VW Tiguans Yay or Nay?

joneve

We looked at them. Boot on the older models is pretty tiny for such a "big" car, and they're quite plastic-y inside if you don't buy the R Design spec...No centre console in the ones we looked at either. 

Also, the VW dealers around here are utter bellends. We were in a position to go ahead an pull the trigger on one of the new models (Which are slightly bigger and have nicer interiors), and not one of them wanted to take the time or effort to sell me one. Clearly don't need my business, so I'll go elsewhere...and I did. 

boogieman

TheMarlin said:

randella said:

Jimbro66 said:

Some years ago I was waiting for the missus outside the loos in a public car park. A car I'd never seen before came in and I watched it circle the car park a couple of times before parking. The driver then walked straight over to me and said, semi-accusingly, "I saw you watching my car". I replied "Yes, I was thinking it's one of the ugliest cars I've ever seen". His face was a picture. It was a Tiguan.

I dunno, I saw a Renault VelSatis the other day, now *that* was an ugly motor.

I've had a ride in a couple of Tiguans, seemed very nice and well screwed together much like the Golf with which it probably shares about 80% of its underpinnings. If I were a betting man I'd say that they're probably like every other recent VAG product I've had a bash at driving - very pleasant but for the horribly over-servoed brakes  

A friend of mine bought a VelSatis, he thought it might be a future classic. It been slowly falling to bits, he's really struggling finding parts, and keeping it on the road. Nightmare car. And, bloody ugly too. 

The Vel Satis will end up like the Ford Edsel. It'll eventually become collectible because they're hideous and nobody in their right mind would buy one. 

Sporky

joneve said:

Also, the VW dealers around here are utter bellends. We were in a position to go ahead an pull the trigger on one of the new models (Which are slightly bigger and have nicer interiors), and not one of them wanted to take the time or effort to sell me one. Clearly don't need my business, so I'll go elsewhere...and I did. 

I've had similar experiences with the local dealers, but there are plenty on Carwow willing to put some effort into it. If I get a car allowance or change job I'm tempted by a Golf Alltrack; some of them are offering about £6k off where the local dealer offered a set of mudflaps and half a tank of diesel!

Snap

THe tiguan is like a people carrier to me - I just don't like them, a sort of giving up car. Same as a Qashqai.

Jimbro66

randella said:

Jimbro66 said:

Some years ago I was waiting for the missus outside the loos in a public car park. A car I'd never seen before came in and I watched it circle the car park a couple of times before parking. The driver then walked straight over to me and said, semi-accusingly, "I saw you watching my car". I replied "Yes, I was thinking it's one of the ugliest cars I've ever seen". His face was a picture. It was a Tiguan.

I dunno, I saw a Renault VelSatis the other day, now *that* was an ugly motor.

The world of SUVs/MPVs seems blighted with ugly cars, possibly a trend started by the pre-2004 Fiat Multipla, and in fairness the Tiguan is quite a way down the ugly list. My comment in that car park was more a reaction to the guy marching over to me with his chest all puffed out. Whether he was warning me off nicking his car, fishing for compliments or perhaps hoping I might join him in the loo I don't know. Either way, my comment sent him off with a face like a smacked bum. But normally I'll be the first to acknowledge that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

To me the Tiguan is just another bland VW and a school-run car but if that's what you like it's your money.

randella

boogieman said:

TheMarlin said:

A friend of mine bought a VelSatis, he thought it might be a future classic. It been slowly falling to bits, he's really struggling finding parts, and keeping it on the road. Nightmare car. And, bloody ugly too. 

The Vel Satis will end up like the Ford Edsel. It'll eventually become collectible because they're hideous and nobody in their right mind would buy one. 

I must confess that I like the VelSatis, purely because the designers had the bottle to make something that stands out.  I really really wanted a Citroen C6; I think a lot of people reckoned those were butt-ugly but I thought it was a stunning piece of design.

