Took the Tig offroad today (sort of)

[deroman50]

Before I bought my Tig the dealer gave me a copy of reprint of an article in Wheels magazine from September 2008.

Among other things, the comparison test of 8 SUV's involved a session on Stockton Beach, north of Newcastle, NSW. I've driven on Stockton Beach in a Rodeo 4WD and if the Tiguan (and some of the other SUVs) handled the beach as well as they said they did, I am very impressed.

Just to get the Rodeo along the beach access track I had to drop the tyres to 13psi. Given that experience I would be happy enough to drop the Tiguan down to 20 for a start, it being lighter than the Rodeo, but lower if necessary.

Not that I plan on taking my Tig onto Stockton Beach, or along anything requiring proper 4WD unless I find myself forced to, but it's nice to know that the car should get through it if necessary.

By the way, don't ever be tempted to drive the Mountain Lagoon Road in the NSW Blue Mountains in a Tiguan. It's deeply rutted and rocky. I only just got through there in the Rodeo in low 1st for 15 kilometres.


Ian

[patto]

Kyeema, what about Goolwa/Murray Mouth?

Hi Keeyma...

I was wondering if you have taken the Tig on the beach down Goolwa towards the murray mouth??

I am really interested to see if the Tig can handle the sand down there. Its not excessively deep and in most spots quite hard, but as you get closer to the murray mouth, its a little bit soft.

I am looking at buying a Tig but really want to make sure it can do something that that trek.

Have you done it? Are you willing to try??

Cheers, Patto

[Transporter]

I think it should handle it well. Our Forester is OK there (so it was our L series Subie in the past).

[patto]

Thanks Transporter -

I would still like to know if anyone has done that trip in a Tig.
I am a fan of the Haldex 4Motion system but am still a little unsure on how it would handle that softer sand especially with the Tig's relatively low ground clearance.

While I am not a huge Subie fan, I can appreciate their full-time AWD system and that it is a very mature system indeed - not sure about their ground clearance though.

Anyone in SA done the Goolwa to Murray Mouth beach track in a Tig???
Anyone willing to and report back???

Thanks
Patto

[Arctra]

I'm keen on taking my Tig on the sand too. I think the closest place for me to do that is Stockton which is quite far. I have a snatch strap and shovel ready, but need to find someone with a proper 4x4 that is willing to come with me and save me if it's needed.

Any Sydney takers willing to offer a hand?

[patto]

C'Mon Sydney - Do it for the Tig's (and send some water to SA )

No seriously, if you do go Arctra, I would love to hear a re-count on how it went. Some pics/vids would be awesome too if you take some!

Funny thing is, I am in the opposite, I have mates with 4x4's who would go with me, but I (as yet) don't have a Tig.
I really want to make sure I have done all my research before buying - I am soooo close!

Cheers

[Transporter]

Funny thing is, I am in the opposite, I have mates with 4x4's who would go with me, but I (as yet) don't have a Tig.
I really want to make sure I have done all my research before buying - I am soooo close!

Cheers

VW Haldex 4Motion system is as good as other AWD or better. Just look at the Dakar rally results.

I'm also in the market for compact SUV, replacing ageing Forester (mainly for the lack of the side airbags), Tiguan is on the top of my shopping list, and since Subaru is unable to make diesel Forester with automatic transmission I will most likely end up buying the Tig.

[Kyeema]

Hi Keeyma...

I was wondering if you have taken the Tig on the beach down Goolwa towards the murray mouth??

Hi,

Haven't done that with the Tig. Clearance is an issue and when you deflate the tires it will be even lower. And apart from that, salt and cars are not the best of friends.
Have done it with a real 4wd though. Have plenty of beach experience with that, including getting bogged and how easy it is to dig yourself in (and how easy it is to get yourself out as long as you have your clearance (and equipment of course)).
So with the Tig, I don't think I will be willing to take the risk.

[patto]

Haven't done that with the Tig. Clearance is an issue and when you deflate the tires it will be even lower. And apart from that, salt and cars are not the best of friends.
Have done it with a real 4wd though. Have plenty of beach experience with that, including getting bogged and how easy it is to dig yourself in (and how easy it is to get yourself out as long as you have your clearance (and equipment of course)).
So with the Tig, I don't think I will be willing to take the risk

Hmmm, I went down there at xmas time in a Toyota Kluger AWD. The car is nothing special and only has 206mm of ground clearance. We didn't need to lower the tyre pressures for that trip. So I am assuming that the Tig 196mm clearance should be enough.

