AMAZING value 7 seater SUV - and it's NOT from China, Korea or Japan! VW Tiguan
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00:00Did you know you can get a Volkswagen 7-seater for less money than the equivalently sized Kia,
00:04Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Nissan and even some Chinese rivals? That's right,
00:10the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace offers plenty of value for money in some grades,
00:14this one not so much. I'm going to run you through the range in this review,
00:17if you haven't already please like and subscribe and let's get to it.
00:20Earlier in 2024, Volkswagen decided to cut the prices for its Tiguan Allspace variants.
00:31Now, that means that you're getting 7 seats for the price of a 5-seater, so you could choose the
00:365-seat Tiguan, which is now in run-out because there's an all-new version coming soon, and
00:41there's the 7-seat Tiguan Allspace for the same amount of money across most variants. Now, there
00:46are 4 different versions of the Tiguan Allspace to choose from. The entry-level version is called
00:51the 110 TSI Life, it's about $45,000 before on-road costs, and it seems to stack up as pretty
00:57good value for money. If you're okay with getting a smaller turbocharged petrol engine and front
01:01wheel drive only, it could be a good choice for you, but if you want the same sort of spec but
01:05you want all-wheel drive, there's the 132 TSI Life as well, which gets a more powerful turbocharged
01:11petrol engine and the all-wheel drive system that you need. Now, there's also heaps of standard spec
01:17across those grades, things like LED lights, alloy wheels and keyless entry and push-button start,
01:22you've got climate control, you've also got some really good features on the inside,
01:26wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on all grades as well, so there's heaps of really nice
01:30stuff in all versions of this vehicle. And then if you want, well, a few more features, there's a
01:35couple of extra grades to choose from with more grunt as well. The 162 TSI Elegance is the next
01:41model up the range, you'll see the price for it on your screen now, and it adds a fair few extra
01:45features that you might really appreciate and, I mean, it's a bit more of a luxury take on this
01:50seven-seat family SUV. And then there's this one here, which is the 162 TSI R-Line, it's the sportier
01:56version, it gets a few features that you don't get in any of the other models, different body kit,
02:01it gets 20-inch wheels and it also gets different elements to the drive experience too. I'll get to
02:06them when we get inside the car and go for a drive, but hey, I've got some alternatives that you might
02:10want to consider, although this does stack up really well from a value for money perspective,
02:14even in the higher grade versions.
02:18Right now my favourite alternative to this is the Hyundai Santa Fe, and it's a hybrid-only
02:23range at this point in time, although at the end of 2024 there will be a turbo petrol version
02:28available as well if that's what you want, and it's going to be cheaper as well, so that might
02:32be perfect for you and your budget because, look, the prices for the new generation Santa Fe are up
02:37quite a bit, and you're looking at, well, almost $80,000 if you want the top spec version. This car
02:43is a lot less money than that, but hey, I think that the Santa Fe does cut its own sort of stance
02:50in the market. It looks fantastic in my opinion, lots of people don't like the design of it, but I
02:54think it looks really cool, and it's fantastically spacious on the inside and really practical as
02:58well. Make sure you check out my full detailed review, the link's in the description. You'll also
03:02find links down there for my Kia Sorento reviews, so I've done a hybrid review and I've also done
03:08the diesel and petrol review. I think that the diesel is still the best pick in that range because
03:14it just seems to make a lot of sense. You can get it in more variants across the range. It offers
03:18great value in some grades, but again, it also gets pretty expensive if you want it as a hybrid or as
03:23the plug-in hybrid which is available. Again, you're approaching $75,000-$80,000 for that version
03:29if that's what you want, but hey, you can't get any hybrids in this cast. There's another option
03:33that I reckon you should go and check out as well, the Skoda Kodiaq. Now, it is obviously from the
03:38same family as the Volkswagen, has all the lovely elements that you would expect, and the final
03:43versions of the current generation Kodiaq are on sale right now. There's an all-new Kodiaq coming
03:49in 2025 and it's going to be a really impressive thing, no doubt, because the existing one didn't
03:54even feel like it needed to be replaced, it was that good. So, tell me which one of those you
03:58would pick, would you choose something different? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear from you.
