• Good claimed fuel economy across the range
• Petrol engines need working hard though
• Diesels are the economy heroes of the line-up

How much is it going to cost to run?

The Volkswagen Tiguan has been developed over the years to minimise running costs, and the latest version reflects this. Turbocharging across the board aims to improve power and efficiency from its range of petrol and diesel engines, delivering low running costs.

MPG and CO2

The best blend of performance and fuel economy comes from the 150hp 2.0-litre diesel with front-wheel drive with official economy getting near 60mpg. DSG (automatic) models, with their longer top gear ratios, will be better cruisers, but there’s very little difference in overall economy between automatic and manual models.

In our testing of a 150hp 2.0TDI with four-wheel drive we averaged an impressive 49mpg on two sets of long motorway journeys. Even so, you’ll find plenty of SUVs out there with lower CO2 emissions and the promise of even better economy.

Opting for four-wheel drive models will see fuel economy reduce somewhat, though the Tiguan disconnects the rear wheels from the drivetrain under light loads so the impact isn’t as hefty as it would be on vehicles with a full-time 4WD system. Although this system is impressive, our test journeys would have yielded close to 60mpg without the four-wheel drive gubbins. Makes you wonder whether you really need four-wheel drive.

Those looking for good economy need not discount the petrol versions of the VW Tiguan, though. Our preferred 1.5 TSI Evo model with 150hp returns an impressive figure considering it’s powering a heavy SUV. We averaged a reasonable 38.9mpg during our time of testing in a pre-facelift Tiguan Match.

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The likely fuel economy champion will be the eHybrid, which promises sub-50g/km CO2 emissions and mpg ratings in the hundreds. However, you’ll need to charge up regularly and mainly run on electricity alone to get near the official figures

During our time with the Tiguan R, we saw mpg figures in the low-to-mid twenties on spirited drives, when we made full use of the performance. This did improve when settling down to motorway cruising speeds towards 30mpg, while switching to Comfort mode allows the R to coast for short periods of time and help conserve a little more fuel as well. That’s not much worse than the regular 2.0-litre petrol.

Servicing and maintenance

Volkswagen has a large dealer network in the UK with most towns and cities being covered by a large, well-equipped showroom and workshop. Customer service is rated highly, and in the JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study, VW scored a better-than-average 113 faults per 100 cars – trailing sister brand Skoda, but beating SEAT and Audi.

Volkswagen offers Service and Maintenance Plans for the Tiguan, which will offset the cost of future servicing against an upfront payment, often built in to the finance agreement. The advantage of these is that they will protect you against any future increase in servicing costs, and all work carried out comes with two years warranty and fitted by Volkswagen trained technicians.

How reliable is it?

• Uses tried-and-tested components
• There shouldn’t be much to worry about
• Three-year warranty doesn’t match some rivals
  

Volkswagen has a strong reputation for reliability and there’s no reason to expect the second-generation Volkswagen Tiguan will sully that reputation. Since its launch in 2016, it has been subject to 19 recalls, and you can check the latest status on the gov.uk website.

While the car itself was new at launch, its underpinnings are similarly based on a vast array of VW Group models from the past few years. Similarly, the engines and gearboxes all see regular service in a host of other cars with few significant defects reported. It’s true the revised 4Motion system with Active Control is different from the previous car’s system, but this one is also seeing service in the SEAT Ateca and Skoda Kodiaq.

You can find out what owners have found the VW Tiguan to be like to live with in the Parkers owners reviews.

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Volkswagen’s touchscreen infotainment system can be a little laggy at times, too. We’ve tried several versions across VW, SEAT and Skoda models and it can sometimes be slow to respond, the sat-nav can be a little defiant and sometimes Apple CarPlay will connect and disconnect intermittently. Check that any software updates have been carried out by the dealer under the car’s warranty.

All Tiguans come with Volkswagen’s three-year warranty. This consists of a two-year unlimited mileage warranty, and a further one-year/60,000 mile warranty. This means you’re covered for three years or up to 60,000 miles – whichever comes first.