When in 2006 the whole world was waiting for the appearance of a compact VW crossover on the PQ35 platform, no one knew what it would be called: Nanuk, Namib, Rockton or Samun. But as a result of the all-German vote, it was the Tiguan version that won, and it was under this name that the car was presented “Urbi et Orbi”, that is, “City and Peace” at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The very first years of production clearly showed that an exceptionally successful car was born in the depths of the concern. And so what if the “tiger” of the German designers turned out to be somewhat frivolous and very homely, a sort of “Tiger Petrik” from a children’s performance of the Obraztsov puppet theater. The main thing is that it appealed to buyers in many countries, and in 2014, at the peak of its popularity, more than 500,000 compact crossovers of this model were sold worldwide!

By the way, the fact that most of the cars were sold just a year before the planned appearance of the second generation Tiguan, as well as the fact that during the nine years of the model’s production life, the model needed only one restyling (and even then not the largest), speak of an accurate “hit” to the top ten."

But the laws of the auto business are inexorable, and in 2015 at the Frankfurt Motor Show (traditions must be respected!) the official premiere of the second generation of the crossover took place. World markets greeted the new Tiguan no less favorably than its predecessor, but in our country the wait for the start of sales was somewhat delayed.

There were reasons for this that I have already mentioned: only Russian-assembled crossovers equipped with the ERA-GLONASS system will be sold in Russia. And in order to organize this very assembly, VOLKSWAGEN Group Rus LLC needed to build a new workshop and spend about 180 million euros. But now the waiting period is over, and here it is - the new Tiguan comes from Kaluga!

Tiger cubs growing up

The tiger cub has grown up. It has lost its childhood swelling, all its features have become sharper and tougher, and its overall image has become closer to its big brother VW Touareg. The new LED lighting looks great. I especially liked the F-shaped taillights.

And yet, compared to the previous generation, the car has grown in length by 60 mm, in width by 30 mm, and has become 33 mm lower. This growth was achieved not only due to the size of the body as such: both the wheelbase and track increased (by 77 and 20 mm, respectively). And this is not surprising, because the new Tiguan is built on the modular MQB platform, which is worth saying a few words about.

Platform of strategic importance

The abbreviation MQB stands for Modularer Querbaukasten, which can be translated as “modular matrix with transverse engine”. The first official mentions of this platform date back to 2012, but I was never able to find any information about how long ago work on its creation began. However, many sources note that more than 60 billion euros were spent on the development of this platform.

It was not for nothing that the head of the development department of the VW Group, Ulrich Hackelberg, called the MQB “the concern’s strategic weapon.” The widespread concept of platform design has made life easier for engineers and saved companies serious money. But, as a rule, each individual platform, providing designers with a wide field for playing with appearance and equipment, quite rigidly sets two parameters: the wheelbase, which is specified in a single option (less often - in several fixed ones) and the track. All this, in turn, determines the overall proportions of cars built on this platform.

But in the case of MQB, the situation is somewhat different. This “constructor” allows you to assemble from individual elements the power base of a wide variety of cars, ranging in size from “supermini” to mid-size SUVs, reducing the costs and development time of each specific model by approximately 30%. In general, the second Tiguan is just the first sign in a planned cohort of a wide variety of crossovers. But all this will happen tomorrow, and today the “swallow” is quite ready to accept me in the driver’s seat.

The ideal is somewhere nearby

As usual, for the test I got a car in the top configuration: a two-liter 180-horsepower engine, a 7-speed DSG robot, keyless entry (although a standard key fob was used, with a switching sting), electrically adjustable sports seats, upholstered in Vienna leather two colors, and a lot of all sorts of “goodies” such as an electric tailgate.

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The overall architecture of the cabin is fully consistent with the corporate style: strict, elegant, high quality, and the glass roof and huge panoramic sunroof fill the cabin with light and air. A little chrome, a few piano lacquer surfaces, and mostly soft, pleasant-to-touch plastic.

The only pity is that the designers were a little greedy: the plastic parts in the lower part of the cabin, including those with which the knees can come into contact, are still made rigid. But the overall ergonomics of the driver's seat, in my opinion, is close to ideal. Literally a couple of presses on the seat drive buttons - and it feels like you’ve been driving this car all your life... However, an ideal is only meant to be unattainable.