04:04From the front, it kind of looks like any other Tiguan, but when you look at it in profile you
04:08can tell that the Tiguan Allspace is a bigger vehicle. It's 4.7 metres in length and it has a
04:14longer wheelbase than the standard Tiguan as well, which means a bit more space on the inside, a bit
04:20more ease of access to the third row, which I'll show you when we get inside in a sec, but I want
04:25to show you the back end. There is a slight difference in terms of the design, but it's still
04:29a relatively compact seven-seater for a vehicle like this. Alright, so let's take a look in the
04:35boot and see what we are dealing with here. Electric tailgate on this grade, and look, you can see for
04:40yourself, there is a fair amount of space behind the third row seats, but let's have a look in here
04:46and see what we've got underneath this little covered section here. We have your cargo cover,
04:52which is actually pretty handy, and underneath there, you've got a space saver spare wheel as
04:58well, which is really lovely to see because I reckon that this sort of car should have a spare
05:03wheel. Now, I'll put this back up and I'll just show you the easiest thing about this car is
05:08putting these seats down. It's as simple as going like that, and so long as the seats in front are
05:12in the right spot, you can just push them down, go like this, and now I'm going to show you the
05:17five-seat volume figure for the boot space, and if you are planning to use this as a five-seater,
05:24it is a very, very accommodating boot space. I reckon it could be a really good choice for
05:29someone who is planning to do that. If you just want some bonus seats, they stow away nicely,
05:34and you've got a pretty flat section there to use. Now, let's have a look at some of the amenities in
05:38the very back here. You've got these quick-release levers, so if you do need to fold down those
05:42seats, you can just pull that and they will fold down. As you can see, you've got shopping bag
05:47hooks here. I love that they're shopping bag hooks. You've also got your spot for your cargo cover
05:52there. On the other side, as you can see, for the third row occupants, you've got some cup holders,
05:56and there's no charging ports in the back except for this 12-volt port, so you could run
06:02a little charger that runs through there if you are going to have kids in the back all the time.
06:06On this side, you've also got one of those quick-release levers, and it is a pretty practical
06:11space, I reckon, but hey, the tale of the truth, maybe, when it comes to the third row access.
06:17We'll get to that in a sec, hey?
06:21It might be about to be replaced by an all-new model in the next 18 to 24 months,
06:25but the Tiguan Allspace still feels really, really nice, and I think that the design
06:30is mostly very good. There are some elements that I don't love about the interior of this car,
06:35we'll get to them in a sec, but just have a look at this dashboard display. Obviously,
06:38this is the high-grade version, so it gets the biggest screen, and it gets the big
06:42virtual instrument cluster as well, virtual cockpit or whatever they call it,
06:46and it is a lovely colourful piece of design and tech, and there's a heap of different views
06:50available to you as well, including one with maps and so forth too if you need that,
06:55so you can jump through different elements of this design on the screen, and it really is a
07:00pretty nice piece of tech, I reckon. And obviously, this screen here as well is your infotainment
07:06unit, you've got wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, you've got built-in sat-nav as well
07:11if you want to use it. I've just been using the smartphone mirroring tech because, hey, I think
07:17that it is a pretty decent piece of kit. What I don't love about it is that you don't have physical
07:22dials for the volume controls. There is a gesture control system with this car though, so you can
07:29swipe from side to side and it'll just move for you. That's great, I reckon, in some instances,
07:36but maybe not as good as it could be in others, because you might be one of those people who
07:40gesticulates wildly when they talk. And look, I reckon that this part of the screen is actually
07:46a little bit more difficult. It's a bit hard to actually get your head around some of the menus
07:50on this screen, but if you're like me and you're the sort of person who just uses Apple CarPlay
07:55and... come on, oh, wrong way. There we go. If you just use Apple CarPlay, you might find that
08:02it's perfectly fine for your needs. Right, so some other elements that I'm not so hot on.
