If there were a book called ‘The Art of Car’, the new Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line could be on the cover page. It is so well engineered – in terms of NVH (noise, vibration, harshness), power delivery, driving pleasure, suspension, handling – that you wouldn’t desire anything else in a car.
But take a test drive, and you may realise that there is much more to engineering when it comes to a car.
What is it?
The Tiguan R-Line is a high-performance SUV – fitted with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine that churns out 204 PS of power and 320 Nm of torque. At 4,539 mm in length, 1,859 mm in width, and 1,656 mm in height, it is slightly bigger than Hyundai Creta and smaller than Skoda Kodiaq.
How does it drive?
Oh, it’s lovely! Start the engine, and you won’t hear any sound or feel any vibrations. The gearlever is a stalk on the right side of the steering wheel – flick it from P to D or S, look at the road ahead, and press the accelerator.
After that, it’s mayhem.
It is so fast that it will appear that everything around is being fast-forwarded. But there no loss of traction, no body-roll, no unnecessary noise, and braking is super-effective. Take the sharpest of hairpin turns, and the Tiguan R-Line will just stay flat, composed. The seats seem to hug you, and the cage-like body-shell seems like it can smash the Hulk.
Observe this beauty from just about anywhere, and it feels like the pinnacle of engineering, so good that it feels overengineered.
What’s missing?
At Rs 48.99 lakh, ex-showroom (almost Rs 56 lakh, on-road), a lot of things are missing.
– Seat adjustment is manual, when even Rs 15 lakh cars nowadays are getting electric seats;
– Tall central tunnel means the rear seating area is good for two adults, not three;
– The central console doesn’t have a closed area;
– Boot close button is manual, not electric;
– It doesn’t get ventilated seats (I really missed these in the month of May);
– Lastly, it doesn’t have keyless entry – i.e., you cannot approach the car with the key in your pocket, open the door, and drive. You have to hold the key, press the unlock button, open the door, start, and drive.
Should you buy it?
At its price, you can buy a much bigger SUV (Toyota Fortuner), a slightly bigger SUV with the same engine but with seven seats (the Kodiaq), or truly advanced electric SUVs (Hyundai Ioniq 5 or BMW iX1 Long Wheelbase).
The Tiguan R-Line is for someone who loves to drive, knows how to handle high-performance cars, and doesn’t want to spend a bomb on high-quality cars by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, or Audi. But if you are mostly driving on clogged urban roads, or if you have a driver and mostly spend time on the rear seat, there are far more comfortable and affordable options around.