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I will probably never understand why German designers space the gas and brake pedals so far apart in height. It would be better if they increased the distance between them by 10 millimeters, so as not to catch the edge of the pedal with the welt of winter shoes. After all, the Tiguan is not some kind of passenger car, but a fully-fledged crossover, with all-wheel drive, 200 mm ground clearance and off-road transmission modes. Of course, a significant part of its owners will never move off the asphalt, but among them there may be fishing enthusiasts and owners of remote country houses.

The same goes for the steering wheel. It is, of course, good and comfortable on the highway, but off-road or just on a broken dirt road with deep ruts, when every now and then you need to shift the steering wheel 360 degrees to one side or the other, a “steering wheel” with uniform adjustment is much more convenient. section along the entire circumference. The same applies to long hauls: ergonomic swells quite rigidly set the only comfortable position of the hands on the steering wheel, but when you drive a car for many hours in a row, you constantly want to change your grip every now and then. I also didn’t like the obvious overload of buttons on the steering wheel - as many as 9 buttons for each spoke.

The modest charm of virtuality

But all this is not the main thing. In fact, the first thing that catches your eye is the 12-inch color Active Info display that replaces the entire instrument cluster. Until recently, such a solution could only be seen in prestigious cars of elite brands, but now it is increasingly penetrating the “middle class”. Strictly speaking, there is nothing strange about this. In general, I am sure that as electronic components become cheaper and cheaper, the scope of “virtual dashboards” will grow, and very soon we will see them even in the interiors of very budget models.

And here two points are important. First, versatility: you can display any data you want on the screen right in front of your eyes. Do you want trip computer data, do you want speedometer readings in digital form, do you want information about what kind of music the entertainment system plays.

And secondly, designers get complete freedom and can “draw” the panel in any style. In the case of the Tiguan, the designers quite effectively used the display as a universal information output device. But for some reason they forgot that the style of the dashboard design can now also change. It's a pity...

Because all this disco in the red, white and blue colors of the British (or Russian, Dutch, French, Czech...) flag will definitely not appeal to everyone. It seems to me that several prepared styles (“sports”, “aviation”, “retro”, “futuristic”) with the ability to select them through the menu would cost very little, would not require any changes in the design, and would add to the advantages of the model .

What do you have against the Chinese?

Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine any prestigious car without a touch screen with a large diagonal crowning the central console. In this regard, the new Tiguan does not lag behind its competitors: all data on the eight-inch screen is perfectly readable, the system has a high response speed to touches, and the main functions are duplicated by hot keys located on the side of the display.

But the main novelty, of course, is the AppConnect application, which allows you to fully integrate your smartphone (either on iOS or Android) with the car’s navigation and information system. I had very high hopes for this function, but, alas, they were not justified: the system refused to work with the ZTE Nubia smartphone. Maybe owners of devices from more popular brands would be luckier...

All I could do was regret the inability to display a navigator with traffic jams on the standard large screen, hang a suction cup holder on the windshield and limit myself to a Bluetooth connection with hands-free systems and a music player. By the way, you can connect music from your smartphone via an AUX cable, or you can record it to a flash drive or optical disc.

In search of the Czech trace

The designers also took care of the second row passengers. Firstly, it is quite spacious (and this is largely due to the increased wheelbase), and secondly, they have at their disposal not only an armrest with cup holders, but also folding tables with retractable arms for drinks. The trunk volume is also impressive: 615 liters – that’s a lot!

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But what I liked even more is that in order to fold down the rear seatbacks and increase the available volume to 1,655 liters, you don’t have to run around the entire car, opening first the right rear door, then the left. He pulled the handle inside the trunk - and part of the back obediently fell forward, pulled the second - the remaining one fell too. The trunk door itself can be opened in at least four ways: using the key on the driver's door, from the key fob, by pressing the button located above the license plate and by magically waving your foot under the bumper.

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Plus, the Tiguan offers a range of Simply Clever-style goodies that sister brand Skoda is so proud of. Among such solutions I can include the already mentioned folding tables, massive hooks for packages inside the trunk, and a standard inverter with a 230-volt socket, which allows you to use ordinary household electrical appliances on the road. To be honest, an inverter is not that expensive of a device, and I don’t really understand why so few companies offer it at least as an option.

