Go Anywhere -- Tiguan

[lunar1]

Anyone else seen this VW ad during the Dakar coverage?

I've got an itch for a Tiguan as I like the size and the 4 motion can only help in the rain and windy dirt roads to wineries...

Does it have the makings of something that can Go Anywhere? Without the extravagant mods (IE. >5K)

Or is it just clever VW marketing to give the urban couch potatoe a "I could hit that if I wanted to" fantasy chubbby.

[Arctra]

I haven't seen the ad, but it's a bit of a hornets nest stirring question mate, as I think it's largely subjective based on what you consider offroad.

First up, consider the Tig a "modified to go offroad Golf" rather than a mini-Toureg. Ground clearance and offroad functionality (even with the offroad pack) aren't in the same league as that of a true 4x4. For example, it doesn't have a true diff-lock, it uses the ABS to stop whichever wheel(s) are spinning to simulate diff lock. This works after the vehicle figures out what it needs to do, which may be too late if you're in a situation where you need to carry your momentum for example.

I did quite a nice trip through the Yengo National Park and Watagans forrest last year that you can read the writeup of to see what I managed to do in the Tig: http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newf...84&postcount=7

In the MyTiguan forums there is a guy named jjj that seems to have really put the Tig through its offroad paces and concluded that it's not a true offroader. The Freelander2 (which uses the same auto gearbox as the Tig I believe) is more of a mini-Discovery 4x4 and has more terrain selection options, better clearance, etc. I'd say it's worth reading the offroad section of that forum to get a better idea of the Tigs capabilities and shortcomings.

After saying that, I have no problem taking my Tig offroad (within reason) and when it comes time to change the tyres I think I'll be putting more All Terrain type tyres on to improve the offroad traction.