2009 Volkswagen Tiguan

With a six-speed stick, the Tiguan S feels noticeably quicker. While we don’t have the stopwatch numbers to support our suspicion, the 234 lb. weight differential—coupled with the greater control of the manual gear box—makes sense of this seat-of-the-pants assessment. Winding up the free-revving engine, darting around corners, the front-drive Tiguan makes its ‘GTI with a backpack’ case stick. Gas mileage estimates for the FWD/stick combo have not yet been established.

Styling and Interior

Tiguan’s styling is deceptive. The car appears smaller from the outside than it is inside. Slide behind the wheel, though, and it’s a different story. The front seats have enough travel to accommodate a basketball player, and there’s sufficient space overall for four six-footers and a load of cargo. Two-toning of colors and mixing of textures nicely breaks up the dash plastics. Controls and gauges are arranged simply and sensibly. Seats are comfortable, adjustable and handsomely covered. The rear seats are notably gymnastic. In addition to the standard split-and-fold capability, they also slide fore and aft and recline. This, in concert with a fold-flat front-passenger seat gives the driver plenty of cargo hauling options.


The cargo bay measures a generous, 23.8 cubic feet, expandable to 56.1 cubic feet. The one-piece liftgate swings high out of the way, and the floor liftover height is comfortably low. Notable options include a wide-sized moonroof and a newly designed navigation system. The former allows almost 13 square feet of sunshine inside. Detents in a rheostat switch allow you to open it to precise spots without fussing, and the pop-up wind blocker does a nice job of scouring out any sonic “boominess” from the cabin.


The newly designed nav system has a 6.5-inch touch screen and a straightforward layout. Available Sirius radio content includes real time traffic information for select markets. The view behind projects onto the screen ahead when in reverse, and the optical drive will play DVDs when the car is parked. On our interior wish list: slide-forward capability for the center console cover/armrest and a pull-up parking brake.


Volkswagen continues to take a head-on approach to rooting out niggling initial quality issues of years past. The company’s new initiative effectively puts their money where their mouth is. Included with all 2009 VWs is free, standard scheduled maintenance for the length of the 3 year/36,000 mile warranty period. This corporate vote of confidence simply adds incentive for compact crossover buyers to save a spot for Tiguan on their short list. It’s right-sized inside and out, and effectively channels enough of the GTI’s sportiness to be truly fun to drive. That, and some good marketing, should be enough to get Tiguan’s foot in the door of the crowded, compact crossover party. (www.vw.com)

About the Author
A native of New York’s Hudson River Valley, Dan Lyons has been reviewing cars in print and online for the past 20 years.