Payment for delight

But the most interesting thing is how the Tiguan behaves on the road. To begin with, I’ll say right away that it’s very easy to find a common language with this car. Just half an hour, and it begins to seem to you that the crossover is controlled by the power of your thoughts - it is so accurate and predictable. And even in difficult situations - for example, on a slippery road sprinkled with snow. It is quite predictable that the Tiguan in “sport” mode is more like a tiger (with a completely predatory appetite of 15-17 liters per 100 km), and in “eco” it looks more like a cold, slippery iguana.

Acceleration to 100 km/h, s

And a few more words about the transmission. I can happily say that the company seems to have finally perfected its “robot”, so for the most part I simply forgot about the presence of a DSG gearbox in the car. Times when the dual-clutch transmission began to twitch, “get confused in the readings,” and in many situations could not decide which gear to choose (“Third... Oh no, fifth... No, still third. .. But no, the fourth..."), are a thing of the past. However, I did encounter one problem. Parking near a curb on a slope and putting the car in reverse, I was surprised to find that the car continued to roll forward. I had to “play with two pedals,” pressing the brake with my left foot and the gas with my right, otherwise contact with the bumper of the car in front would have been inevitable.

Assistants, your way out!

But what definitely helps when parking is the all-round view mode, supplemented by sound signals from the sensors. I have already written more than once that the presence of video cameras in our conditions cannot replace traditional “parking sensors”, because after 10 minutes of driving on roads treated with the reagent, the lenses are covered with an opaque film, and the image on the monitor turns into a certain set of incomprehensible spots.

Maximum speed, km/h

But I never used the automatic parking mode... But I tried how the Front Assist distance control assistant works in the city. A warning about a dangerous approach to a car moving in front is absolutely not superfluous, as well as about the presence of an obstacle in the blind spot.

A couple of steps up

And one more circumstance confirms that the new Tiguan has climbed at least a couple of steps up the prestige ladder: it has definitely become significantly more comfortable on the go. Firstly, I would like to note the excellent sound insulation: engine noise begins to penetrate into the cabin only during sharp accelerations, when the engine spins up to 4-5 thousand revolutions, and aerodynamic noise begins to be felt only at a speed of 110-120 kilometers per hour.

Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TSI 4Motion

Brief specifications

Dimensions (L x W x H), mm: 4,486x1,839x1,673 Curb weight, kg: 1,653 Ground clearance, mm: 200 Engine: Petrol, EA888 2.0 TSI, 180 l. s., 320 Nm Transmission: DQ500, robotic, seven-speed, with two clutches Drive: full 4Motion

Secondly, on a long journey both the driver and passengers will not be hot or cold: three-zone climate control solves all problems. Finally, on a decent road the suspension is also quite comfortable, absorbing small bumps and joints perfectly. But the Tiguan passes through more serious obstacles (for example, speed bumps) quite harshly, although I have never recorded a breakdown of the suspension. However, it is quite obvious that the car is tuned for speed and handling on asphalt, and this is what becomes the factor limiting the limits of its cross-country ability.

The first generation Volkswagen Tiguan crossover in our country received a 2-liter TSI engine as its most powerful power unit. The Tiguan's two-liter turbocharged engine in the Russian modification develops 170 hp. Which is an excellent result for a small crossover, and if you take into account the torque of 280 Nm, then there is no shame in going off-road. A more powerful modification of the same engine produces 200 horses!

Tiguan engine 2.0 TSI, this is an inline 4-cylinder, 16-valve engine with a cast-iron cylinder block and an aluminum cylinder head. IN The timing drive has a belt. In the event of a belt break, the valve must be bent. Hydraulic compensators provide normal thermal clearance in the valve mechanism. There are phase shifters on the intake shaft, direct fuel injection, directly into the combustion chamber. This engine has a lot of modifications with power from 170 to 265 horsepower and is installed on various models of Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda. Further details characteristics of Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TSI

Engine Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TSI (170 hp) characteristics, fuel consumption, dynamics

• Working volume - 1984 cm3
• Number of cylinders - 4
• Number of valves - 16
• Cylinder diameter - 92.8 mm
• Piston stroke - 82.5 mm
• Power hp/kW - 170/125 at 4300-6000 rpm
• Torque - 280 Nm at 1700-4200 rpm
• Compression ratio - 10.5
• Fuel brand: AI 95 gasoline
• Ecological class - Euro-5
• Maximum speed - 197 km/h
• Acceleration to 100 km/h - 9.9 seconds

