Mr Popularity
The Tiguan – a compact family SUV – is Volkswagen’s bestselling car globally. The current version has been modernised, but it’s obvious that the German giant isn’t going to mess around with a winning recipe. BY PIERRE STEYN
T
he way people react to the car you’re driving speaks volumes. Take the brandnew Volkswagen Golf GTI, for example. It’s the Tiguan’s hothatch cousin and in the week that I drove a test model, I was almost forced off the road as petrolheads swarmed in front of me, behind me and alongside to get a better look at the eighth incarnation of this iconic urban speedster. At traffic lights, grown men – some weren’t even wearing baseball caps! – lowered their windows and gave me thumbs up. In the parking lot at my local Checkers, strangers ran over to ask questions about the car.
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“It’s not mine!”I stammered.“It’s a test car!” Eventually, I learnt to just smile back with my thumb raised. One week later, I drove the recently upgraded Tiguan – the top-of-the-range R-Line with the same 2.0-litre turbo-charged engine as the Golf GTI. But nobody even glanced in my direction at a traffic light. There were no conversations in parking lots. I might as well have been invisible. Yes, people don’t see you when you drive a Tiguan. And that’s the way Tiguan owners like it. They are legion – you might be one of them! The Tiguan stats are mind-boggling:
Almost seven million have been sold globally; every year, another 900 000 find new owners. You can buy a Tiguan in 80% of all countries; a new one rolls off the assembly line every 35 seconds in one of four automotive plants around the world. It’s a car for the masses, just like the original Volkswagen – the Beetle. There’s a recipe to the Tiguan’s success: Just like Baby Bear’s porridge in the Goldilocks fairy tale, the Tiguan is not too hot and not too cold. It’s just right. With the new and improved version, VW has been careful not to mess with the recipe too much. The most significant changes
are cosmetic alterations to the front bumper and grille, with new LED lights that are brilliant in all respects. The interior has also been overhauled: All comfort functions are now controlled via big digital touch screens – a touch-and-swipe fest that will not be to everyone’s liking… There’s something to be said for the tactile feedback of a button or a knob, but it doesn’t take long to get used to the futuristic cabin. There are currently two petrol engines in the line-up, with a turbodiesel to be launched towards the end of 2021. The 1.4-litre petrol model has front-wheel drive and
