Volkswagen Tiguan. The simple things. Management Fleet

Time for a change of ownership for the Management Fleet Volkswagen Tiguan.

Several months of issue-free running with my own Volkswagen Golf GTi came to an end recently when I had to face the inevitable: the Golf was due a 15K service, and would be out of action for at least a few days at the Al Nabooda service centre in Dubai. Fortunately for me, with Porsches and McLarens darting back and forth through the crankandpiston oval office, I’ve taken the opportunity to nick our long term Volkswagen Tiguan.

As a rule, though my everyday runners tend to be on the smaller side, I’m a big fan of offroaders, and I must say I like the look of the Tiguan. It’s not the most rugged of vehicles – a couple of quick jaunts off-road proved that much – but at the same time it’s not as brash or over the top as so many other 4x4s. Solid amounts of torque and just enough ground clearance mean reasonably rugged terrain can be taken on in the Volkswagen with very little hair-pulling.

Oh dear. With the R-Line package comes leather seats, and I’m not a big fan of that, especially in the height of Middle Eastern summer. Still they’re comfortable enough, and I don’t sit so high in the cabin that I feel the whole car will tip over when taking a roundabout too enthusiastically. It’s nippy too, 200bhp helping the mini-SUV shift surprisingly quickly. My husband is unsure about the size, but given how much he enjoyed the old long term Toyota Land Cruiser, that’s not a big shock. One feature I’m very keen on is the remote entry: I can leave the key fob in my bag (stuffed to the brim as it usually is with a laptop and ‘homework’) and listen to the audible ‘click’ as the doors open automatically when I approach. It’s a small thing and the guys on the team hadn’t really noticed that until I mentioned it, but it’s a great piece of tech.

One thing that has slightly irritated me though is the parking sensors. An accompanying tone and rear-facing camera mean that, unlike Herr Gent, I’ve yet to kerb a wheel on one of our long termers. But is it really necessary for the system to override the radio completely? Wouldn’t turning down the volume be enough? And why must the camera take so long to activate on start-up? The lack of a USB connector is proving a nuisance too, since I normally listen to my iPod in the car.

But given that I’ve had a cold the last few weeks, the most important part of the Tiguan has been the box of tissues on the dashboard.