijini.. I guess it might be a case of its the nut behind the wheel, not the wheel?? You buy a car for what it CAN do not for what YOU think it should do.
Cheers.

By: renaldo

renaldo — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:10:42 +0000

Great Review very transparent with no sugar coatings or fluff and bubble.

The reality is that the Tiguan fails to perform basic off road tasks. It’s small, expensive, has no full size spare tyre and the electronics software are programed incorrectly react accordingly to varying offroad situations.

I’m sure its comfortable around town or on the motorway but dont call it an SUV.

By: observer

observer — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 10:10:06 +0000

Would have to agree with “Bid Dog” why are their so many VW reviews on this site?

Anyway we seriously considered purchasing a Tiguan a few months ago but found that we were not able to comfortably fit our sons 3 wheeler pram in the boot flat on the floor. Only after trying a few different angles were we able to sqeeze it in which left little room for anything else (It would have to be the smallest boot in its class (approx 380 litres) if I remember correctly.

We do a lot of country/mountain runs so the lack of a “Full Size” spare tyre, smallish boot and average rear seat space had it struck off our shortlist.

We ended up buying a Subaru Forester with 220mm ground clearance, bigger boot, more space overall. Subaru extensively tested the Foreseter in Aust to get the ABS/TC/ESP (Subaru call it VDC) right for local release. We found that it performs excellent an varied offroad condition without the problems that were encountered in this review. We also saved a lot of $$$$ and took immediate delivery.