Volkswagen Tiguan R

• Published date: 08 March 2023
• Publication title: West Coast Farming Times, The

Yes and no. Ok this is a real fence sitters response, because some elements of the Tiguan R work brilliantly others are less convincing. This is a very diff erent vehicle to the Golf R. For starters, it isn't as fleet footed and doesn't ride on Volkswagen's very latest platform that underpins the 8th generation Golf

Larger, older and heavier, the Tiguan has diff erent bones that are anchored to the company's previous platform, reflecting the fact it dates back to 2016. It's the old bogey of weight and age at work, that prevent it scaling the same lofty performance and handling heights of the epic Golf R. There's no shame in that because few vehicles do.

This first-generation Tiguan R has undergone extensive ride and handling upgrades, alongside its heavily reworked 2.0L turbo petrol engine producing maximum power of 235kW of power, while 400Nm of torque delivers plenty of low speed clout.

It follows the same power and torque script as the Golf R engine with the same 7-speed automatic with launch control.

Together they provide the essential ingredients to cook up a 'eat my dust' 0-100kph sprint time of touch over five seconds.

But what really helps set it apart is an all-new drive system - 4MOTION with R-Performance Torque Vectoring. The Tiguan R (alongside the Golf R) are the first Volkswagens using this newly developed technology. It has a specially engineered multi-plate clutch coupling system, capable of channeling up to 100% of the possible torque to the wheel nearest the outside of a bend, for greater traction.

The vehicle looks the part thanks to an extensive customization job such as R design bumpers, exterior mirror covers in matt chrome, and body colour keyed rear spoiler. This heavyweight performance comes with an equally heavyweight price of $80,990 for the model rumbled out for this road test. There's a limited first edition version for an extra $5k, that buys you a host of performance enhancing features including 'drift mode'.

While down...