I have a problem with the 2018 Tiguan

"LJ909" (lj909) 08/18/2017 at 18:19 • Filed to: volkswagen, Volkswagen Tiguan, Volkswagen Atlas

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And you wanna know why? Because the Atlas exists. We all know the Tiguan is (sorta) new for ‘ 18 . But the big news is that they made it longer and you can get a 3rd row. I thought that was kinda cool for what it is. But its not because of the addition of the Atlas to the VW line.

The Atlas pretty much takes the place of the Touareg. Something more affordable but with room. It has a 3rd row and was supposedly designed with the US market in its sights. Its pretty much the superior option if you want room for your family. Which brings me to my point: I have a problem with the Tiguan’s pricing compared to the Atlas.

The Tiguan’s base model, the S, starts at $26,245. Cool, except if you want a 3rd row on the cheap, you can’t get the 3rd row on the base model. To get the 3rd you have to move up the chain to the next model, which means you have to get AWD. Hence why the next step up is called S with 4Motion. The 3rd row is a $500 option. With other added options to make it appealing, such as special 18' wheels and the driver assistance package all added $2,785 to the price bringing the total to $30,330. Not too bad...

Until you look at the Atlas and realize that for just $1095 bucks more, you can have a bigger car with more features and room. In every measurable way the Tiguan is smaller and has what I’m assuming tiny 3rd row. $1095 bucks is worth it for more comfort and space? I would say so. A base Atlas, the S (which according to VW is going to have late availability) with no options is $31,425. You don’t get the 4Motion, but you have a standard bigger 3rd row that you didn’t have to pay extra for.

Things get even closer at the upper trims:

A fully loaded Tiguan will set you back $40,385. This includes the same wheel options you can get on the lower model and the same $500 bucks for the 3rd row. To compare price wise, you have to go 4 steps down from the Atlas’ top trim to compare:

which for the Atlas would be the $39,815 SE with tech package and 4Motion. It comes pretty nicely equipped, and its actually cheaper than the loaded Tiguan.

Honestly though I just don’t think it was a good idea for VW to introduce a new gen of a small crossover with a 3rd row, then price it closely in some instances to a brand new fully loaded 3 row SUV they just introduced. My money would go for the Atlas every time, what about you guys?

TomServo (Resides on the Satellite of Love) > LJ909 08/18/2017 at 18:27

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The atlas isn’t designed to be a Touareg replacement. Same people won’t buy it, Touareg was a luxury suv for people who liked being understated, or who like Volkswagens, in the case of my dad.

LJ909 > TomServo (Resides on the Satellite of Love) 08/18/2017 at 18:35

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I see it being the replacement in a sense. The introduction of the Atlas coincided with the Touareg being axed. Not to mention the Atlas is what the Touareg should have been to begin with.

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > LJ909 08/18/2017 at 18:39

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I work at a VW dealership. They’re aimed at different markets according to them. You can’t fit in the third row of a Tiguan unless you’re under 5'9". My 6'2" self felt extremely cramped. The Atlas is miles better. Also, honestly, they’re both very cheap feeling for how much they cost. VW went wild on cost cutting. Also, the third row comes standard on all FWD Tiguans and is a $500 option on all 4Motion Tiguans.

Even with the 6 year/72k mile warranty, I wouldn’t buy either. If I HAD to, I’d probably get the Atlas SE with Technology. I don’t like it per say, but it’s better than the Tiguan.

NOTE: That SEL Premium Tiguan doesn’t have a latching center console or any premium materials on the rear door panels (hard plastic panels with no trim). No Tiguan has those things, but I was suprised on the $40k SEL Premium.

LJ909 > BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo 08/18/2017 at 18:56

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I figured that the 3rd row in the Tiguan would be only big enough for small adults or children. Its honestly pointless in a vehicle that size. VW also seems to have a penchant for cost cutting for the US market. I dont get it. In pictures it may look nice but the cheapness shows through in person.

Sounds like you would recommend anything but either of these.

