I’ve been driving different vehicles every day for so many years that I rarely notice the size difference when I jump from one car to another. After swapping the VW Routan for a Tiguan today I somehow felt like I was driving a tiny car. The hood is short and sloping, offering a great view of the road. The size and shape of the rear view mirror make the view out back seem like there is no aft cabin. Perhaps I’m experiencing a bit of size shock, but the Tiguan feels like the absolute perfect sized vehicle on the road.
The Volkswagen folks say the Tiguan has the body of an suv, but with the heart and soul of a GTI. They aren’t that far off, as even though the Tiguan feels diminutive behind the wheel, the front seats feel spacious and the rear seats look more than capable of holding a couple of adults. We’ll investigate the people carrying space over the next week. While not giant, the cargo area looks more than capable of passing our 3 hockey bag test. They boys have hockey camp next week, so we’ll let you know about that too.
Our tester is a 4Motion equipped model with the 6 speed Tiptronic automatic. The 200 horsepower 4 cylinder felt pretty zippy on the short drive home and the 6 speed shifts nice and crisply. It looks like that “soul of a GTI” comment may not be too far off. I’m looking forward to hitting the highway tomorrow and let it stretch it’s legs.
I really enjoy the drive of mine. So don’t knock i too hard.
On the contrary Mike, I think I’m going to fall in love with it!