By Ian Strachan.
I was always a fan of Volkswagen’s Tiguan Allspace, the German company’s offering in the compact sports utility vehicle sector which gave you practicality and performance, with a comfortable seven-seat cabin.
So I was sad when I heard that the Allspace was reaching the end of its life. But it’s replacement – the Volkswagen Tayron is bigger and better and a more than worthy successor.
With muscular and rugged good looks but still unmistakably a Volkswagen, the award-winning Tayron gives you more passenger and luggage space, a premium interior and a wealth of technology.
The Tayron has impressive load carrying capabilities and practicality. There’s plenty of room for luggage and passengers with 345 litres of load space, or a massive1905 litres with all seats folded flat apart from the front seats.
Plus you get seven seats as standard. But all this extra space hasn’t been achieved at the expense of the Tayron’s attractive but rugged design. The car has striking lines with smart LED headlights, illuminated VW badges and a full-width LED crossbar at the rear.
There’s a wide choice of engines including turbo-charged petrol or diesel as well as mild or plug-in hybrids. The 2.0 petrol variants have VW’s 4MOTION all-wheel-drive. I tested the mild hybrid Tayron R-Line 1.5 eTSI.
The interior is an extremely comfortable and airy place to be, with excellent visibility all round and pleasant trim and seat materials. Clear, well-lit instruments and easily accessible controls help the overall feeling of well-being inside the cabin.
Specification on the R-Line specification which I tested is good, with four driving modes, three-zone electronic air conditioning, 12.9-inch touch-screen navigation system with eight-speaker DAB radio plus Bluetooth compatibility, Apple CarPlay and voice control. You also get 20 inch alloy wheels, silver-anodised roof rails, all round electric windows and door mirrors, an electronic parking brake with auto hold and LED headlights.
Other goodies on the R-Line include automatic high-beam, smartphone charger, USB ports, ambient interior lighting with 30 colour options, heated front seats with massage function, leather, heated multi-function steering wheel and rear window sun blinds.
Extras on my test car included HD matrix headlights with digital projection and LED rear lights (£610), a 15-inch infotainment display and head-up display (£1160), a comfort package including electric tailgate, park assist memory function and keyless entry (£1170) and a driver assistance package including lane assist and emergency assist and exterior mirrors with memory feature (£1,050)
The 1.5 litre 150 horsepower mild hybrid petrol engine in my test car gives a respectable 44.8 miles to the gallon in mixed driving, and is a smooth unit with adequate power across the range. At motorway speeds it feels comfortable and unfussed. My test car had a smooth seven-speed automatic gearbox
The Tiguan made a very good impression on the market and the Tayron looks set to continue that trend. It looks good, has a nice driving environment, added practicality and good performance.
The Tayron R-Line 1.5 eTSI 150PS automatic comes at £43,645 on the road, and will, I’m sure, hold its value well.
