Pros

• An excellent and quiet ride.
• There is a lot of standard driver-aid technology.
• Room inside and room for bags.
• It is one of the few small SUVs with a third row.

Cons

• I wouldn’t say I like the third-row spot.
• It could be dangerous to use touch-sensitive settings while driving.
• Engines can either turn on and off too slowly or too quickly.

What does the Tiguan do? The turbocharged engine has a good amount of speed. A front-wheel-drive Tiguan got to 60 mph in 8.9 seconds, which is about average for a small SUV with three rows of seats. Conversely, the Tiguan needs help with power distribution and will either not respond at all or too quickly to reasonable calls for more power. This can make it hard to accelerate smoothly at times.

The turning is very accurate and has excellent weighting. If you need to get through a parking lot or a road with many turns, the Tiguan is ready. Also, the brakes are light and straightforward to use. There is no need for you to give halting a second thought. The Tiguan’s emergency stopping could have been better, but it was stable and quiet. This is mainly because the car’s tires don’t grip well.

How comfortable is it inside the Tiguan? Volkswagen put comfort first when they made the Tiguan, and the ride feels almost luxurious. Sharp bumps are nicely smoothed out, and the highway ride keeps your body in good shape while it floats over bumps. Even bigger holes are quickly and quietly fixed.

Once the Tiguan is moving, the car is calm. Even when traveling at high speeds, the engine, the road, and the wind do not produce a significant amount of noise. A rough sound comes from the engine when it starts to move faster from a stop, but it quickly fades into the background. We don’t like the touch-sensitive settings on the temperature system, but it does an excellent job of covering and adjusting the airflow.

Even though the front seats are comfy, we would have liked more airflow and support, especially in the cushions at the bottom. Unless you have small children, the third-row seats aren’t handy. However, the second-row seats on the sides offer good shape and support.

How is the inside? The Tiguan gets top marks for having a flexible driving position and incredible sight. Also, the Tiguan is easy to get in and out of as long as you’re in the front two rows. The doors are huge. You must be very flexible to fit through the small hole to the third row. Also, it takes some work to move the seats in the second row forward.

No matter how short the ride is, people in the third row will not enjoy it. There is little room for knees and heads, even less than in the third row of the Kia Sorento. The seats are very flat and need to be more comfortable. They may also want more room in the second row. If you avoid buying a third-row seat, the Tiguan has much more space in the back.

The Tiguan’s cabin looks like it was made recently. Volkswagen has also leaned too much on touch-sensitive switches instead of buttons, which is a shame. These controls are easy to use when the car is stopped, and we like how the steering wheel controls give us virtual haptic feedback. But using these switches while driving can take your attention away from the road because you have to look for the switch you want instead of just feeling it like you would with a standard button.

How does the tech work? A touchscreen that’s 8 inches has been added to the test car. Interestingly, certain virtual buttons instantly appear on the screen as your hand approaches it. But the features seemed like they needed to be better for the price; it only had the most basic information about the car’s state and some audio displays, but no navigation.

The front seats have two USB-C ports, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are fortunately standard. In our SE R-Line test car, which also had wireless charging, there was only one USB-C port for people in the second row and none for people in the third.

Our tests of several cutting-edge driving tools showed that they worked well and were easy to use. Our only worry was that the adaptive speed control took a long time to react when traffic stopped and started. The Tiguan’s lane-keeping assist works well on straight highways but loses power on sharper turns than mild ones.

What about the storage situation? The space behind the last seat of a Tiguan’s three rows of seats is 12 cubic feet, the same as in other small three-row SUVs. Folding the third row of seats yields 33 cubic feet while folding the second row yields 65.3 cubic feet in the three-row Tiguan. If cargo capacity is more important to you than seat quantity, the two-row Tiguan offers 37.6 cubes when all seats are up and a more generous 73.4 cubes when folded down. These values are similar to those of other two-row compact SUVs, such as the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.

The Tiguan’s center console and door pockets in the front are entirely lined, which prevents rattling. The cup holders are capable of storing various-sized bottles. On top of the dashboard, there’s even a handy tray for sunglasses. The Tiguan does not excel at towing, and if a dealer-installed hitch is installed, its maximum towing capability is only 1,500 pounds. In comparison, the Kia Sorento can haul up to 3,500 pounds.

How efficiently does it consume fuel? The front-wheel-drive Tiguan’s EPA-estimated combined fuel efficiency of 26 mpg is average. The Kia Sorento is similar to that SUV and has an extra 100 horsepower. On the other hand, our test Tiguan achieved a fantastic 30 mpg on Invoice Pricing real-world evaluation route while only requiring 87 octane fuel.

Is the Tiguan a good buy? If you’re willing to pay more for a third row of seats’ greater adaptability, the Tiguan can be a good deal in the compact SUV market. Although competitors provide better materials and features, the Tiguan’s overall appearance and design are upmarket and modern.

Volkswagen offers bumper-to-bumper and engine warranties of four years and 50,000 miles. Roadside support is given for three years and 36,000 miles; complimentary scheduled maintenance is provided for two years and 20,000 miles.

Volkswagen did an excellent job with the Tiguan’s style. This little SUV looks to be more expensive than it is. The driving experience, on the other hand, could be more enjoyable. Although it is a comfortable SUV, driving it is not joyful.

The midlevel SE is more expensive than the base Tiguan S, but the improvements make for the price difference. The updated front seats, power liftgate, wireless Apple and Android connectivity, and dual-zone climate control make daily driving more enjoyable and easy. The synthetic leather interior gives the car a more upscale look. Also, it doesn’t have the tricky capacitive touch buttons on the steering wheel that come with the top SE R-Line Black trim.

Models of the Volkswagen Tiguan

It comes in four trim levels for 2024: S, SE, SE R-Line Black, and SEL R-Line. They all have a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes 184 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque. They also all have an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The S, SE, and SE R-Line Black models all come with front-wheel drive and a third row of seats. All-wheel drive is offered on these models, but the third row isn’t available if you choose it. Every SEL R-Line has two rows of seats, all-wheel drive, and hill slope control.