However, like all big French cars, they only sold three in the UK and you'd need some serious confidence to buy one at four years old.  Not necessarily because of the public bar myth that all French cars are shite, I think that's fading into the past. It's more like @TheMarlin 's buddy found out, the spare parts are probably non-existent.

Anyway, in terms of design, the Tiguan's probably one of the nicer small soft-roaders about in my mind.  Certainly nicer than the seemingly omni-present Nissan efforts.

xSkarloey

Tiguans are for people not savvy enough to realise a Golf in most of its versions is the best VW. 

@randella The C6 was (is?) a French Government fleet car. I've seen them bombing round Paris. They have presence, of that there's no doubt. 

randella

Jimbro66 said:

The world of SUVs/MPVs seems blighted with ugly cars, possibly a trend started by the pre-2004 Fiat Multipla, and in fairness the Tiguan is quite a way down the ugly list. My comment in that car park was more a reaction to the guy marching over to me with his chest all puffed out. Whether he was warning me off nicking his car, fishing for compliments or perhaps hoping I might join him in the loo I don't know. Either way, my comment sent him off with a face like a smacked bum. But normally I'll be the first to acknowledge that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

To me the Tiguan is just another bland VW and a school-run car but if that's what you like it's your money.

Oh Christ, the Multipla, again I had a lot of admiration for the designers, but they were bloody horrible.  Apparently they really did drop to bits in front of your eyes to boot.  I recently saw a Scorpio - there can't be too many of those about still.  God-alone knows what drugs they were handing out at Ford R&D that day.

@Jimbro66 - I wasn't having a go at the story by the way, I can't stand passive-aggressive knobheads any more than you

randella

Skarloey said:

@randella The C6 was (is?) a French Government fleet car. I've seen them bombing round Paris. They have presence, of that there's no doubt.

@Skarloey - brilliant, I bet the Government got a nicely-brokered deal there.  "How much for a shedload of these big waftmobiles that literally no-one else will buy?"

Still, the French Government were never going to drive around in Audis I guess

Jimbro66

randella said:

Oh Christ, the Multipla, again I had a lot of admiration for the designers, but they were bloody horrible.  Apparently they really did drop to bits in front of your eyes to boot.  I recently saw a Scorpio - there can't be too many of those about still.  God-alone knows what drugs they were handing out at Ford R&D that day.

@Jimbro66 - I wasn't having a go at the story by the way, I can't stand passive-aggressive knobheads any more than you

No probs mate, I didn't take it that way at all. BTW there was a great thread about ugly cars on this forum some months ago here.

BigMonka

Are there good deals on the second hand VW market due to the emissions scandal and them having to be recalled for the mods? My boss got a really bad trade-in figure when getting rid of his touareg a couple of months back.

Budgie

Dunno if it's relevant but I had to tow one off a beach once with me Disco. It was totally stuck.

Sporky

Skarloey said:

Tiguans are for people not savvy enough to realise a Golf in most of its versions is the best VW. 

What about people not savvy enough to realise that the Tiggy is built on the same platform as the Golf?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_A_platform#A5_.28PQ35.29

Budgie said:

Dunno if it's relevant but I had to tow one off a beach once with me Disco. It was totally stuck.

I once towed a Disco out of a ditch with my Yeti.

Budgie

Sporky said:

Skarloey said:

Tiguans are for people not savvy enough to realise a Golf in most of its versions is the best VW. 

What about people not savvy enough to realise that the Tiggy is built on the same platform as the Golf?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_A_platform#A5_.28PQ35.29

Budgie said:

Dunno if it's relevant but I had to tow one off a beach once with me Disco. It was totally stuck.

I once towed a Disco out of a ditch with my Yeti.

Did it have a boat and trailer attached to it?

Sporky

Budgie said:

Sporky said:

I once towed a Disco out of a ditch with my Yeti.

Did it have a boat and trailer attached to it?

No, but it did have quite a lot of hedge wrapped around it. I think he overcooked it on a snowy road.

I strongly suspect that more discos have rescued Tiggies/Yetis than the other way around.

