My Tiguan has arrived and this is my experience so far

[REXman]

Self respecting is the key word.. or "bills to pay" is probably the culprit.


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[Ozsko]

Bills to pay never concerned journos years ago so why should it be any different now. If it had a problem they said so unlike today where barely a criticism ever gets uttered.

[JB286]

After a very long wait I finally managed to get my hands on my 162 R-Line with DAP and Sunroof.

I picked it up on Thursday afternoon and have spent a bit of time getting used to it, learning about it, finding out what else I need to know and driving it on regular work and weekend duties.

My thoughts so far:

Overall

It is an impressive overall package with all the options and looks amazing with the R-Line package. The 20inch wheels look fantastic and really give the car a sporty and muscular presence on the road. The sunroof for me is a must have as once you stow the inside blind, the car becomes much lighter and feels a lot more spacious. I also love driving with windows open but sometimes the noise can become too much, the sunroof means I can get the fresh air without having to open the windows. It has also been great for letting all the hot air out of the car after sitting at cricket for most of the day. The headlights are super impressive, extremely white light and great range. Haven't really tested the dynamic hi beams or the auto dimming (I don't think I have anyway) but the normal lights are fantastic.

Negatives
Will get this bit out of the way first. Requested the tow bar option but when we went to pick it up we were told that there was a software issue and that the delivery would be delayed. From what I was told they were unable to get the towing updates into my car and this was a known issue from VW Australia. This then meant that they weren't willing to let me have the full tow bar until they have the software update sorted. So they went to pull the tow bar tongue off and then took it for a test drive only for the ACC to play up so they asked us to come back in 30 mins while they sorted it. We returned an hour later and still not fixed so we sat around for another 30 mins or so until it was finally sorted. So no tow bar and not really the greatest delivery experience. And as we found out later, probably less than half a tank of petrol included.

Positives
Sport mode is awesome!! If I wasn't paying for petrol, that is where it would live all the time. I prefer the tighter suspension and the better response from the throttle but the gears hold on for just a bit too long to be used in normal operations. Active Cruise Control is also fantastic once you get used to it and have used it pretty much every time I get in the car now. It is also very spacious and comfortable, the R-Line seats feel fantastic to me but YMMV. I love the Virtual Cockpit once I sorted out my driving profile and getting the information that I want on display.

I am very happy with the car, the boot space could be a little bit more as it struggled with two (admittedly massive) cricket kits without having to fold a seat down. I wish the Virtual Cockpit was a little more flexible with customising it (big speed readout on right plus fuel economy on left instead of gear selected for example) and the central infotainment display is a little boring when not in NAV mode. It will take some time to fully understand all of what it can do and how to best use it. We had a 1 hour session being shown how to set everything up and while the guy was great and knowledgeable, it can be information overload. I highly recommend reading the manual.

Driver profiles are fantastic, you can set 3 and it remembers your seat, mirrors and Virtual Cockpit setup so that is one less thing I need to get coded in VCDS and you can also configure the windows to open and close if you hold down the appropriate key button.

I should have got a boot lip protector, that will probably be requested for when I have to take it back in for the tow bar update but apart from that no regrets or concerns. Still thinking about the idea of a tune, not sold just yet for how I use the vehicle but I wouldn't mind upgrading the brakes just for own piece of mind when the time comes to replace the current ones. Apart from that, just need to find a roof rack that can clear the sunroof and she will be already for some camping and road trips.

Hope that this helps people, happy to answer any questions anyone might have!

[Gladbach]

Great write up, thanks. I love reading everyone's reviews. I wasn't aware that the mirror settings, seat settings and active info display settings where all linked to the driver profile - that's great info, and news well received

[Chocolate_Bear]

After a very long wait I finally managed to get my hands on my 162 R-Line with DAP and Sunroof.

I picked it up on Thursday afternoon and have spent a bit of time getting used to it, learning about it, finding out what else I need to know and driving it on regular work and weekend duties.

My thoughts so far:

Overall

It is an impressive overall package with all the options and looks amazing with the R-Line package. The 20inch wheels look fantastic and really give the car a sporty and muscular presence on the road. The sunroof for me is a must have as once you stow the inside blind, the car becomes much lighter and feels a lot more spacious. I also love driving with windows open but sometimes the noise can become too much, the sunroof means I can get the fresh air without having to open the windows. It has also been great for letting all the hot air out of the car after sitting at cricket for most of the day. The headlights are super impressive, extremely white light and great range. Haven't really tested the dynamic hi beams or the auto dimming (I don't think I have anyway) but the normal lights are fantastic.

Negatives
Will get this bit out of the way first. Requested the tow bar option but when we went to pick it up we were told that there was a software issue and that the delivery would be delayed. From what I was told they were unable to get the towing updates into my car and this was a known issue from VW Australia. This then meant that they weren't willing to let me have the full tow bar until they have the software update sorted. So they went to pull the tow bar tongue off and then took it for a test drive only for the ACC to play up so they asked us to come back in 30 mins while they sorted it. We returned an hour later and still not fixed so we sat around for another 30 mins or so until it was finally sorted. So no tow bar and not really the greatest delivery experience. And as we found out later, probably less than half a tank of petrol included.