Engine Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TSI (200 hp) characteristics, fuel consumption, dynamics

• Working volume - 1984 cm3
• Number of cylinders - 4
• Number of valves - 16
• Cylinder diameter - 92.8 mm
• Piston stroke - 82.5 mm
• Power hp/kW - 200/147 at 5100-6000 rpm
• Torque - 280 Nm at 1700-5000 rpm
• Compression ratio - 10.5
• Type timing/timing drive - DOHC/belt
• Fuel brand: AI 95 gasoline
• Ecological class - Euro-5
• Maximum speed - 207 km/h
• Acceleration to 100 km/h - 8.5 seconds
• Fuel consumption in the city - 13.5 liters
• Fuel consumption in the combined cycle - 9.9 liters
• Fuel consumption on the highway - 7.7 liters

It is worth noting that these Tiguan turbo engines are very sensitive to fuel quality, oil level and the presence of coolant. For successful operation, all this must be carefully monitored, otherwise you will have to invest in very serious and, most importantly, expensive repairs.

Engine 2.0 TSI CAWA

Characteristics of 2.0 TSI engines (1 generation)

Production	Volkswagen
Engine brand	EA888
Release years	2008-2010
Cylinder block material	cast iron
Supply system	direct injection
Type	in-line
Number of cylinders	4
Valves per cylinder	4
Piston stroke, mm	92.8
Cylinder diameter, mm	82.5
Compression ratio	9.6
Engine volume, cc	1984
Engine power, hp / rpm	170/4300-6000 200/5100-6000
Torque, Nm/rpm	280/1700-5000 280/1700-5000
Fuel	95
Environmental standards	Euro 4
Engine weight, kg	-
Fuel consumption, l/100 km (for Tiguan) - city - track - mixed.	13.5 7.7 9.9
Oil consumption, g/1000 km	up to 500
Engine oil	0W-30 0W-40 5W-30 5W-40
How much oil is in the engine, l	4.6
Oil change is carried out, km	15000 (better 7500)
Operating temperature of the engine, hail.	-
Engine resource, thousand km - according to the plant - on practice	- 250-300
Tuning, HP - potential - no loss of resource	350+ ~250
The engine was installed	Volkswagen Golf 5 GTI Volkswagen Jetta VW Passat B6 VW Passat CC VW Tiguan Audi A3 Skoda Octavia RS VW Eos VW New Beetle VW Scirocco Audi TT Audi Q3

Reliability, problems and repair of 2.0 TSI engines

At the beginning of 2008, based on the 1st generation EA888 1.8 TSI, Volkswagen 2.0 TSI engines of the same 1st generation were created. These included CAWA, CAWB, CBFA, CCTA and CCTB motors. They were supposed to replace the previous generation 2.0 TFSI EA113 series. A cast iron cylinder block 220 mm high with a crankshaft with a piston stroke of 92.8 mm, connecting rods 144 mm long, pistons 29.6 mm high, and a compression ratio of 9.6 are used here. As a result, 2 liters of working volume was obtained.

On top is a 2-shaft 16-valve aluminum head. The intake valves are 34mm in diameter, the exhaust valves are 28mm in diameter and the stem diameter is 6mm. At the intake, a variable valve timing system is used, and the camshafts rotate via a timing chain.
2.0 TSI engines use direct fuel injection (homogeneous mixture). An intake manifold with swirl flaps and new injectors (compared to the 2.0 TFSI) are installed here.

The turbine on the 2.0 TSI is KKK K03, the boost pressure is 0.6 bar, and everything is controlled by a Bosch Motronic MED 17.5 ECU. CAWB and CAWA engines comply with Euro 4 emission standards, while their direct analogues CCTA and CCTB comply with ULEV 2 and have 2 lambda probes. CBFA was also produced, which was an analogue of CCTA, but for California, under SULEV standards. It already has 3 lambda probes and a secondary air supply system.

CAWB, CBFA and CCTA motors develop 200 hp. at 5100-6000 rpm, torque 280 Nm at 1700-5000 rpm. The CAWA and CCTB engines differ in firmware and have 170 hp. at 4300-6000 rpm, torque 280 Nm at 1700-5000 rpm.

The 1st generation 2.0 TSI was produced until 2010, but since mid-2008 it was gradually replaced by the 2nd generation 2.0 TSI. Despite this, in North America even today you can buy an Audi Q3 with a CCTA engine.