08:08There are haptic sort of controls for your climate controls and they are maybe not as good to use as
08:15knobs and dials or buttons would be, but at least you do have things like heating and cooling for
08:20your seats. And as you can see, there's also a little display that comes up if you do want to
08:25use the screen to adjust those elements. Yes, you can have it on heated and cooled at the same time,
08:30which is a bit strange, I reckon. I'll just turn those off. And look, I think that this... you will
08:36get used to it. You've just got to be careful with your touchy-feelys, because if you are a bit heavy
08:41handed or a bit clumsy when it comes to adjusting things, you might not find it to be the simplest
08:45piece of tech to use. I'll just turn the fan off so it's not as noisy. And I reckon that it is still
08:52a pretty nice thing. You don't get heated seats and cooled seats on every version of this car,
08:56so don't go thinking that you buy the base model, you're getting that sort of stuff as well.
09:00You do get it in the top spec, and also in the top spec you get a heated steering wheel. The
09:04button's there, and yes, it's a haptic button. Yes, it's on the steering wheel. Yes, you will bump it,
09:10and you might bump other buttons on the steering wheel as well. I don't love this haptic button
09:15design on Volkswagens, and hey, Volkswagen doesn't even like it. They've replaced it on a bunch of
09:19other cars as well. So, yes, the next generation version of this car, which will be called Tayron,
09:25not Tiguan Allspace, it'll probably have buttons. I hope it does. All right, down here there's a
09:29couple of other conventional controls. This car has a semi-autonomous parking system. I never
09:34actually used that. It's got a surround view camera system in this grade, because this one
09:39has the option pack fitted. So, look, I reckon that if you like the surround view thing, that's
09:45pretty cool. It's a bit of an interesting design. It's not quite as high-tech or usable as some of
09:51the other newer vehicles that have that sort of tech, but I think it's good enough. And you've
09:56also got your drive mode controller down here. So, there are a bunch of different modes available
10:01to you. You've got a snow driving profile. You've also got your dynamic driving profile mode. So,
10:08you can actually go into comfort mode and it will adjust the suspension. There's also progressive
10:12steering in this version. So, if you put it into sporty mode, it actually drives pretty sporty,
10:17and you can change elements of it if you wish through the individual settings. So, you might
10:22want your steering on normal, and you might want your drive mode to be sporty. You might want your
10:27dynamic chassis control to be comfortable, and that would be a pretty good mix, I reckon. But, hey,
10:32look, there's a bit more to talk about with the drive experience soon. Down here, you've got a
10:37pair of cup holders, and they're these clever ones which you can push away. So, you can have a bit
10:41more of a storage tray there if you wish. Instead, we can just push those buttons and they pop out
10:45nicely. I love that. Put the key there as well, because I don't really know where else to put it.
10:49Oh, you've got a wireless phone charger down there. That's why the key isn't down there.
10:52USB-C ports down there, too. There's a small covered centre console bin. Small is the operative
10:58there. And down in the doors, there are lined bottle holders, which is really nice to see. You
11:03do get a decent-sized glove box. Not huge, but big enough for this sort of car, I reckon. And here,
11:08you've also got these lovely seats, which are sports seats with the R embroidery on them as well.
11:15And because this is the high-grade version, it also gets the big panoramic glass roof as an
11:22option. You have to pay extra for it, which is a bit rude, I reckon. Lots of new cars have big
11:28glass roofs at no extra cost, especially if you're paying this kind of money, because this is a
11:33rather expensive version of this car. Okay, so I reckon that it is a pretty nice cabin.
11:38Let's check out the second row space and see what we are dealing with.
