How much motive energy does a compact crossover really need in Singapore? The MINI Cooper Countryman, for instance, gets by with 120bhp, while the little Daihatsu Terios makes do with just over 100 Japanese ponies. Indeed, power and four-wheel drive are unnecessary in an urban jungle, where the only “mountains” are multi-storey carparks and the only “rivers” are in canals.
Volkswagen probably thinks so, too, which is why it has introduced the 1.4-litre Tiguan. It lacks the 4Motion 4×4 of its 2-litre sibling, while its 150bhp Twincharged motor is 20bhp and 40Nm down on the bigger turbo unit. But it’s even more economical, travelling 2.5km further on every litre of petrol, and the performance remains decent.
Neither pretty nor plush, but this interior is perfectly practical and seemingly durable.
Apart from a little hesitation when moving off on light throttle openings, and occasionally less-than-immediate kickdown, the downsized drivetrain is responsive and effective in the Tiguan. The engine pulls strongly, smoothly, and evenly across the rev band, while sounding sporty at the same time. There are no paddles to work the six gears manually (unlike in the 2-litre), but the leather gear lever is at hand if you ever wish to play “plus-and-minus” shifting. You can also knock said lever into “S” and “sportify” the gearchanges automatically.
Whenever possible, this dual-clutch gearbox will disengage Drive by itself and coast (with the engine idling at just above 750rpm), such as slowing down to a red light with the foot off the throttle pedal. This feature, along with a stop/start system (which is a bit irritating but can be disabled), helps to save petrol.
The rest of the package is classic Tiguan – generous and versatile interior space, a useful set of standard equipment, and plenty of places (including front under-seat drawers) to store loose items. The cabin plastics are plasticky, but they seem sturdy enough. And the ride can get shaky over rough patches of tarmac (at least on the test car’s upsized 18-inch wheels), but the handling is tidy and highway cruising is comfortable (albeit without cruise control).
In summary, the slimmed-down 1.4-litre Tiguan is a low-fat SUV with fairly high carbo in its system.
This story was first published in the February 2013 issue of Torque.
2013 Volkswagen Tiguan 1.4 (A)
ENGINE 1390cc, 16-valves, inline-4, turbocharged
MAX POWER 150bhp at 5800rpm
MAX TORQUE 240Nm at 1500-4000rpm
GEARBOX 6-speed dual-clutch with manual select
0-100KM/H 9.3 seconds
TOP SPEED 193km/h
CONSUMPTION 14.1km/L (combined)
Group Test: New Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 vs Old Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0
Check out our review of the 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan here
