2022 Volkswagen Tiguan Life 132TSI Review

The Volkswagen Tiguan has somehow always managed to feel more premium than its mainstream mid-size SUV rivals. Think of it as premium-economy, amongst its economy rivals, thanks to its timeless, classy, albeit conservative design and solid performance thanks to its range of turbocharged engines. Add some German solidity into the equation and Volkswagen had a winner. Is the situation the same with the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan Life 132TSI?

But things have changed over the last few years since this current generation of the Tiguan launched in 2016. In what is a booming market segment, mid-sized SUV rivals have matured, gotten more premium and now offer better value for money than ever. Volkswagen has had to work hard to keep the Tiguan relevant, pulling out what you see here: the facelifted 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan.

Volkswagen Australia has high hopes for the Tiguan locally, expecting it to become the brand’s best selling car locally and this facelifted model ushers in a more modern interior and small external design changes to make the Tiguan feel a little more contemporary.

So is the up-to-date 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan Life 132TSI still a premium choice amongst its mid-size SUV peers? Let’s find out.

Price & Equipment: 7.5/10

While the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan range is priced from $41,390 plus on-road costs, we tested the entry-level Life with the larger 2.0-litre petrol engine and all-wheel drive, which is priced from $45,390 plus on-road costs (around $50,500 drive away).

Standard kit on the Tiguan Life includes 18-inch alloy wheels, automatic LED exterior lighting with automatic wipers, roof rails, heated and auto-folding mirrors, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, digital radio, a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, an eight-speaker sound system, tri-zone climate control with rear air vents, keyless entry and start, three USB-C ports and a power tailgate.

Safety equipment includes seven airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, lane keep assist with lane trace assist, driver attention monitoring, front and rear low-speed automatic braking, auto high beam, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.

The colour range for the Tiguan 132TSI Life includes the no cost ‘Pure White’, as well as the $900 extra ‘Deep Black’, our test car’s ‘Dolphin Grey’, ‘Reflex Silver’ and ‘Night Shade Blue’, and the $1,100 extra ‘Kings Red’.

There is just one option to select: the $5,100 Luxury Package, which our test car was equipped with and includes leather upholstery, heated front seats, a 10-way electric driver’s seat with memory functionality, a heated steering wheel and a panoramic sunroof.

The Volkswagen Tiguan competes with the best-selling Toyota RAV4 in Edge spec, priced at $48,915 plus on-road costs, the Kia Sportage GT-Line 2.0D AWD at $51,790 D/A and the Mazda CX-5 Akera 2.2D AWD costing $52,380 plus on-road costs.

Performance & Economy: 8/10

The 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan Life 132TSI comes with the Volkswagen Group’s now ubiquitous 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine making a total of 132kW of power and 320Nm of torque. The 132TSI engine is matched to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and a reactive all-wheel drive system – this is what makes up the $4,000 difference between the Tiguan Life 110TSI and 132TSI.

On the road, the engine mostly delights with its smooth and relaxed feel, making sure the Tiguan feels swift no matter the scenario, even with the relatively low power tune which the 132TSI has. Planting your foot from standstill does show a little lag where the turbocharger takes some time to spool, before the DSG takes a further moment engage first gear and send the Tiguan on its way. Volkswagen claims a 0-100km/h time of 7.7 seconds which is more than enough for most SUV buyers, and the Tiguan certainly lives up to what the numbers suggest on the road. We’re big fans of this drivetrain.

Sadly, this engine does have a habit for being a little thirsty on fuel around town. Over a week of driving around town and on some freeways, we were only able to average 11L/100km, which is rather off the 8.8L/100km average fuel consumption claimed by Volkswagen. However, more freeway stints should have this figure falling into the 8-9L/100km mark.

Ride & Handling: 8/10

Volkswagen has always setup the Tiguan to feel like a larger Golf and this latest iteration is no exception, offering a polished driving experience with just the right amount of flair to keep things fun behind the wheel.

Riding on modest 18-inch wheels means there is plenty of sidewall to soak up the worst of Melbourne’s largest potholes and bumps making the Tiguan feel like a well-built and solid SUV to punt along both around town and in the country. At higher speeds, the Tiguan feels safe and secure, almost sporty even, in the way it goes around corners. Even on relatively skinny tyres, the Tiguan grips tenaciously through corners with moderate amounts of body roll and changes direction crisply when needed too. The AWD system makes easy work of gravel roads and cold winter mornings, meaning traction is seldom an issue. Don’t go thinking the Tiguan is a proper off-roading SUV – like a Ford Everest, for example.