11:42Oh, have a crack at that. That's barely any leg room. That's terrible. Actually, that's because
11:48I've slid the seat forward to a much more accommodating space for anyone in the third
11:53row. But if I slide it back, if you're using this as a five-seater, you have plenty of space. Look
11:57at that. This seat is set for me at 182 centimetres, six foot tall. I've got heaps and heaps
12:02of knee room in front. Lots of foot room as well. I could have a dance party under there. There's
12:07mat pockets and device holders on both seats. You've also got climate control down here and
12:13heated outboard seats as well. USB-C port, directional vents, and this seat also slides
12:21forward on the other side as well. So it's a 60-40 split, so you can actually slide that seat
12:26forward if you need to make better space for whoever's in the very back row. And also, you're
12:31getting things like a flip-down armrest with cup holders too. And I reckon that it is a pretty nice
12:36back seat experience. Big bottle holders again with lining in there as well. Nice finishing on
12:42the doors as well, and ambient lights, which my little girl absolutely loved. That's why they're
12:47in purple. Now, headspace. Look at it. Heaps and heaps. Anyone 6'3", 6'4", might find it a little
12:54bit cramped. Someone my height, just on six foot, I reckon it's pretty good. All right, I'm going to
12:58show you this third row situation. Right, so this is the smaller portion of the seat. So this is the
13:0440 side, that's the 60 side. It's probably more like 70-30, but if you are putting a child seat
13:09on that side, which is where I put my daughter's seat, you might find that it is a little bit
13:13annoying to have to bring someone around to this side, to the road side essentially, and put them
13:19in the back. But hey, I guess that you have to deal with it, or you could just put your kid's seat on
13:24this side anyway. Also, ISOFIX points, window seats, and three top tethers as well. But let's have a
13:30look in the third row now. I used to think that there was only one way to get into the back here,
13:34and that was to pull that lever. That will just fold that seat back down. But if you pull up on
13:39this tab here, you can actually push and slide that seat forward. That makes it a fair bit easier
13:45to get in. So let's have a look. This is not going to be fun. Just have a look at how much space I've
13:50got there. Not very much. Okay, I've set the middle row seat to a position where I would be comfortable-ish
13:58for a short trip. Not comfortable-comfortable, but ish. And look, that's about as much space as I had
14:05when I was sitting behind my own driving position. But if you've got a shorty who's the person who's
14:09driving, you might actually be okay to slide that a little bit further forward, because they'll be
14:14further forward, and then you'll have sort of enough space back here, at least in terms of
14:18legroom. But headroom, it's tight. It is not ideal for anyone sort of 170 centimeters or taller, I
14:26would say. And in fact, if you are planning to use it as a permanent seven-seater, there are
14:31definitely better options out there in terms of overall third row accommodation and the experience
14:37back here. But just keep in mind that you can fit two extra people in the back if you need to,
14:42and if you don't, you can fold those seats down, and it's a pretty good occasional seven-seater.
14:46But occasional, I would say, is the important element there. There are no child seat anchor
14:51points in the third row, so you can't use it as a proper family three-rower. But I don't think
14:56that really matters. I don't think that's what this car is trying to be. And look, you do get
15:01a decent sort of seating position back here. It's not too uncomfortable. You've got cup holders or a
15:07couple of storage sections over here, and your view out is not too bad. You do get the sort of
15:13stadium vibe in the very back here as well. No charging port, as I said, in the boot section,
15:18but you could run a cable through if you needed to. And I think that it's okay. It's just not
15:23brilliant.
15:27Righto, let's talk powertrains for this model range, and it is what basically delineates the
15:32different variants in the lineup. So the entry-level version, the 110 TSI, it's a
15:36downsized turbocharged petrol engine, still with pretty decent power and torque outputs,
15:41but it has a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and it's front-wheel drive only,
15:45so it might not necessarily be ideal for your needs. As I said, step up from there to the 132
15:51TSI Life, you're getting a more powerful engine, and also you're getting a seven-speed dual-clutch
15:56automatic transmission, and that all-wheel drive system, like I said, which you might need,
16:00you might not. Really depends on your situation. And then there are a couple of high-grade versions,
16:06the 162 TSI variants. This is one of them. Gets a two-litre turbocharged petrol engine with 162
16:12kilowatts, as you probably guessed by now. Decent amount of torque as well, all-wheel drive,
16:17seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. It's the fastest one of the lot, no doubt,
16:21and it might be the most refined and enjoyable one of the lot as well, but it really depends
16:25on what you need if you're looking for a seven-seat SUV. And when it comes to towing capacity,
16:30there are some considerations that you need to keep in mind. I'll put the numbers on your screen
16:34now so you can see for yourself. Yeah, let's go for a drive, shall we?