Disadvantages and problems of 2.0 TSI engines (1st generation)

The reliability of CAWA, CAWB, CCTA and CCTB is exactly the same as the 1.8-liter BZB. Here the chain is also stretched, the tensioner is also unreliable, the valves coke, and oil consumption may also begin after a while. We wrote about this in this article.

Tuning 2.0 TSI CAWA engines

Chip tuning

Want to make 260 horses? Go to any tuning office, they will update you with Stage 1 firmware and only this will give you +60 hp. To use the engine’s potential more effectively, buy a catless exhaust, an intake from APR, an intercooler from S3 and fill in the Stage 2 firmware. This will allow the engine to breathe to its fullest, and it will be able to develop up to 280-290 hp, and the torque will reach 450- 470 Nm, depending on the specific company and what gasoline the engine is tuned for.
This is the optimal configuration for active driving, but if such numbers are not enough for you, then there are turbo kits based on the K04, where everything is installed from the S3: turbine, intercooler, injectors. Also buy an intake from APR, NGK BKR8EIX spark plugs, a full exhaust on a 76 mm pipe and all that remains is to flash the control unit. This will give up to 370 hp, more than 550 Nm of torque and very serious dynamics. The construction of a 2.0 TSI on a K04 turbine is included in the list of standard services of many tuning organizations; all this has long been worked out and tested.
You can get even more with a turbo kit based on the Garrett GTX2867R; such a turbine can easily inflate up to 450 hp, depending on fuel and tuning.

It is unlikely that anyone will doubt that the Volkswagen Tiguan is a fairly successful car. The most eloquent evidence of this is the numbers. 2.64 million copies sold worldwide.

And now it’s the turn of the next generation model. The new Tiguan is based on a modular platform with a transverse engine.

The dimensions of the crossover have changed significantly. It became 6 cm longer and 3 cm wider. The wheelbase has increased by 7.7 cm.

The economical use of interior space has made it possible to obtain a slightly smaller interior in the 4.49-meter SUV than in crossovers of a higher class. The distance between the seat backs is 77 cm. Even in the Audi Q7, the space reserve is only 1 cm. Sliding rear seats with an 18-centimeter adjustment range helped achieve this result.

By changing the position of the rear sofa, you can get a trunk volume from 520 to 615 liters. And if you fold the backrests, its capacity increases to 1655 liters.

The passengers in the second row were well taken care of. There is a folding table with cup holders, and the ability to control the operating modes of the air conditioning system (a real rarity in the class).

At the same time, the front seats are set too high, and finding a comfortable position in them is difficult. The climate control controls are located too far away. Navigation and music are controlled via a large touch screen.

The Haldex coupling, now of the 5th generation, is responsible for traction distribution. On dry and level surfaces, only the front wheels remain driving. When slipping, the rear ones are engaged. If necessary, the driver can use a rotary switch to select one of the coordinated operating modes of the transmission, power unit and electronics: road, off-road or snow.

Volkswagen Tiguan with the 4Motion all-wheel drive system has 20 cm of ground clearance. A regular Tiguan has only 18 cm at its disposal. In addition to the ground clearance, the cars also differ in the approach angle - 25.6 degrees versus 18.3 (due to the shape of the bumper).

This crossover is especially good with adaptive dampers (optional – 1045 Euro). They allow you to feel confident both on a country road and on a winding highway. However, the steering lacks good feedback and exemplary precision. In addition, the Tiguan does not respond quickly enough to steering commands.

The average fuel consumption of the 2-liter 180-horsepower gasoline turbo engine was 9.3 liters, which is 2 liters more than stated. The test crossover was equipped with a 7-speed DSG automatic transmission.

The new Volkswagen Tiguan is noticeably better than before. It is more spacious, more comfortable and has more modern security systems.

SpecificationsvwTiguan 2.0TSI 4Motion

Length x Width x Height - 4486 x 1839 x 1673 mm

Trunk volume - 615-1655 l

Engine capacity / number of cylinders - 1984 cc / 4

Power - 132 kW / 180 hp (320 Nm)

Maximum speed - 208 km/h

Acceleration 0-100 km/h - 7.7 s

Average consumption - 7.3 l / 100 km

During the test - 9.3 l / 100 km