Game, set and Match

New car review
Volkswagen Tiguan MatchVolkswagen Tiguan Match
Volkswagen Tiguan Match

Volkswagen Tiguan Match

by Andy Enright

File this one under What’s Not To Like?

Volkswagen has replaced the Tiguan SE with the Tiguan Match, shaved £450 off the price of its compact SUV while at the same time adding £700 worth of extra equipment.

Touch screen sat nav and 17-inch alloys are just the start. The Tiguan Match is offered with a decent selection of powerplants.

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The petrol engines kick off with the 160PS 1.4-litre TSI unit, available as either a front-wheel drive platform or with 4MOTION all wheel drive.

Should you require a little more zip, try the 180PS 2.0-litre TSI, sold exclusively with drive going to all four corners.

If you’d prefer the torque of a diesel, there’s the 2.0TDI four pot in either 140 or 177PS forms, the former offered with either front or all-wheel drive.

All but the 1.4-litre cars and the front wheel drive 2.0 TDI 140 are offered with the option of a DSG twin-clutch sequential transmission.

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Whether you choose a Tiguan or a Golf probably comes down to how much you value the presence of all-wheel drive.

Should you find yourself in a position where traction is at a premium, you’ll be glad of the Haldex allwheel-drive system and a whole suite of electronic trickery to make the most of that traction advantage.

Ground clearance isn’t too bad but don’t try to get the Tiguan into places where a Freelander might just crawl through. You’ll be requiring a rope.

The Match version of the Tiguan replaces the previous SE model and, to be honest, doesn’t look all that different. Yes, you do get a set of 17-inch ‘New Orleans’ alloy wheels and Match badging but that’s about the sum of the exterior changes.

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Otherwise the recipe is largely the same as the rest of the Tiguan family. This means a rear bench seat that can slide fore and aft by up to 16cm and recline by up to 23-degrees for greater comfort on longer journeys.

As usual in this class of car, three adults would be a little squashed on the back seat but two will have decent standards of head, leg and shoulder room and three kids will be fine.

Out back, there’s 470-litres of total boot space and the option of a ski-hatch for longer items. If that’s not enough, pushing forward the 60:40 split-folded rear bench frees up a total of 1510-litres.

You can carry quite heavy loads too, thanks to a payload capacity of 670kg.

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There’s plenty of room for smaller items both in the under-seat drawers and also under the boot floor, alongside the space-saver spare wheel.

If you want a compact SUV and quite like the image of the Volkswagen Tiguan, this Match version is going to be a very welcome addition to the range.

It would be churlish to grumble at what Volkswagen’s done with this car, improving the value proposition by over £1,000 when the price decrease and equipment additions are taken into consideration.

It should be enough to boost sales by a few units but it’s not going to change the fortunes of the Tiguan markedly, a car that hasn’t really connected with British buyers in quite the way Volkswagen hoped.

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As time has passed, the Tiguan has been gradually polished and preened into something very competitive.

Yes, it can still look anonymous if you choose the wrong colour and with Match prices starting at over £23,000, you can buy bigger and cheaper SUVs elsewhere but if you’ve got the money and have previously ignored the Tiguan, this might well be the time to give it a second chance.

FACTS AT A GLANCE

CAR: Volkswagen Tiguan Match

PRICES: £23,245-£28,740 – on the road

INSURANCE GROUPS: 18E-23E

CO2 EMISSIONS: 139 -199g/km

PERFORMANCE: [2.0 TSI] 0-62mph 7.8s/max speed 134mph

FUEL CONSUMPTION: [2.0 TSI] (combined) 33.2mpg

STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: ABS with brake assist, ESP, twin front, six airbags, fatigue detection system

WILL IT FIT IN THER GARAGE? length/width/height mm 4426/1809/1703

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