WHEELS

MrPopularity

The Tiguan –acompactfamilySUV –isVolkswagen’s bestsellingcarglobally. Thecurrentversionhasbeenmodernised,butit’s obviousthatthe German giantisn’t goingtomessaroundwith awinning recipe.

BY PIERRESTEYN

The waypeoplereacttothe car you’re drivingspeaks volumes.TakethebrandnewVolkswagenGolfGTI, forexample.It’sthe Tiguan’s hothatchcousin andinthe week that Idrove atestmodel,Iwasalmost forced offthe road as petrolheads swarmedin frontofme, behindme andalongside to get abetterlookat theeighthincarnationofthisiconic urbanspeedster. At traffic lights, grownmen –some weren’teven wearingbaseballcaps!– lowered theirwindows andgavemethumbs up.Intheparkinglot at my local Checkers, strangersran over to ask questionsaboutthecar.

“It’snotmine!”Istammered.“It’s atest car!”

Eventually,Ilearnttojustsmile backwith my thumbraised.

One weeklater, Idrove the recentlyupgraded Tiguan –the top-of-the-rangeR-Linewiththe same2.0-litre turbo-chargedengine asthe GolfGTI.Butnobodyeven glancedin my directionatatraffic light. Therewerenoconversations inparkinglots. Imightaswellhave beeninvisible.

Yes, people don’tsee youwhen youdrivea Tiguan.And that’s the wayTiguan ownerslikeit. They are legion –youmight be oneofthem! TheTiguanstatsaremind-boggling: Almostsevenmillionhavebeen soldglobally;every year,another 900000findnewowners.Youcan buya Tiguanin80%ofallcountries; anewone rollsofftheassembly lineevery35seconds inoneoffour automotiveplants aroundthe world.

It’s acar forthe masses,justlike theoriginalVolkswagen –the Beetle.

There’sarecipe to the Tiguan’s success:Justlike BabyBear’s porridgeinthe Goldilocksfairytale, the Tiguanisnottoohotandnot toocold. It’s just right.Withthenew and improved version, VW hasbeen careful nottomesswith therecipe toomuch.

Themostsignificantchanges arecosmeticalterationstothe frontbumperandgrille,withnew LEDlights that arebrilliantinall respects. Theinteriorhasalso been overhauled:All comfortfunctions arenowcontrolledvia bigdigital touchscreens– atouch-and-swipe festthatwillnotbetoeveryone’s liking… There’ssomethingtobe saidforthetactile feedbackofa buttonor aknob, butitdoesn’t takelongtoget usedtothe futuristiccabin.

Thereare currently twopetrol enginesinthe line-up,with aturbodiesel to be launchedtowardsthe endof2021. The1.4-litre petrol modelhasfront-wheel drive and

delivers110kWofpowerand 250Nmoftorque.TheR-Linethat Idrove hasa 2.0-litre engineand pumpsout162kWand 350Nm. It’s arealundercoversleeper –a family carcapableofacceleratingfrom 0–100km/hinonly 6,5seconds. The4Motion all-wheel-drive systemand asnappyseven-speed, twin-clutchgearbox help to keep everyone,includingthe kidsin the boosterseats,incheckwhenthe trafficlightturns green.

Thetestmodel Idrove was fittedwithoptional20-inchalloy wheels. Themassivewheels/ low-profile tyre comboadded evenmorefirmness to analready firm ride –Iwould stickwith thestandard19-inchwheels to increaseride comfort.

Otherthanthat, it’s hard to findfaultwiththispremiumcar–besidesitspremiumprice… The “cheapest”Tiguan retails foran eye-wateringR528800,andthe R-LineisnorthofR720000. That’s beforeyou’veadded asunroofor atowbar…

Willthepricingbeenough to stemtheTiguantide?I don’t thinkso. Once you’ve become awareofthis“invisible”car that has infiltratedoursuburbsandcities withoutfanfare, you’llstartseeing themeverywhere.

VOLKSWAGENTIGUANRLINE 2.0TSI 4MOTIONDSG

Engine

1984 cc turbo-chargedpetrol

Power

162kW@4 500 –6200 rpm Torque 350Nm@1 500–4400 rpm Transmission seven-speedautomatic Consumption (claimed) 8,3ℓ/100 km Groundclearance 201mm Warranty 3years/120000km Serviceplan 5years/90000km Serviceintervals 15000km Price

R720700