In Brief: Volkswagen Tiguan – Ageing but still worth going for a test drive?

How much is the Volkswagen Tiguan?

Prices start from RM 165,990 for the Highline, while the Sound & Style edition costs RM 174,990, and the JOIN will set you RM 175,990.

In the Sound & Style edition, everything is similar to the Highline but adds HELIX 300W Soundbar, chrome trunk garnish, chrome exhaust tips, black rear spoiler, window film by VW Tint, and 'Sound & Style' emblem.

The JOIN variant removes the HELIX 300W Soundbar and 'Sound & Style' emblem, instead receiving a sportier front bumper, load lip protector, aluminum side steps, and 'JOIN' emblem.

What are the pros and cons of the Volkswagens Tiguan?

The Volkswagen Tiguan strikes a fine balance between a comfortable cruiser and a sporty SUV.

Interior design is filled with trapezoid shape.

The 8" touchscreen 'Discover Media' infotainment comes with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which works wonderfully on the Tiguan.

Digital cluster is clear and sharp.

It also comes in best-in-class boot space with 615 litre, over 100 litre more than the Honda CR-V.

Fold the seat down and you'll get 1,655 litre of space!

While it may not be emotionally designed as the CX-5 or aggressive-looking as the CR-V, the Tiguan oozes a premium and business-like outlook that will age well.

The stitching on the seats looks classy too.

The interior is filled with soft-touch material, even the seat leather quality is top-notch as you’d come to expect from a Volkswagen.

The 1.4-litre turbocharged engine in the Tiguan.

Under the hood, the Tiguan is powered by a 1.4-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine with 150 PS and 250 Nm of torque available from 1,500 to 3,500 rpm mated to a six-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The crisp 6-speed dual-clutch transmission.

The improved 6-speed dual-clutch transmission with wet-clutch is fantastic, works and shifts crisply compared to the CVT in CR-V and CX-5’s 6-speed torque-converter gearbox.

It is quite frugal on fuel too, sipping 6.7 litre per 100 km (14.9 km/l), and accelerate from 0-100 km/h in an impressive 8.9 seconds.

0-100 km/h in 8.9 seconds.

Unlike its rival, the Tiguan has no driver-assisted tech like Honda Sensing or Mazda's I-ACTIVSENSE.

The 1.4-litre turbocharged engine is adequate but there’s slight hesitation during initial acceleration, and not as eager as you would expect. We do think that Volkswagen is being modest on the power and torque output, seeing that Honda CR-V’s 1.5-litre puts out 190 PS despite down by 7 Nm of torque.

Inside is a quiet affair like all Volkswagen model, but the wind noise is quite noticeable at 110 km/h highway drive, which might be bothersome.