Budgie

Haha, Yeah probably... actually the bloke I towed refused at first and was a right grumpy so-and-so about it until I pointed out the tide was coming in and even then wasn't keen. Odd really. I had a pre-Defender LR that had to be pulled from a ditch once though, although that was from a tractor.

BigMonka

Budgie said:

Sporky said:

Skarloey said:

Tiguans are for people not savvy enough to realise a Golf in most of its versions is the best VW. 

What about people not savvy enough to realise that the Tiggy is built on the same platform as the Golf?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_A_platform#A5_.28PQ35.29

Budgie said:

Dunno if it's relevant but I had to tow one off a beach once with me Disco. It was totally stuck.

I once towed a Disco out of a ditch with my Yeti.

Did it have a boat and trailer attached to it?

No, but Jeremy Clarkson was landing a helicopter on the roof of Sporky's Yeti at the time  )

Sporky

The helicopter landings are a bit irritating but don't happen too often.

What's really annoying is trying to get Sienna Miller out of the glovebox. Best way I've found is a bit pair of mole grips.

paul_c2

4x4s are basically pointless unless you are in the 1% of people who might actually need one - and even then, there is a slim window of opportunity to use one, before (weather) conditions means its too marginal. I used to own one (well, a few over the years) but never needed it on public roads - they're either gritted, or its too poor condition to clear it so the road is closed. Admittedly I am in NW and we don't really get significant snowfall, it may be different in other parts of the country. When the big freeze came a number of years ago, 4x4s caused as many problems as they solved because inexperienced people continued to use closed roads, then got stuck, etc etc thinking their 4x4 is invincible. A regular 4x4 is no better than any other car when braking anyway - all cars use all their wheels during braking for corners etc. And, the vast majority of 4x4s have unsuitable tyres for actual off road situations. Fitting proper tyres transforms it, but compromise on-road use quite a bit.

Using on "green lanes" is closing down as a hobby, many lanes have been closed or restricted further; and many are abused when conditions get poor and "mudlarks" decide to try get through anyway and severely chew them up, or go off-piste and do further damage etc.

I used mine on a farm (I worked on a farm) including some heavy towing work every now and again. But even then, its possible to arrange things to not need a 4x4 on a farm - if its just to go get the cows, or fill up a trough with a couple of bags of feed, use a quad instead - far less ground damage, far more flexible eg can use narrow lanes etc, far more economical. And if there's towing to-from market, use a transport company or if close enough, a tractor.

Sporky

paul_c2 said:

4x4s are basically pointless unless you are in the 1% of people who might actually need one

I disagree. When I bought my first Yeti I test drove it and a FWD car with the same engine; the FWD one scrabbled out of junctions whereas the Yeti just went. Much safer. The better traction also helps if you tow. The extra ground clearance means no scrapes over the badly made forest tracks around here - and I'm only in Surrey (though I'll happily concede that a FWD one would deal with that perfectly well).

paul_c2 said:

When the big freeze came a number of years ago, 4x4s caused as many problems as they solved because inexperienced people continued to use closed roads, then got stuck, etc etc thinking their 4x4 is invincible.

That's an argument against people who are poor drivers, not against 4x4s. In the last big freeze I got home when most of the people in my office didn't.

paul_c2 said:

A regular 4x4 is no better than any other car when braking anyway - all cars use all their wheels during braking for corners etc. 

But considerably better at cornering. Quite often the weight balance is better in a 4x4, and the extra transmission stuff means a lower centre of gravity.

paul_c2 said:

And, the vast majority of 4x4s have unsuitable tyres for actual off road situations.

Four wheel drive isn't just for offroading. The Yeti was already better than the FWD car I had before it when it was snowy - more traction and more ground clearance, whereas the car dug itself into the snow, or rode up, lifted its front wheels and couldn't go anywhere. With winter tyres as well the Yeti was pretty much unstoppable, except with the brakes, which stopped it very nicely.

Winter tyres make more difference than four wheel drive, but four wheel drive is a genuine improvement when the roads are a bit damp and slippery.