16:40As I've mentioned a couple of times in this review so far, this car is the high-grade
16:44version. So it's the 162 TSI R-Line all-wheel drive, the faster, sportier one. In fact,
16:52the R-Line adds a few extra features like the progressive steering and the adaptive chassis
16:57control and those 20-inch wheels with continental tyres. All of that makes this a pretty driver
17:03friendly car. In fact, a pretty driver-focused car. As I mentioned, there are a few different
17:07drive modes to choose from. I'm in comfort mode right now because I'm about to drive down Bumpy
17:11Street. That's not the name of the street, it's just a street near me that is less than pleasant
17:17when it comes to the ride comfort. And look, it is coasting beautifully over this. It's got a
17:23slightly firm edge to it. I think that's just a Volkswagen characteristic, but it does sort of
17:29lope along really beautifully. And yes, it's got 20-inch wheels with low-profile tyres, but
17:35you wouldn't know it in comfort mode. If you do put it into one of the sportier drive modes,
17:39you can feel it because it's got the adaptive suspension and there's a sport mode that does
17:44firm things up quite a bit as well. Speaking of which, there's also progressive steering
17:49with this car. So if you do want to have the sportiest drive experience possible,
17:53you just flick the switch and go to sport mode and or into the individual mode and configure it that
17:59way so you can have it as sporty as you like. And I like that there is that element of tailoring
18:04that you can do to the drive experience in this car. It's got a lovely chassis tune to it,
18:10so it's beautiful in terms of the way that it changes direction. Even in comfort mode,
18:15it's really quite enjoyable to drive. And it's also very, very fast if you do put it into
18:21one of the sportier driving modes. So I'll put it into sport right now. And 162 kilowatts is no
18:26shortage of kilowatts. Yeah, it gets along pretty well, I reckon. It's pretty zesty
18:32and it's got a pretty smart seven-speed dual clutch auto as well. With the all-wheel drive
18:36system, it really does sort of throw you out of corners when you need to be accelerating
18:42with a bit of pace. Look, it's not a Tiguan R. If you want a Tiguan R, you better get your skates
18:49on because it's basically done. But it was basically a performance SUV. This is not a
18:55performance SUV. It's just a faster, more lovable version of the Tiguan Allspace. And I've driven
19:01other versions as well, and I reckon that most of them are actually pretty good. The 110 TSI
19:06base model with the six-speed dual clutch, I'm not as fond of, but I do think that it could make
19:12sense to you if you're on a strict budget and you want a seven-seater. You want it to be a German
19:18branded vehicle because, hey, for the money, it's really hard to argue that that isn't a great value
19:24option. So the engine has plenty of grunt. The seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission
19:30is very snappy in terms of its gear shifts and very, very likeable and usable in most situations.
