As you’re already aware, the Volkswagen Tiguan is overhauled from the ground up for the 2018 model year. Except for the Limited trim level, which is actually the old compact-sized model kept alive thanks to the unbeatable value for money offered by the $21,995 starting price. Though more modern in every way compared to its predecessor, the 2018 Tiguan is lacking in one department.
Enter the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which put the popular crossover to the test in every way imaginable, finding out that “the base halogen headlights earn a marginal rating.” The LED headlights that come with the SEL Premium trim level, well, those “earn a poor rating,” and that's somewhat disappointing for an all-new model coming from a German automaker.
As a consequence of the bad headlight performance, the 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan fell short of the highest award offered by the IIHS, settling for Top Safety Pick without the coveted “+” suffix. Every single crashworthiness test, from the small overlap front to head restraints and seats, the Institute rated the Tiguan “good.” As for crash avoidance and mitigation, the latest and the greatest Tiguan is “superior” if equipped with the optional Front Assist system.
The Tiguan sold in the United States is known as the Tiguan Allspace in Europe, and the difference from the regular Tiguan on sale in the Old Continent comes in the form of the 215-mm longer body shell. Retailing at $25,345, the U.S.-spec Tiguan is available in four flavors. Starting with the entry-level S, the list continues with the SE, SEL, and SEL Premium. 4Motion all-wheel-drive is available for every single trim level as a $1,300 option, and the list of standard features is extensive for a seven-seat crossover of this size.
In a bid to make the Tiguan more attractive than competing crossovers, Volkswagen offers 6 years or 72,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper warranty, whichever of the two comes first. The business end of the Tiguan is a 2.0-liter TSI with 184 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque, coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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