Wife car?

"Tristan" (casselts)
12/11/2018 at 00:39 • Filed to: None

I mean, yeah, Oppo has pretty much agreed that the Tiguan isn’t anything special, but this one’s cheap... and base model 2.0 TSI MANUAL!

Don’t look at me like that... She’s the one who sent the link to ME!

Probably a terrible idea. I already have one 2.0-equipped VW to care for.

DISCUSSION (22)

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Tristan
12/11/2018 at 00:50

Owning two VWs at a time sounds like a textbook way to hate one self .

Tristan > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
12/11/2018 at 00:53

I suppose ONE of use should have something reliable... Then again, there is that neglected 21 year old Jeep sitting out on the street. It generally runs.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Tristan
12/11/2018 at 01:04

People who own multiple cars of one brand are weirdos.

[Closes garage door]

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
12/11/2018 at 01:07

No more dangerous or potentially self-hating than owning two Alfa Romeo...or any combination of FCA product for that matter!!!

Tristan > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
12/11/2018 at 01:16

Pontiac* + Lexus + Toyota =

D I V E R S I T Y

I think the last time I had a one-brand driveway was... 15 years ago? I was a Ferdboi back then. I got over it.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Tristan
12/11/2018 at 01:19

By the way, how are you enjoying the GLI?

Future Heap Owner > Tristan
12/11/2018 at 01:20

M ake sure the timing chain tensioner recall work was done! In general, fr om listening to the Humble Mechanic podcast (whose host was a VW mechanic for 13 years until 2017), the Tiguan sounds like VW’s most troublesome model in recent memory.

Future Heap Owner > Tristan
12/11/2018 at 01:32

ZoidB asks a good question. It’s been a bit over a week, you gonna do a second impressions post now that you’ve DDd it for a bit?

Forrest > Tristan
12/11/2018 at 01:39

Tall GTI is good GTI

Spamfeller Loves Nazi Clicks > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media
12/11/2018 at 02:29

Combination? Dude, you could have stopped at ‘any FCA product.’

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Tristan
12/11/2018 at 06:28

It’s a tall golf. Can’t be that bad.

boxrocket > Tristan
12/11/2018 at 06:42

So you like big stupid repair bills? Because that’s how you get big stupid repair bills.

Seriously, the gen-1 tiguan is baaaaaad.

May I suggest a manual-equipped CX-5 or RAV4 instead?

boxrocket > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/11/2018 at 06:44

You forgot that it’s VAG. They designed it to be cheap to make and sacrificed in many of the wrong places. The gen-1 tiguan is embarrassingly bad.

Tristan > boxrocket
12/11/2018 at 08:03

CX-5, sure. RAV4? There's one on the driveway (her company car). It's an economical, reliable tin can of misery.

Tristan > Future Heap Owner
12/11/2018 at 08:06

Soon!

Tristan > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
12/11/2018 at 08:07

It’s pretty good. Im going to make a post about it soonish!

OmerCarrothers333 > Tristan
12/11/2018 at 11:19

I find the Vw 2.0 to be pretty easy to do basic maintenance on. I mean, the Mk6 GTI’s version has the oil filter on the top of the block!

The only real worry, and I don’t know if I said this to you or someone else, is make sure the timing chain tensioners were replaced (if the car has a timing chain). The Mk6 generation used a timing chain, and the tensioners were prone to failure. The updated tensioners are cheap to buy, just a pain to install, but nowhere near as difficult as the nightmare that is the RS4 V8.

I was lucky, my engine came from the factory with updated tensioners, but I still need to keep my ears open for a chain failure, because it could happen.

OmerCarrothers333 > Tristan
12/11/2018 at 12:21

Oh, and in a year and a half of ownership, my GTI has had less problems than my wife’s MDX in the same time frame of ownership.

If that statement makes sense.

boxrocket > Tristan
12/11/2018 at 19:40

That’s a fair assessment.

I will give the RAV4 credit in one area where it greatly excels where others lack, at least on the prior generation: The “dead pedal” (driver’s left footrest) is HUUUUUGE, well placed in the wide flat footwell, and nicely angled for long road trips. Makes an Escape (and especially equinox/terrain!) feel nearly claustrophobic in comparison.

Tristan > boxrocket
12/11/2018 at 21:49

Solid point, but the base model’s complete lack of any semblance of lumbar support makes any drive greater than about 20 minutes downright painful!

boxrocket > Tristan
12/12/2018 at 20:24

Very true! I was in a customer’s 2016 RAV4 Limited today and I was impressed at how far they’ve come in material quality for the lowly RAV4, it almost felt like a small Lexus, and close to Mazda’s mid-tier trims on the CX-5. Same roomy footwell, and nice dashboard, but nothing else worth writing home about.

Tristan > boxrocket
12/13/2018 at 00:24

Fit and finish is decent, and there are no rattles, but overall it’s acres of black plastic and nylon fabric. The front seats are misery, and the switchgear is mostly lifted from the 1993 Camry parts bin. The back seat rules, though. Tons of head and leg room and they recline! The 6-speed auto shifts like an old, underpowered 4-cylinder malaise car. Sloppy, slow, and hates downshifts. The manumatic mode adds nothing and hates downshifts even more. There’s a sport mode. It turns on a green light on the dash that says “SPORT” and turns off the stupid little flashing ECO light. I can’t tell that it does much of anything else. It’s a fine appliance for people who don’t care about cars.