19:36It's just when you come up to a T-intersection or something like that and you're in one of the
19:40sedate driving modes, I'm in eco mode right now, that at times it can just be a little bit laggy
19:46to take away from a standstill. But it's only really noticeable if you are hammering it from
19:52a standstill. And look, I don't drive like that normally. It's just if you're in a hurry to get
19:57across an intersection or something like that, you might notice it. And I don't necessarily think
20:01that you need to spend up to this version to get the best drive experience, but obviously there are
20:06some elements of the R-Line experience that do make it a bit more driver focused. So it could
20:11be right for you. It just depends on what your priorities are. But it's just a really liveable
20:16car. It's got really sweet steering that's direct and accurate. You don't have to think, you just
20:21turn and it does exactly what it should. And also it doesn't have any of those annoying safety
20:26nannies that make it, well, tedious to live with. There is a lane keeping system which you can disable
20:31by hitting the end of the stalk and then a button here as well. But look, you get used to all of the
20:38idiosyncrasies very easily and you don't have to dive too deep into the tech in order to disable
20:44things that you don't like. And against some of the new rivals, that makes this a bit of a sweet
20:49vehicle, I reckon. All right, on your screen you'll see a few different numbers popping up
20:55in this section. So we'll talk about the entry level 110 TSI first. The official combined cycle
21:01fuel consumption figure for it is on your screen now. And look, obviously the least powerful engine,
21:08it's pretty good on fuel. But hey, it's also maybe not the most joyful experience. And then there's
21:14the 132 TSI Life. You'll see the number for it on your screen. A little bit higher, a bit more power
21:19and torque, a bit of a penalty to pay there. It's not too bad though, I don't think. And then the
21:24162s and they are a bit more performance oriented. And look, if you can achieve that number, I think
21:30you'll be pretty happy. Over my time with this car, a week of testing, you'll see what I saw
21:35across a mix of driving, the same sort of stuff you might do. Urban, mixed roads, highways, freeways,
21:41all that sort of stuff. But I think that that's not too bad a result. What do you think? Just keep
21:47in mind, you also need to fill this thing up with 95 RON premium unleaded petrol and you'll see the
21:52fuel tank capacity on your screen now. So you can do the maths as to how far you might get on your
21:58hundreds of dollars of petrol. This car used to have a five-star ANCAP safety rating, but it expired
22:06in 2023. That gives you an idea that this isn't the newest family SUV on the market, but it still
22:12comes comprehensively equipped with heaps of standard safety technology and equipment. And
22:16none of it's annoying, which is a big thumbs up from me. All right, so it's got autonomous emergency
22:21braking, there's also lane keeping assistance, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert,
22:26there's adaptive cruise control for all grades as well, which is good to see. You've got a reversing
22:31camera and front and rear parking sensors too, and those parking sensors also have this feature
22:35called manoeuvre braking, which can actually stop the car from hitting something or someone if it
22:40thinks you're going to and you aren't paying attention, which is really, really handy tech.
22:45The main thing that I don't love about this car in terms of the safety stuff is that a surround
22:50view camera system is only available as an option and only in the top two specs, so that's not
22:56fantastic. Now, what about airbag coverage? So you've got dual front, front side and full length
23:02curtain coverage as well. Volkswagen Australia offers a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty,
23:10which is good for the class, and hey, there's also a five-year pre-paid service plan available for
23:16this vehicle, but it depends on which version you choose as to how much that service plan will cost.
23:22None of them are cheap. I'll put all the prices on your screen now for each of the different versions
23:27and it varies by the powertrain that you choose, but no matter which one you choose, if you do go
23:32for a pre-paid service plan, it'll save you hundreds and hundreds of bucks compared to if
23:36you pay as you go for your servicing. So you can roll it into your finance costs, and there's also
23:40a guaranteed future value offering from Volkswagen as well. It's called Volkswagen Choice, and if you
23:45elect to opt for that with your finance plan, it means you can guarantee how much the car will be
23:50worth at the end of your loan term, so that's kind of good to see as well. And if you service with
23:56Volkswagen, you also get roadside assistance topped up each time you go back. Good to see.
24:04Look, this top-spec R-Line model with all-wheel drive is definitely fun to drive and definitely
24:09pretty punchy as well, but I don't think you need to spend this much to get a really good Tiguan
24:13Allspace. In fact, in the entry-level versions, I think you're getting a lot of value for money,
24:18more than Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and even some Chinese SUVs. So, I reckon that it does
24:24stack up pretty well, but tell me what you think about it in the comments section below. Would you
24:27go for a Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace? If you have one already, what do you think about it? Let me
24:31know, I'd love to hear from you, and if you haven't already, please like and subscribe, and I'll see you
24:34in the next one!
24:43you