TomServo (Resides on the Satellite of Love) > LJ909 08/18/2017 at 19:07

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Volkswagen realized that there were few people who wanted a 50-60k luxury SUV with the same badge as my golf. But people DO want to buy a moderately priced 3 row crossover. The atlas is based on MQB, same architecture as the golf and A3, which means it should be more agile and fun.

Svend > LJ909 08/18/2017 at 19:25

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I think the Tiguan SWB would of been a better option for the U.S.

Rather than going just for the larger units, go for a bit more range and variety.

LJ909 > TomServo (Resides on the Satellite of Love) 08/18/2017 at 20:11

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The Touareg never made sense to me because both the Q7 and Cayanne existed. But Piech wanted VW to move upmarket so it made sense to them.

The Atlas should be fun to drive, but the Tiguan could have done without the 3rd row.

LJ909 > Svend 08/18/2017 at 20:19

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Exactly. They should have left it the compact it was. The 3rd row brings into question both the Atlas and Tiguan for both perspective buyers.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > LJ909 08/18/2017 at 20:20

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I just can’t get behind VW’s NA strategy. Instead of offering the swb new Tiguan you guys will be offered the decade old Tiguan. The new model looks and feels very good and I see tons of them here.

Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion > LJ909 08/18/2017 at 20:23

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Incidentally I think it has to do with brands.

In Europe, they have Seat and Skoda to fill in the entry level market, and then VW fills in the mid, and Audi the high end.

In the US, you have VW filling in the Medium and Low end markets. Which brings up the question why they just don’t bring seat here.

LJ909 > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 08/18/2017 at 20:26

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This. This is why I always say they dont get the US market at all. We get decontended old models everyone else has had for years already. They think we are fools or something.

TomServo (Resides on the Satellite of Love) > LJ909 08/18/2017 at 20:26

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Same with the Nissan rouge. Somehow you can get it with a 3rd row.

Svend > LJ909 08/18/2017 at 20:32

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In the U.K. we get the Tiguan SWB and the Touareg.

VW, SEAT, Skoda and Audi have so many small to medium SUVs across the board. Here VW wouldn’t sell another SUV that competes too strongly with another within it’s own marque. Of the other marques withing the VWAudi group all are sufficiently different in style, performance, price, etc... to not compete too strongly.

LJ909 > Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion 08/18/2017 at 20:33

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Because I think Seat would compete with VW on pretty much all models. Seat is pretty much a Spanish VW.

LJ909 > Svend 08/18/2017 at 20:42

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Here in the US there is a lot of toe stepping going on, but its not just with VW. But VW competes with itself across all brands here. Just look at the Touareg,Q7 and Cayanne. All high end SUV’s.

Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion > LJ909 08/18/2017 at 22:58

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Really?

I always considered Seat a 20k-30k range, VW in the 30k-40k, and Audi 40k+

LJ909 > Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion 08/19/2017 at 00:34

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Yea. If you look at the whole VW range here in the US, from the low end with the base Jettas and Golfs in the teens to the upper trims of the Atlas, Passat, GTi etc it competes with Seat more than anything.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > LJ909 08/19/2017 at 03:02

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Exactly. The same applies to the Passat and Jetta. Though it is a double edged sword. Offering the proper Euro spec Passat would be risky because it is too complex for the North American market just like the B5 and B6 Passats which have a really bad reputation in the USA from what I’ve read.

duurtlang > Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion 08/19/2017 at 05:46

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No, SEAT and Skoda offer similar vehicles as VW for a similar or slightly lower price. They however are slightly (half a segment?) larger, at least Skodas are. A Superb for example is more spacious than a Passat, but not necessarily significantly cheaper. VWs and Skodas and the like are all in the €12-50k range. Compare, for example, a base VW Up versus a top of the line Skoda Superb or the biggest crossover, whatever that’s called.