A special shoutout to the well-weighted steering, which allows drivers to place the Tiguan exactly where they want to on the road, lending further credit to the notion of just how well-judged the Tiguan’s driving experience is. Overall, the Tiguan is right up there with the class leaders, even if it lacks the outright sportiness of a Mazda CX-5 or a Kia Sportage, instead offering a wide range of talent perfectly suited to the needs of most drivers.

Interior & Practicality: 8.5/10

The Volkswagen Tiguan’s interior has always impressed with its vault-like solidity and clean and minimalist, albeit slightly bland lines. The 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan Life 132TSI scores some subtle upgrades over previous Tiguan’s to keep things fresh and modern inside.

But perhaps not as fresh and modern as the Mk8 Golf, with the Tiguan still featuring proper climate controls. They’re on a slick looking panel underneath the mains screen and even though they’re capacitive and not actually physical knobs to turn, they make interacting with the Tiguan very easy. Good design never dates.

The 8.0-inch touchscreen sitting in the top of the dash however will be a dead giveaway that the Tiguan’s interior is not as modern as some of its rivals. It’s a little small to our eyes and is easily overshadowed by the more modern screens found in say, a Hyundai Tucson. Luckily, it can connect to Apple Carplay and Android Auto wirelessly. Same goes for the graphics and interface which feel a little old too. The digital dials on the other hand are first class, somehow being extremely intuitive to use whilst still showing a ton of information.

Drivers will be big fans of the the quality leather steering wheel up front with the beautifully damped indicator and wiper stalks making the Tiguan feel much more expensive than it actually is. Same goes for the majority of the Tiguan’s interior plastics, they’re soft and nicely textured. Everything feels really well screwed together in a typical Germanic way. Our car’s Luxury Pack further heightened the feeling of luxury inside with some beautifully supple and supportive seats trimmed with leather.

The driving position is a little on the high and upright side, but this being a family SUV, it’s what we’d expect. The front seats are excellent with tons of adjustability, which makes the most of the Tiguan’s light and airy cabin up front. Storage up front is decent too, with a large glovebox and centre console, a cubby on the top of the dash, some space in front of the gear lever (where the wireless charging pad is) as well as some storage under the light control switches. The felt-lined door bins add to the Tiguan’s premium feel inside.

Rear seat passengers are well looked after too, with tonnes of legroom and headroom thanks to seats which both slide and recline. This really adds to the practicality of the Tiguan, meaning it can be tailored to either accommodate larger passengers or more cargo in the boot. But not both, more on that later. that can slide on rails and backrests that can recline. Rear seat passengers also get their own air vents with their own climate controls, a USB-C port and a 12-volt plug, along with an armrest, little seat back pockets to store mobile phones and some large door bins to store drink bottles.

The boot comes in at a very decent 615L of space with the back seats pushed all the way forward, which compares favourably to the Toyota RAV4’s 580L. Having the back seats pushed all the way back will reduce this figure substantially. Folding the 60/40 backrest will liberate up to 1,655L of boot space. A space save spare wheel sits under the adjustable boot floor.

Service & Warranty: 6/10

Like other Volkswagen products, the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan Life 132TSI comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty with 12 months of roadside assistance. Its service intervals are once-yearly/every 15,000km, whichever comes first. Five years/75,000km of servicing costs a massive $3,533 ($707 per service), but buyers can choose a service pack for slightly less at $2,950 ($590 service).

A Toyota RAV4 is much cheaper to service than the Tiguan, with each of the first five services costing a mere $230, which adds up to a total of $1,150 over the first five years/75,000km of ownership. Other rivals also undercut the Tiguan’s servicing costs too. A Tucson costs $1,595 to service over the first five years/75,000km, the CX-5 costs $1,810 over five years/50,000kms to service and the Kia Sportage costs $2,465 over the five years/50,000kms.

2022 Volkswagen Tiguan Life 132TSI DiscoverAuto Rating: 7.6/10

The 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan Life 132TSI shines with the same strengths Tiguan’s have long displayed. It’s got a little bit a premium edge, drives well and is rather spacious. As an all-rounder, it truly does it all, and it does so really well. The only chink in it armour is its expensive servicing.

While the interior might not win any awards for the most flamboyant design, its design shows how well some things age. We’re glad the Tiguan kept its physical climate controls in an era of more and more manufacturers going in the direction of placing all majour controls on touchscreens. Sure the Mk8 Golf might pack larger touchscreens, but there is something endearing about the Tiguan’s simplicity.

For those after a premium feeling German mid-size SUV that can seemingly do it all, buyers need to look no further than the Tiguan. The Tiguan Life 132TSI without Luxury Pack might very likely be the pick of the Tiguan range, offering just enough of everything to make it one very compelling Volkswagen that needs to be on your shopping list.