I am not too worried about salt. I don't drive in the water, just on the sand. Plus if I am making a few trips on the beach I coat the underside of the vehicle in white oil to help protect it. Then once I am off the sand, I blast the underside at the local car wash with soap and the lots of water to get the sand/salt off. I figure that should be all safe??!?!?

Plus, when I do finally get a Tig, I don't want to just drive it on the sealed roads. I will be buying it so that I can make some use of its "SUV" stance and take it on the beach and mild off road tracks.

Out of shear curiosity, I wonder if a Tig could go across the Simpson Desert?

[STIGuan]

I wanted to start a new thread about this, but it wouldn't let me (not enough posts, I imagine).

Has anyone here ever taken a Tiguan over the Gibb River Road or up to Cape Leveque? Do people think a Tiguan would handle the journey?

I am planning on heading up there towards late July, early August. I would not intend on doing any "difficult" side roads and would mainly just be sticking to the GRR itself and main road to Cape Leveque. I do have a set of MaxTrax to get out of minor bogs. More than happy to lower tyre pressures and take it slowly.

I have the 103TDI, DSG, without Off-Road Assistance. Currently wearing the factory fitted HP Sport Desert Duelers on about 25000km.

What do people think?

[Mountainman]

I took my (previous) 06 Forester XT across it (the GRR) two years ago as well as the side excursion down to Windjana Gorge and Tunnel Creek (both well worth it) and had no trouble, not even a flat tyre. I was carrying two extra spare tyres not on rims as well as the standard spare and I wouldn't even think about it without at least 1 spare on a rim as the temp on the Tig won't count for much in those conditions.. You'll be right for fuel at Mt Barnett but I had to use 91 unleaded. Just be prepared for plenty of dust and corrugations. Make enquiries about the river level depths befors leaving. You'll find plenty of people at the various camps like El Questro who have just done it and listen to their advise. Good luck and enjoy the adventure through some of the most unique and incredible landscape in Australia.

[STIGuan]

Thanks Mountainman.

I'm keen to give the roads a go. Looks like all the advise is that it is possible, but best to ask the locals about the conditions at the time prior to committing.

I've had quite a few people mention that it'd be a good idea to have all-terrain or light-truck tyres, as opposed to the standard high performance type that are factory fitted to a Tiguan.

What sort of tyres did you have on your Forester, Mountainman?

[Mountainman]

They were 215/55 17 Bridgestone Potenza RE001 Adrenalins, very good sealed road performance tyres and definately not what you'd fit for a Gibb River Road trip given a choice.I was towing a camper trailer too with just the 1 spare. Sometimes you just get lucky. Near Tunnel Creek I met a family in a standard Nissan X-Trail changing a flat and they were trying to decide whether to push on without a spare or turn back. I decided long ago not to but and change to a different set of tyres/rims for off road work but instead just take 2 extra worn unmounted tyres. Considering where I've been my luck has only run out twice and I was able to get a tyre remounted soon after. At least you won't have trouble finding diesel fuel unlike the lack of premium unleaded in some of those areas.

[hippyhippy]

for beach work, i think the tig is so so .. not great, but not a slouch either. ive taken it to stockton beach which has pretty soft sand imho. previous cars taken has been forrester (model before current, the wagon looking one), 2 prado's, diahatsu something. there were a few spots on the beach i was too scared to go over cause it looked too soft and saw some other real 4wd's having trouble but it did get me to my spot and back. just put the tyre pressure down and maintain speed. clearance was the biggest problem imho. needs to be just that little bit higher.

[STIGuan]

Took the Tiguan on the Cape Leveque road. Handled the corrugations and rougher spots fairly well, particularly with an aired-down set of all-terrain tyres. I did get stuck in one spot, the actual road to the Kooljaman Resort (not sure if it's owned by them or not), which was mainly just sand. Ended up causing a bit of damage to the sump guard when we got stuck on a sand "speed hump" (which effectively you needed to speed up for to get over in a vehicle like a Tiguan!). This section of road is not on the Cape Leveque road itself, so it was bloody annoying to cop a bit of damage just in the last 1km of the journey!

Didn't end up doing the GRR after this, as I was a bit concerned that river crossings and any rough stuff might not be a good idea, given that I had the sump guard taped on with duct tape!

Overall, though, the Tiguan seems to be a reasonably solid unit for corrugations, potholes and the like (and we covered quite a bit of this throughout various parts of WA in the Pilbara and Kimberley). No bits were shaken off or damaged, and the suspension held up well to give a decent ride. Definitely worth investing in a set of all-terrain tyres, though, if planning this sort of thing, as being able to air down and have confidence in the strength of the tyre was worth it.