Obviously there is no Atlas in Europe. Too large, too cheaply built and clearly never designed with Europe in mind.

duurtlang > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 08/19/2017 at 05:53

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The B6 is a POS in Europe too though. The B5 was flawed but generally fine.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > duurtlang 08/19/2017 at 06:06

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The B6 really is a pos. I still think the Euro Passat should be offered instead of a watered down developing country special.

duurtlang > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 08/19/2017 at 06:21

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It would probably be too expensive and too small for Americans. They like the developing market specials as they buy by the pound. There is a reason our market Accord was offered as a ‘luxury’ Acura in the US. Same with the mainstream Opels being offered as luxury Buicks in the US.

I know my rental special 2016 Chevy Impala Limited was, well, a rental special. But that thing was like a blown up 90s Twingo with a large engine. The interior and the materials were like a bad joke, so bad and so cheaply made you wouldn’t believe it if you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes. And those seats, I still have nightmares. They were as comfortable and supportive as church benches covered by a fabric that resembled something made by someone who is learning knitting but is utterly untalented and doesn’t have the funds to buy proper materials.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > duurtlang 08/19/2017 at 06:30

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But large sedans don’t have to be bland shitheaps. The lwb Passat works just fine in China. My grandma’s US Accord was surprisingly solid all around.

The 2016 Impala you had was the fleet special on an archiac platform. I was shocked by the seat fabric which was about as bad as decades old American airport carpet floor.

dogisbadob > LJ909 08/19/2017 at 14:51

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And the Touareg is coming back to the US in 2019

VW tries to be cheaper in the US, to try to compete with Honda and Toyota, and they fail because VW can’t make good cars. Even their more expensive cars are no good. So if they can’t make good cars at the high price point, they definitely can’t make good cars at the low price point.

dogisbadob > Svend 08/19/2017 at 14:52

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the LWB is probably coming from China, so it will be cheaper. They like LWB small cars over there.

LJ909 > dogisbadob 08/19/2017 at 14:53

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Where did you see this at? Ive seen nothing SUV wise coming from VW in 19' except that T-Roc.

dogisbadob > LJ909 08/19/2017 at 15:00

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Car and Driver. Check it out

LJ909 > dogisbadob 08/19/2017 at 15:05

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Oh yea I saw the spy shots and the article. I hope none of it is true. But with VAG not understanding the US auto market it probably is. It doesn’t make sense to ax a model for one model year and then bring it back the next. Not to mention it was never a big seller, the fact that that Atlas is bigger and cheaper, and the existence of the both the Q7 and the Cayanne all combine to make the Touareg’s existence here in the US not make sense anymore.

Svend > dogisbadob 08/19/2017 at 15:26

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I think the U.S. Tiguan LWB is coming from Puebla, Mexico.

The Tiguans are being made in Germany, Mexico, India and Malaysia.

Vítor > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 08/19/2017 at 18:51

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Interesting enough, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, Russia and Nigeria only get the Euro Passat, so the US version is not even a developing country special. India doesn’t get any Passat and China gets both

Steve in Manhattan > LJ909 08/19/2017 at 19:16

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Am I the only one who would buy a Volvo if I needed a vehicle in that class?

LJ909 > Steve in Manhattan 08/19/2017 at 20:44

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Probably. I know I wouldn’t. But the only thing in this class they have that competes, the XC60 costs way more.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > LJ909 08/19/2017 at 21:39

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But if you’re looking for a 3rd row you’ll just get the atlas anyway, so they only offer the 3rs row in the Tiguan cause they can actually fit it in there. That thing looks like the size of the first gen Touareg. But for folks that just want the “Smaller” SUV, they’ll just go with the base or get the third row and never use it (like we did when we had a first gen Q7). But I don’t think these will be cross shopped much. They are geared toward two different buyers. But they did upsize the Tiguan to the point there is now room for smaller SUV in the lineup the size of the last gen Tiguan.

Matsayz > BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo 08/19/2017 at 22:21

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If you were going to buy a VW, what would you buy?

TylerLinner > LJ909 08/19/2017 at 23:08

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If you’re looking for a cheap vehicle with three rows of seating, according to the Goog, a Chevy Traverse is $28,700, a Honda Odyssey is $29,850, Dodge Caravan is $25,995, a Chrysler To- er, Pacifica is $28,995, Toyota Sienna is $29,750, Kia Sedona is $26,900, a Mercedes Metris is $25,995, and the Ford Transit Connect is $23,010.

