2022 Volkswagen Tiguan

Since the Volkswagen Tiguan got a new lease of life with a third row added for front-wheel-drive models, sales of the stylish compact crossover rose dramatically. In a bid to keep up the momentum, Volkswagen has given the Tiguan a hefty facelift for 2022 and added some essential standard features to keep it up to date with tech-savvy competition from brands like Hyundai and Kia as well as segment stalwarts like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. Power comes from just one source; Volkswagen's tried-and-tested 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 184 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque hooked up to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Tiguan's unique selling point over the competition in the segment is having a third row of seating; however, if you opt for all-wheel-drive, you'll have to be content with the traditional five-seater layout. Either way, the Tiguan is a useful family and commuter car that's dipping a toe in the premium segment, particularly in the higher trim levels.

The Tiguan's 2022 facelift is a success. It's still a handsome, classy-looking crossover, but now more closely resembles other new VWs like the Atlas. The headlights have been restyled and are LED units across the range, including LED daytime running lights. There is also a redesigned VW logo, and at the back, the Tiguan model name has been moved to the center as the latest trend demands. New alloy wheel designs range from 17 to 20 inches in size depending on the trim. All models get trailer hitch preparation, heated door mirrors, and roof rails.

A panoramic sunroof is optional on the SE but standard on both the top two trims. Exclusive to the SEL R-Line are power-folding mirrors with puddle lights and an illuminated grille light line. A power liftgate is standard on the middle two trims and, on the top trim, it gets a hands-free function. Both the SE R-Line Black and SEL R-Line get sportier bumpers, but the former has a full black-out treatment with black alloy wheels, window surrounds, and various trim elements.

As the dimensions show, the new VW Tiguan is one of the bigger competitors in its segment which is necessary to accommodate that third row. At 186.1 inches in length, it is around five inches longer than the Toyota RAV4. The Tiguan has a 109.9-inch wheelbase, a width without the mirrors of 72.4 inches, and a height of 66.4 inches. With all-wheel drive, the height increases to 66.5 inches. Ground clearance is either 7.4 inches for front-wheel-drive models or 7.6 inches with AWD.

Curb weight is 3,765 pounds with FWD and 3,856 lbs with AWD.

The base Tiguan S has an extremely limited color palette consisting of Pure White, Deep Black Pearl, Pyrite Silver metallic, and Platinum Gray metallic. To this selection, the SE adds Atlantic Blue metallic and the new Kings Red metallic, the latter costing $395 extra. The SE R-Line Black is compatible with the same hues as the base S, swapping out Pure White for the newly optional Oryx White ($395). Finally, the range-topping SEL R-Line shares the previous trim's palette but swaps Pyrite Silver for Atlantic Blue.

The Tiguan's 2.0-liter turbocharged engine is no ball of fire, but it also isn't completely devoid of power. It produces 184 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque, and that is directed to either the front wheels alone or all four via a part-time AWD system. The engine has a good spread of torque and feels responsive enough lower down, but you'll still need around nine seconds for the 0 to 60 mph sprint based on independent testing. That's slower than the base Toyota RAV4 and a lot slower than the turbocharged Mazda CX-5. But if sprint and top speed specs aren't your main priorities - as is often the case in the compact crossover arena - then the Tiguan is unlikely to disappoint. However, the towing capacity of 1,500 lbs is also lower than several competitors and well below the Toyota RAV4's 3,500-lb maximum.

VW's familiar EA888 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine finds use in the Tiguan but is detuned for efficiency over power compared to other applications. Here, it has 184 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque. It does what it needs to do; progress is smooth and the low-down torque is useful, but it will never set your pants on fire. That's perfectly acceptable in a vehicle of this kind. A smooth eight-speed automatic transmission is the only transmission choice, and together with just one engine choice, VW believes that this setup will suit the needs of its core target market. Considering that the Tiguan is VW's biggest seller in the US, it seems to be a smart move.

Tootling around town or cruising at the legal limit is no problem for the Tiguan, as any quick test drive will reveal. It's only when joining the highway and needing to get up to speed quickly that the vehicle starts to feel labored. In these cases, competition from Mazda and some others will make the Tiguan feel underpowered.