Positives
Sport mode is awesome!! If I wasn't paying for petrol, that is where it would live all the time. I prefer the tighter suspension and the better response from the throttle but the gears hold on for just a bit too long to be used in normal operations. Active Cruise Control is also fantastic once you get used to it and have used it pretty much every time I get in the car now. It is also very spacious and comfortable, the R-Line seats feel fantastic to me but YMMV. I love the Virtual Cockpit once I sorted out my driving profile and getting the information that I want on display.

I am very happy with the car, the boot space could be a little bit more as it struggled with two (admittedly massive) cricket kits without having to fold a seat down. I wish the Virtual Cockpit was a little more flexible with customising it (big speed readout on right plus fuel economy on left instead of gear selected for example) and the central infotainment display is a little boring when not in NAV mode. It will take some time to fully understand all of what it can do and how to best use it. We had a 1 hour session being shown how to set everything up and while the guy was great and knowledgeable, it can be information overload. I highly recommend reading the manual.

Driver profiles are fantastic, you can set 3 and it remembers your seat, mirrors and Virtual Cockpit setup so that is one less thing I need to get coded in VCDS and you can also configure the windows to open and close if you hold down the appropriate key button.

I should have got a boot lip protector, that will probably be requested for when I have to take it back in for the tow bar update but apart from that no regrets or concerns. Still thinking about the idea of a tune, not sold just yet for how I use the vehicle but I wouldn't mind upgrading the brakes just for own piece of mind when the time comes to replace the current ones. Apart from that, just need to find a roof rack that can clear the sunroof and she will be already for some camping and road trips.

Hope that this helps people, happy to answer any questions anyone might have!



[ATTACH=CONFIG]27969[/ATTACH]

Congrats mate! Nice review ! Thanks for sharing! Car looks sweet !! Good luck with the tow bar and safe driving


Tiguan 162tsi rline (May 2017) - NSW, Northern Beaches

[Beowulf]

Not sure who's car this is as was emailed it from a friend (no idea what happened) but ouch

[Eyes24]

Not sure who's car this is as was emailed it from a friend (no idea what happened) but ouch

[ATTACH=CONFIG]28013[/ATTACH]

Dam, that did last to long.


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[VWVY]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]28013[/ATTACH]

Photo Caption :"My Tiguan has arrived and this is my experience so far"

[tigger73]

I feel sorry for whoever owns this car. Hopefully it's comprehensively insured and that the policy has new for old replacement.

Looks like it's done it's job of protecting it's occupants.

[Eyes24]

I feel sorry for whoever owns this car. Hopefully it's comprehensively insured and that the policy has new for old replacement.

Looks like it's done it's job of protecting it's occupants.

Yep, hope they get a new one to replace it.
But will be a long wait again.


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[Mac135]

in my experience so far- three weeks now there are two things I don't like about the car:

All the assistance stuff - and the beeping that comes with it. I've now turned off every thing I can (short ordering and OBDeleven or VCDS) or turned down everything i can't turn off. If I can't drive, or park by now I never will be able to. I can see lane assist as being useful on long highway trips and will turn it back on on the rare occasion I need it.

The other thing that really annoys me is the speed at which the seat belts retract - if your not careful they almost take your head off and are quite capable of punching a hole in the door card. Its like they have been tensioned to launch an F/A 18 off the USS Enterprise.

That's it two complaints......

[Delewin]

Thanks mac135.
I'll look out for the decapitation devices. Might take some "mates" for a test run. Ha ha.

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[Beowulf]

Photo Caption :"My Tiguan has arrived and this is my experience so far"

I was tempted to post it under the delivery thread, telling people to inspect their cars predelivery ��

[NZ_GolfR]

Here is a couple of cool features I have discovered after about a month of having my 162TSI:

Was getting a bit low on petrol today so thought I would put it in Eco mode for the first time to see if I could stretch out what was left in the tank. Was surprised how well it still drove in Eco mode, was expecting it to sluggish as hell but it still took off from the lights well. It was a bit slower to change down in gear when accelerating but by no means horrible to drive. It was also interesting to see that when you get up to speed and take you foot off the gas pedal it disengages gear and coasts at about 800rpm, as soon as you touch the accelerator or break pedal it instantly kicks back in.

When the fuel light did come on you get a nice message up on the infotainment screen offering to find the nearest petrol station:



Another small but nice touch that I hadn't noticed until today is that when the fuel light is on, the fuel gauge in the Active Info Display changes to show you how many kms left on the tank:



This is what makes me really enjoy the car, constantly finding new things that I didn't know about even after reading everything for 6 months while waiting for the car to arrive.


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[Mac135]

Here is a couple of cool features I have discovered after about a month of having my 162TSI:

Was getting a bit low on petrol today so thought I would put it in Eco mode for the first time to see if I could stretch out what was left in the tank. Was surprised how well it still drove in Eco mode, was expecting it to sluggish as hell but it still took off from the lights well. It was a bit slower to change down in gear when accelerating but by no means horrible to drive. It was also interesting to see that when you get up to speed and take you foot off the gas pedal it disengages gear and coasts at about 800rpm, as soon as you touch the accelerator or break pedal it instantly kicks back in.

When the fuel light did come on you get a nice message up on the infotainment screen offering to find the nearest petrol station:



Another small but nice touch that I hadn't noticed until today is that when the fuel light is on, the fuel gauge in the Active Info Display changes to show you how many kms left on the tank:



This is what makes me really enjoy the car, constantly finding new things that I didn't know about even after reading everything for 6 months while waiting for the car to arrive.


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..........and even better you can nominate your preferred brands which in my case Shell and BP