The Atlas is listed at $31,425. And VW is not known for its build quality. It’s also not particularly known for being luxurious, fast, fuel efficient or anything except German.

If it were me needing 7 seats in a vehicle, I’d probably get a Transit Connect. It’s smaller and cheaper than a lot of the competitors, is an honest minivan instead of a dumb crossover, and comes in yellow. But if anything came with three pedals, I’d very strongly consider it.

LJ909 > TylerLinner 08/19/2017 at 23:36

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See thats another point: when you look outside of VW to competitors brands, both the Tiguan and Atlas look less appealing. And according to someone else on here, the build quality on both is very cheap, as is usual with VW when bringing vehicles to the US market. They might sell a few thousand a year, but I dont see either lighting sales charts on fire.

BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo > Matsayz 08/19/2017 at 23:43

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Probably a Golf TSI Wolfsburg Edition. I’m not sure how to explain it, but it has a certain charm to it. I’d have it over a GTI. It appeals to me in a way I can’t put in words.

Zohaibman72 > LJ909 08/19/2017 at 23:47

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I believe its to compete with the Rogue, a smaller crossover with a 7 seat option strictly for children.

Carbon Fiber Sasquatch > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 08/20/2017 at 00:08

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I was interested in the swb tiguan as my family vehicle until I found out that the US wasn’t getting it. I really thought that was the whole point of the Atlas is that we would only get the swb to compete with the Rav4, escapes and Equinoxs of the world.

VW USA must be run by a bunch shaved lemurs. No one makes lineup decisions as bad as they do.

TylerLinner > LJ909 08/20/2017 at 00:08

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To make it worse, I think the days of the simple, cheap transportation appliance (like their aircooled models) have long, long since passed. So what does VW bring to the table aside from sterile iPhone-like looks and torquey engines?

LJ909 > TylerLinner 08/20/2017 at 00:28

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Questionable reliability thats still hotly debated, bland ass designs, decontened cars compared to Europe for our market,mid pack performance, if that (anything thats not the GTi or Golf R is forgettable performance wise), and some models that make you ask, why are they trying to be Audi like? Its just always been all negative with VW for me.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > TylerLinner 08/20/2017 at 02:12

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Theres no fucking way you can get a new Odyssey for less than 35k

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch 08/20/2017 at 02:39

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That’s just so dumb of VW NA. Just yesterday I rode in the backseat of a fully loaded Tiguan and I gotta say I was quite impressed.

VW of NA’s lineup is incomplete if you’d ask me.

TylerLinner > LJ909 08/20/2017 at 04:02

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It seems there only people calling VW’s reliable are the VW enthusiasts who wildly throw money at their continuously broken cars. And this is coming from a former VW owner who had enjoyed driving many VWs. At this point the only way I’d buy another VW would be to rally it.

TylerLinner > Denver Is Stuck In The 90s 08/20/2017 at 04:05

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Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion > duurtlang 08/20/2017 at 10:03

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Build Quality wise, are the Seats and Skodas on par with VW?

I wouldn’t know, as I’ve never seen a Seat/Skoda.

jkm7680 > TylerLinner 08/20/2017 at 12:03

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Volkswagen is shit at making cars properly. Coming from a former massive VW fanboy. Still love Audi though.....

duurtlang > Herr Quattro - Has a 4-motion 08/20/2017 at 12:31

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I can’t say I’ve been in many. I believe the difference isn’t all that big. Skodas don’t have worse build quality than the competition though, like Opel (your Buick), Ford, Toyota and most of the others.

TylerLinner > jkm7680 08/21/2017 at 00:32

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I’m guessing the only reason my Mk1 ran so well was that I lived a few miles from a Porsche race shop that knew CIS.

jkm7680 > TylerLinner 08/21/2017 at 01:22

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My ‘16 Jetta was a massive hunk of shit that never quite was working properly.