Goodbye GTI, hello Tiguan

[DougL]

The Golf GTI is heading for 3 years old now. I've never kept a car this long, the longest up until now has been about 2 years and I usually buy ex demo. This means I have been very happy with the car - only been to the dealer once for warranty work and that was due to the failure of the coolant thermostat. I have now moved from London to a relatively rural area and wanted a change so have ordered a Tiguan SEL. I drove the Tiguan last week and was impressed so put in an order managing to get my local dealer to almost match drive the deal prices. I will miss the pace of the GTI but unfortunately don't get much of a chance to use the power - there are no fixed cameras over here as the police use mobile vans which are everywhere. People generally tend to dawdle (ageing demographic) here and overtaking is almost impossible due to twisty roads (which is very nice when it is quiet), so perhaps taking a more relaxed drive and going with the flow is the best option! (Or take the motorbike out!)

Testing the water here: the car is up for sale or will be very soon. It's a red three door with 20,000 miles on the clock, no options, in tornado red with tartan cloth with a service pack, so still due its 3rd year service. Looking for £16,800 and the car is in Belfast. I also have a genuine VWKenwood MIB sat nav for sale so if anyone is interested then drop me a PM! Will get a proper ad up in the classified section by the weekend.

[Pinky1959]

That sounds really nice . I like the new Tiguan , but I am biased as I have the old 1 a 170 bhp sport and my wife has a Golf GTD so best of both worlds .
I haven't been to have a seat and look round the new one as I know I would want one , had the Tiguan 4 1/2 years and its a great car .
Please put photos up when you get it  even though its a golf forum .

[Jimble]

My Tiguan SEL went to stage 5c this morning so will arrive in the next week or so, test drove an R line with the same engine (150hp) and it's perfectly acceptable, i then sat in the SEL in the showroom and couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, it's "nice" but meh.. It's mainly going to be used by my wife as a family wagon and she likes it so thats the main thing, i will miss the GTI though, without question this has been my favourite up to now and better than the R for my uses. Sounds daft but i've got a tingle for an old Fiat Panda 100hp!! Need to test one.

[DougL]

I wanted to buy an SEL with the lighter storm grey interior with alcantara but although it is showing in the brochure the dealer was unable to order it. I therefore chose Storm vienna leather. Saw an SE with the grey rhombus cloth and the lighter interior really suited the car. I much prefer the looks of the R line but really VW? £2300 more for a body kit, sports suspension and 20" alloys? No way. Doesn't have a light interior option either. So no choice really but an SEL which should have a softer ride on 19" with standard suspension. Grey Vienna leather is a bit of a luxury but with leather and a metallic, it is still a few hundred cheaper than an R line with cloth and much the same spec. I have a new model Mazda MX5 for thrills, which is way more fun at lower speeds than the golf in any case, even though it only has a 1.5 litre engine.

[mjh_056]

The Tiguan came out a little late for me to be truly tempted and would have wanted the R Line which think would have maybe come out a little steep and not been an option for me (company lease)

The R Line jumped into my final selection group when saw the images and videos so it definitely turned my head

Maybe not, but my timeline to order did not even allow the Tiguan to be an option in the end as was not even there as an option.

But doubt would have changed my mind from the R anyway as its an itch, that now thought about even more since ordered, that had to scratch.

Do understand your logic though and maybe 3 years on from running the R may have scratched the itch and move towards the Tiguan? maybe be hooked though, we shall see,

But be good to see some reviews from those getting the new Tiguan on here.

[phope]

I really like the new Tiguan, and it may well be the replacement for our A6 Avant next year

Priced up a couple of configurations on our company personal contract hire scheme for a 150hp TDI with DSG in SEL 4 motion and R-Line 2WD spec, both with a few extras - nil payment upfront and circa £420 a month for either spec on a 2 year 10k mile p/a personal lease which seems pretty reasonable to me

R-Line looks very nice, but I suspect we'll go for the SEL 4 motion with the Outdoor pack for a little more ground clearance