by J.T. Hills
SGN Contributing Writer

TOP

• Spacious passenger cabin
• Innovate use of technology
• High-end design

BOTTOM

• Spacious passenger cabin, with modest cargo volume
• Only takes premium gas
• Could never figure out how to hook up the Bluetooth

The 2009 Tiguan is a completely new compact SUV from Volkswagen. The Tiguan is based on the Golf/Rabbit platform, and is VWs answer to the Toyota RAV and Honda CR-V. Volkswagen describes the Tiguan as the GTI of compact SUVs. The premise is that VW promises the same driving dynamics as the GTI and is offered in either front-wheel-drive or 4Motion all-wheel-drive. Its offered with a choice of two transmissions, a six-speed automatic or six-speed manual, and comes with a 2.0-liter 200-hp turbo-charged inline four-cylinder engine. After a week with the 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan SE 4Motion, Ive compiled a brass-tacks list of highly technical scientific data based upon observations, experimentation, tabulations, inspections and so forth. Here we go:

What does Tiguan mean? If theres someone out there who knows, Id love to know.
Those crazy wacky marketing execs at Volkswagen love to come up with some interesting names with their SUVs. Tiguan, Touareg 2, thats just some creative stuff & its not at all boring, easily pronounced, or instantly identifiable like Escape or RAV or Santa Fe. You got to give them credit; thats some unique stuff. Beyond the name, the Tiguan does have the same great looks of the Touareg, but only on a smaller scale.

Tiguan evidently means sassy!
The Tiguan is the Robin to the Touaregs Batman, meaning its little, tight, cute, and Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay & um, Gay. The SE 4Motion model I tested came with a 2.0-liter turbocharged 200-horsepower inline four-cyliner with 207 lbs-ft. of torque and the six-speed automatic Triptronic transmission with 4Motion all-wheel-drive. Its pretty zippy and fun, though GTI in a compact SUV might be a bit of an overstatement. Out on the freeway, theres plenty of get-up-and-go, it feels incredibly balanced, and the 4Motion all-wheel-drive really grips the road. I had an opportunity to take the Tiguan on a road trip east of the mountains for a couple of days. I liked that the driving experience kept you interested after hours in the car. A lot of times I find that I just set the cruise control, turn up the radio and just let the time fly by. The Tiguan really engages the driver. The size of the Tiguan is really urban friendly; it easily fits into any parking spot and doesnt dwarf the car next to you. I did find that I wished the turning radius was a bit tighter, though.

I really, really liked how Volkswagen went about designing the passenger compartment of the Tiguan. Im on the tall side, and I found it to be extremely comfortable. The rear passengers also dont seam to suffer. I also like the interior ergonomics. Its well-thought-out and intuitive to use. The Nav systems is one of the better ones out there, and it logically integrates the entertainment system (it plays DVD movies), satellite radio, MP3 player, and has a rearview camera. The rearview camera also has a bit of a stroke of genius about it too: It calculates where youll end up while backing up by the direction of your tires, then places lines on the screen to show you the best way to get into a parking spot. Its great! The one thing that completely confounded me, though, was how to connect my phone to the Bluetooth system. I tried for days, tried looking for it in the owners manual, but I just gave up. Have the dealer help you out on that one.

OK, for a before-tax price of $33,165, what do you get?
The 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan comes with a long list of standard luxury features, and the upgrades are fairly priced. Heres a quick look at the favorites includes:

Performance

• 2.0-Liter Turbocharged in-line four-cylinder 200-hp engine
• Six-speed automatic Triptronic transmission with 4Motion all-wheel-drive
• Electro-mechanical power steering with speed variable assist
• Independent strut front suspension
• Multilink rear suspension
• Electronic stability control
• Anti-lock brakes
• Electronic brake force distribution
• 17 alloy wheels

Safety

• Dual stage front airbags
• Front head/thorax side airbags
• Side curtain airbags
• Tire pressure monitoring system

Comfort and Convenience

• Single climate zone control
• In-dash six-disc CD changer with MP3 format capability
• Eight-way power driver and eight-way manual front passenger seat
• Leather-wrapped, multifunction steering wheel
• Fog lamps
• Power, heated exterior mirrors
• Sirius satellite radio

Additional Charges

• DVD navigation with rear back-up camera ($1,950)
• Power panoramic sunroof ($1,300)
• Rear side supplemental restraints ($350)
• Destination and delivery ($690)