Part 2 of our road test / review of the Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line.Last week was a busy one, so I ended up doing most of the driving in the R-Line at the weekend (does that count as overtime?). I grabbed four friends and took a ride to Southend-on-sea to watch the fireworks. Even with four adult passengers in the car the handling and performance of the car was no less rewarding than just having me in there.
As it was a Saturday the sea front was bombarded with the boy racers of Essex with their Ford Escorts and Citroen Saxos (with everything but the kitchen sink stuck on the car to impress). So pulling up along side and parking amongst them in the R-Line I can definitely say I didn’t fit in. The R-Line didn’t look like it’d been kitted out by Halford’s go-faster, boy-racer department. It looked a class or four above the rest. And it was a treat to see the jealous faces of the ones who knew the girl in the R-Line could beat them hands down.
I was extremely impressed with the Tiguan R-Line. It has both class and swagger. It actually looks cool and stylish, not at all like a Golf on stilts. It has huge appeal and – much to my surprise - it’s not overly ‘Girly’ looking. So men wouldn’t feel as if they were driving the wife’s car, and it’s not perceived as an old man’s car either. In fact I had endless comments from people of my age – and all very positive. VW has done well to give the usually boring Tiguan a decent amount of street cred. It’s a whole new market for the Tiguan.
Having lived in a middle class town all my life, it’s a regular occurrence to see women in 4x4s at the school gates and generally littering up the roads. I know, a very stereo-typical portrait. Having the same opinion as most I didn’t want to be one of those, and thought a 4×4 was very much for the `Soccer Mums` of this world – not for people of my age group. But I’ve changed my mind. I loved the VW Tiguan R-Line and enjoyed every minute. So much so I didn’t want to give it back.
Yes, it’s on the pricey side. A similarly equipped Ford Kuga would cost a few grand less. But you’ll probably win on the depreciation when the time comes to sell. But I’m convinced. I never thought I’d covet a 4×4 – even a modest sized one. But I do.