Tiguan Quirks

[NZTiguan]

I agree...it isnt really an offroad vehicle as such....
So First gear is definatley too short. It should be able to wind out a lot more than it does.

My previous Daihatsu GTVi wound out to 7000rpm in first with no flat spot which gave it a HUGE jump against anything at the lights. Then picking second was a breeze from there.
The first time I drove my manual 125 Tig, I thought I had slipped on the clutch or something when I hit that flat spot in first. I now realise I have to pick second earlier than I was used to. Had to change my driving style quite a bit.

For crying out loud the Tiguan IS designed as a small SUV and that's WHY it has a LOW first gear. If you want to race in it, that's fine, and you do the modifications required, different suspension, tires, tuning, intercooler, exhaust, etc etc etc including if you REALLY want to get carried away, different gear ratios. No reason why those of us who DO want to use the Tiguan as originally intended shouldn't be able to, and we NEED the low first gear OK.

[Tigger]

OK...OK Derek...didnt mean to offend you mate.

You are right, it is a SUV, not a race car. I get it. Thing is, so many of us will never really take it offroad. We chose it because it is such a great road holding vehicle with more space than smaller "regular" cars.

It would be nice to have an optional gearbox ratio to choose from for those who will not use it to go offroad and chase sheep. (just kidding mate)

[NZTiguan]

OK...OK Derek...didnt mean to offend you mate.

No offense taken !! I won't say a word about the Rugby, honest I won't !!!!

Cheers

[clip]

You are right, it is a SUV..

SUV = Sports Utility Vehicle: "a high-performance four-wheel drive car built on a truck-like chassis" (excuse the 'truck' - but we know what they mean).

[jcubed]

SUV = Sports Utility Vehicle: "a high-performance four-wheel drive car built on a truck-like chassis" (excuse the 'truck' - but we know what they mean).

Hi All,

The SUV debate in terms of what it really means, will rage on for eternity.

Here is a lighter - some would say cynical - take on it, from an article I submitted to a local motoring magazine: "How to choose an SUV".

As the definition of an SUV is rather vague, a number of manufacturers depend on this ambiguity to get their “car” certified as such. From my humble experience, 4-wheel drive and traction control does not an SUV make – an example of where the feathers don’t make the bird, or clothes the man.

E.g., a typical conversation between buyer and dealer regarding SUV qualities could go something like this: What are the capabilities of this Sport Utility Vehicle? Well sir, just the other day I put my paddle ski on the roof rack and my son’s bicycle in the back – these are our respective sports – so as an Suv, pretty good.

From a utilitarian viewpoint, just the week previously, my wife bought two chairs at a car boot sale, and brought them home in this very car. Later that same afternoon, I managed to squeeze 10 (ten!) green bags with garden refuse into the boot (although I had to fold ONE rear seat section down) and took it to the dump. So this proves its abilities as an sUv.

Yes, but how good is it off-road? Well sir, we don’t rightly know, as thus far, you are the first person to ask that question. But if you read this nice glossy brochure we have here, you will see that it has everything you need in order to go off-road, after all, it IS an suV, and you know the brand.

So for the purposes of this article, a softroader is defined as an SUV without low range. The Forester is included in this category, as when you do the sums, low-range first gear has a similar ratio (km/h per 1000 rpm) than first gear on a number of current SUVs with six-speed transmissions.

As you can see, here we split SUVs into off-roader and softroader categories, as per the definition in the last paragraph above. The Tiguan (and the LR2, X-Trail and Forester are softroaders; the Suzukis NOT).

JJJ

[NZTiguan]

Thanks jcubed (or triple j as I've come to know you ) for your (as always) extremely lucid description !!

Cheers

PS: Always great to see you're still about and that the LR2 seems to be doing the job for you.

[clip]

[COLOR="red"]E.g., a typical conversation between buyer and dealer regarding SUV qualities could go something like this: What are the capabilities of this Sport Utility Vehicle? Well sir, just the other day I put my paddle ski on the roof rack and my son’s bicycle in the back – these are our respective sports – so as an Suv, pretty good. JJJ

No see that's where you lost me staight up:- while the "S" on the SUV Tiguan does stand for "Sports", it doesn't mean it can carry sporting equipment, it means it can go around corners, stop and accelerate from 0 -100k/h in around 6 seconds. Therefore, other than the XT Forester, none of the others have any right calling themselves an SUV at all.

[Transporter]

No see that's where you lost me staight up:- while the "S" on the SUV Tiguan does stand for "Sports", it doesn't mean it can carry sporting equipment, it means it can go around corners, stop and accelerate from 0 -100k/h in around 6 seconds. Therefore, other than the XT Forester, none of the others have any right calling themselves an SUV at all.

You forgot to say IMO.

[MGV]

The novelty of the MFD still hasn't worn off, i'm usually scrolling around, checking the statistics... Anyways, after about a month of ownership, (about 2 months ago) i discovered by accident that hitting the 'OK' button when average fuel consumption is diplayed, an overall average is displayed (with a little '2' at the top-right). Today, it reset itself, or i reset it inadvertantly somehow... Can anyone elaborate? Thanks

[Mountainman]

No see that's where you lost me staight up:- while the "S" on the SUV Tiguan does stand for "Sports", it doesn't mean it can carry sporting equipment, it means it can go around corners, stop and accelerate from 0 -100k/h in around 6 seconds.

?? Why do VW claim the 125TSI manual and 147TSI only do 8.2 secs to 100km/h then?
125kw/280Nm and 1610kg doesn't sound like 6 secs to me but it doesn't mean to say it can't still be sporty either.