Volkswagen Tiguan review
The Volkswagen Tiguan is a high-quality, practical, and comfortable family SUV that’s one of the best all-rounders you can buy.
Author: The Cazoo editorial team
7th Jan 2026 – 9 mins read
The Volkswagen Tiguan is a hugely popular family SUV, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a car that does everything incredibly well, blending a premium feel with superb practicality and a comfortable, refined driving experience. This second-generation model, launched in 2016, is a significant step up from the original, offering more space, more technology, and a smart, chunky design. Think of it as the SUV equivalent of the famous VW Golf – it's sensible, well-built, and feels like a quality product. It’s a car that fits effortlessly into family life, with a spacious interior, a large boot, and a range of efficient engines. For even more space, there's a seven-seat version called the Tiguan Allspace. If you're looking for a comfortable, safe, and upmarket family SUV, the Tiguan is one of the very best choices available.
Pros
- Superb build quality and a premium feel
- Spacious and practical interior with a large boot
- Wide range of engines and trim levels to choose from
Cons
- It can be more expensive to buy than some rivals
- The ride on sporty R-Line models can be quite firm
- Powerful petrol engines can be thirsty
Interior
Dashboard & tech
The interior of the Tiguan is a masterclass in quality and user-friendly design. It’s a very sensible and well-thought-out space, with a modern, fuss-free layout. All models come with a large 8-inch touchscreen as standard, which is clear, responsive, and easy to use. It’s mounted high on the dashboard, making it easy to see on the move, and includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for seamless smartphone integration.
The quality of the materials is excellent, with plenty of soft-touch plastics and solid-feeling switches that give the cabin a genuinely premium feel. It’s a comfortable and reassuring place to be, with everything exactly where you’d expect to find it.
Comfort
The Tiguan is a car designed for comfort. The ride is smooth and supple, doing a great job of soaking up bumps and making journeys feel relaxed. The driving position is excellent, giving you a commanding view of the road, and the seats are supportive, even on long trips.
It’s worth noting that the popular R-Line models, with their larger alloy wheels and sports suspension, have a much firmer ride. While they look great, they can feel a bit unsettled on rougher roads. If comfort is your top priority, we’d recommend sticking to one of the other trim levels with smaller wheels.
Quality
Volkswagen has a well-earned reputation for building high-quality cars, and the Tiguan is a prime example. The fit and finish are superb, and the entire cabin feels solid and built to last. It’s this feeling of quality that helps to justify the Tiguan’s slightly higher price tag compared to some rivals and makes it feel like a truly premium product.
Practicality & boot space
Interior space
The Tiguan is a very practical car, with a spacious and flexible interior that’s perfect for family life. There’s plenty of room in the front, and passengers in the back are treated to generous amounts of head and legroom, so even tall adults can get comfortable.
A brilliant feature on most models is the sliding rear bench. You can slide the rear seats forwards or backwards by 17cm, allowing you to choose between maximising rear legroom or increasing boot space. For those who need even more practicality, the Tiguan Allspace is a longer version of the car with a third row of two seats, turning it into a seven-seater.
Boot space
The boot in the standard five-seat Tiguan is huge. With the rear seats slid all the way back, you get a very generous 615 litres of space. Fold the rear seats down, and this expands to a massive 1,655 litres, which is more than enough for trips to the tip or for carrying bulky items. The Tiguan Allspace is even bigger, making it a brilliant choice for large families.
Versatility
With its spacious cabin, clever sliding rear seats, and huge boot, the Tiguan is an incredibly versatile family car. It can handle everything from the school run and weekly shop to family holidays with ease. The availability of 4Motion all-wheel drive on many models also adds a dose of all-weather capability and makes it a confident tow car.
Driving
Driving experience
The Tiguan is a safe, comfortable, and reassuring car to drive. It’s not designed to be sporty, but it handles corners neatly and securely, with less body lean than you might expect from a high-riding SUV. The steering is light and accurate, which makes it easy to manoeuvre around town and to park.
On the motorway, it’s a quiet and refined cruiser, making long journeys feel effortless. The overall experience is one of calm and competence. It’s a car that simply gets on with the job of getting you and your family from A to B in comfort and safety.
Performance
Volkswagen offers a huge range of petrol and diesel engines for the Tiguan, so there’s something to suit everyone. The petrol lineup includes a popular and efficient 1.5-litre turbocharged engine, as well as more powerful 2.0-litre units for those who want more performance.
The diesel engines are all based on a 2.0-litre unit, which is available in various power outputs. The 148bhp version is the best-seller and provides a great blend of performance and economy. For ultimate performance, there’s a potent 237bhp twin-turbo diesel that gives the Tiguan hot-hatch-rivalling acceleration.
Running costs
Fuel economy & CO2 emissions
If you want the lowest running costs, the diesel engines are the best choice. The lower-powered 2.0-litre diesel models are the most efficient, with an official fuel economy figure of around 50mpg. The petrol engines, particularly the powerful 2.0-litre units, can be quite thirsty, returning around 30mpg. It’s also worth being aware that high-spec models costing over £40,000 new are subject to a higher rate of annual road tax.
Value for money
The Tiguan can look a little expensive compared to mainstream rivals like the Nissan Qashqai, but it feels like a more premium product. Even entry-level models are well-equipped, and the desirable badge means it holds its value very well, which can make it a good long-term buy. On the used market, you can find significant savings on nearly-new models, making it an even more tempting proposition.
Reliability & Warranty
The Tiguan is a relatively new model, but it uses many tried-and-tested parts from across the Volkswagen Group, so it should be a dependable choice. However, some owners have reported issues with the DSG automatic gearbox and leaks from the panoramic sunroof on some cars, so it’s always worth inspecting a used model thoroughly. From new, all Volkswagens come with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty.
Safety
Safety features
The Volkswagen Tiguan is a very safe car, achieving the maximum five-star rating when it was crash-tested by the safety experts at Euro NCAP. It scored particularly well for protecting both adult and child occupants.
All models come with a good level of standard safety equipment, including automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assist, which can help to prevent an accident. Higher trim levels add more advanced features like park assist to help you with tricky parking manoeuvres.
Trims & Engines
Trim levels
The Tiguan is available in a wide range of trim levels, starting with S, and moving up through SE, SE Nav, and SEL, before reaching the top-spec R-Line and R-Line Tech. Even the entry-level S model is well-equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels and an 8-inch touchscreen. We’d recommend looking for an SE Nav or a Match (a later trim level that replaced it), as these add satellite navigation and parking sensors.
The R-Line models are the most popular and desirable, thanks to their sporty body kit and large alloy wheels, but they do have a firmer ride. The seven-seat Allspace model is available in similar trim levels.
Engines
The Tiguan’s engine range is extensive. The petrol lineup consists of a 1.5-litre engine with 128bhp or 148bhp, and a 2.0-litre engine with 187bhp or 227bhp. The diesel range is entirely made up of 2.0-litre units, with power outputs of 113bhp, 148bhp, 187bhp, or a powerful 237bhp twin-turbo version. Depending on the engine, you can have a six-speed manual or a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox. Many models are also available with Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel-drive system for extra traction.