Volkswagen Tiguan Experience
Volkswagen’s Tiguan SUV has been around for quite some time now and is the flagship car for the brand. It boasts of a great road presence, luxurious cabin, and super off-roading prowess. To showcase the latter and for prospective customers and auto-journalists to experience Tiguan’s true off-roading nature, Volkswagen recently laid out an off-road course in the heart of Mumbai.
The Tests
There were four off-road exercises to test the different go-anywhere capabilities of the soft-roader. The first one was the hill climb and descent, followed by the articulation test, a slush course, and finally, the water-wading track. These tests were carefully laid out keeping in mind the capabilities of the car as well as the off-road experience of novice drivers. That said, the course was challenging enough and fun — for the drivers and spectators alike.
Getting Behind The Wheel
The session started with a quick demo round where we were taken around the track in the Tiguan with an expert off-road driver who demonstrated what needed to be done at every point, including where to brake and accelerate. This was quite helpful and confidence-inspiring, especially for off-road rookies like me. We were then dropped off at the starting point where the SUV was waiting for us along with an instructor.
Before starting, we were asked to switch to the manual mode, slot the stick into the first gear, and stay in that gear till the end. As we proceeded for the hill climb and descent, the instructor told us all about the hill-climb feature in the car. So, all we had to do was brake after a slight ascent and wait for half a second before the hill-climb feature got activated. Thereafter, we just kept accelerating between 1,500-2,000rpm and the car did most of the work going up the hill and down the peak.
The next was the articulation course which was a real test of the Tiguan’s 4Motion AWD system. This appeared to be the most challenging section at first and required the driver to go as slow as possible without accelerating or braking much. The car surprisingly did very well here and the most challenging test ended up being the most fun with one tyre being up in the air at all times. The high ground clearance meant the car didn’t scrape at all, which was a win-win.
We then proceeded to the slush track but couldn’t really experience it as the water had dried up owing to the Mumbai heat that managed to grace us even in November. So, we were left with the final section of the day which was the water-wading test. Here too, the Tiguan managed to shine and proved itself to be a useful car especially in cities like Mumbai that are monsoon-struck most parts of the year.
Final Word
All in all, the Tiguan managed to impress us with its off-road capabilities. Moreover, it really stands out in its segment with its 4Motion AWD system and the very efficient DSG gearbox, and together they make the soft-roader an all-rounder package.
