Yahoo Autos 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan Tries to Be a Wagon Alternative
It's 2019, and we're living at a time when SUVs and crossovers rule the road, while cars, even good ones, are being left to rot on dealer lots as American consumers continue to focus on extra ground clearance and higher seating heights. Take the case of the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan, which will be the displaced VW station wagon buyer's next likely choice now that the brand has announced it is discontinuing the Golf SportWagen and Golf Alltrack models in the United States. There's even rumblings that not even the 10Best-worthy hatchback model will make the cut when the eighth-generation Golf debuts this fall.
Luckily, the Tiguan is a compact SUV we quite like. It's spacious, offers plenty of cargo space, and can be had with an optional third row of seats. In the past, it's proven to be adequately deft at tackling curvy roads, although no one should expect Golf levels of driver involvement. To help determine if the Tiguan can serve as a suitable replacement for our beloved long-roofed Golfs, we hit the road and the test track with a loaded 2019 SEL Premium R-Line model with 4Motion all-wheel drive.
Sporty Presentation
Splurging for one of the R-Line models adds racier exterior styling bits such as a unique front grille and a restyled front bumper with a lower-hanging front fascia. An abundance of R-Line badges both inside and out ensure you won't forget which trim level you opted for. SEL R-Line models come with 19-inch aluminum wheels, but our example was fitted with dark-finished 20-inch rollers, which helped lend it a handsome, upscale, and sporty appearance.
Unlike the exterior, the Tiguan's cabin is hardly changed by the R-Line treatment. Our test car featured vibrantly contrasting black-and-orange leather upholstery that also is available on non–R-Line Tiguans. Fortunately, the Tiguan's cabin already is fairly attractive, and our model was stocked with luxury features, including a heated steering wheel, ambient lighting, dual-zone automatic climate control, a digital instrument cluster, a huge panoramic sunroof, a Fender premium audio system, and touchscreen infotainment with navigation. Its only option was the $595 third-row seat, which works well enough in a pinch, but we wouldn't recommend counting on the rearmost chairs to house real adults for any length of time.
Lazy but Practical
Racy looks will only get you so far, though, and this VW definitely does not have the performance to impress at the test track. We dogged the last all-wheel drive Tiguan we tested for its languid 9.1-second zero-to-60-mph time and a 16.9-second quarter-mile pass. This R-Line model is slower still, crawling to 60 mph in a lengthy 9.7 seconds and hitting just 81 mph as it passed the quarter-mile marker in 17.3 seconds. Compare that to the last Golf Alltrack we tested, which reached 60 mph more than two seconds quicker.
Yet, the Tiguan does feel peppier on the road than its numbers suggest, especially with its Sport drive mode selected, which sharpens the engine's throttle response and somewhat tempers the eight-speed automatic transmission's tendency to rapidly upshift to top gear for maximum efficiency. The Tiguan also exhibits reasonably good body control and outright composure when driven spiritedly, as well as a decent 0.85 g of lateral grip around the skidpad. Just remember that getting up to highway speeds will test your patience, and that passing maneuvers on two-lane roads require some planning.
Is the Tiguan a suitable alternative to VW's now-discontinued station wagons? Although it's slower—much slower—the Tiguan offers more passenger space, similar cargo capacity, and nearly identical EPA fuel economy estimates to the all-wheel-drive SportWagen and Alltrack. We'll miss those long-roofed cars for their sharper driving dynamics and their novelty in an ever-growing sea of SUVS, but the Tiguan's practicality and appeal are difficult to deny.
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