Even in its sportier R-Line trim levels, the Tiguan doesn't convince as a performance vehicle, but the only complaint is that Volkswagen insists on calling it sporty. It's unnecessary as Tiguan holds up as a strong and stylish family, commuter crossover without trying to apply an extra level over the top. The ride is smooth around town and takes the edges off of even California's most unkempt and roughest freeways. The steering is quick and direct for the segment and more generous with its feedback than most. That doesn't make the Tiguan sporty, it makes it a great little hustler around town and a little more interesting on a tight back road than your typical family hauler. The brakes aren't at the same level, though. They're a little soft and spongey but still don't lack stopping power. Instead, we're going to call that a positive if you care about passenger comfort and like to drive smoothly.

Volkswagen has extracted an extra mile per gallon out of the four-cylinder turbocharged engine, which goes a little way to make up for the engine's lack of vigor. Overall, though, the balance of power and driving finesse is a cut above what most people need or want in a family hauler or commuter car, and that's a good thing.

The base Tiguan has seen a small improvement in its EPA figures for the 2022 model year. The FWD models will now return 23/30/26 mpg city/highway/combined, a 1 mpg improvement on the highway and combined cycles. With AWD, the Tiguan's gas mileage figures drop to 22/29/25 mpg; again, the combined rating is 1 mpg better. The least economical model is the R-Line 4motion which returns 21/28/24 mpg.

The FWD models have a 15.3-gallon gas tank so can cover about 398 miles on a tank. With its bigger 15.9-gallon gas tank, expect the same range from regular AWD models or 382 miles in R-Line specification.

The VW Tiguan's cabin has been the beneficiary of several updates for the 2022 model year. Still, it remains a solidly built and classy, if rather staid, place to sit. That's a common complaint in Volkswagen's family vehicles from reviewers, but some people are going to enjoy the minimalism. Ahead of the driver is a new steering wheel, and all Tiguans now have a digital gauge cluster. This cluster's size depends on the chosen trim. For the climate control system, there are also new touch-sensitive controls that take some time to adjust to if you're used to manipulating physical knobs. The cabin is spacious overall, but those in the third row will be shorter on headroom. All models ship with keyless access, regular cruise control, and heated front seats. As you work your way up the lineup, the VW adds a power-adjustable driver's seat, a larger center touchscreen interface, wireless charging, and nicer materials.

In front-wheel-drive models, the Tiguan is a seven-seater, but with the usual caveat of all three-row crossovers - you'll only want to put the smallest passengers in the back where headroom and legroom are at their least (33.8 and 27.9 inches). It's a little cramped back there but your average tweens are going to be just fine. You can't get the third row in all-wheel-drive optioned Tiguan models, and the gain there is in a little extra cargo space, which becomes even more generous with the seats down. Legroom is excellent for the second row in either layout (36.6 inches FWD/38.7 inches AWD), and standard heated front seats and steering wheel are a welcome addition to the standard features list.

The driver's seat provides a prominent position with great visibility front and back and plenty of adjustability from the eight-way power seat with lumbar adjustment. While the seats appear simple, we spent a lot of time on the road in the Tiguan and found back fatigue was no problem - it's easy to go a couple of hours driving the Tiguan without a stretching break.

The base model has a more basic polyurethane material for the steering wheel, whereas the SE gets leatherette and trims above that get a leather-wrapped steering wheel in bespoke R-Line design with perforated leather. The entry-level Tiguan sticks with cloth upholstery in a choice of either Storm Gray or Titan Black colors. Moving up to the SE and SE R-Line Black will get you leatherette upholstery in the same colors, plus an additional color called Cinnamon. Genuine leather upholstery is reserved for the SEL R-Line in Titan Black, Storm Gray, or Noisette Brown (a combination with Titan Black), all of which get white stitching. Although there are some harder plastics here and there, the Tiguan generally feels solidly screwed together.

Even with all three rows in place, the FWD Tiguan still offers 12 cubic feet of cargo space. For quick trips to the grocery store, it's unlikely that you'll need to fold the third row. Behind the second row, FWD models have a generous 33 cubes and AWD derivatives have 37.6 cubes. Behind the first row, expect 65.3 cubes in FWD models and 73.4 cubes in the AWD models. The AWD versions have more cargo space because these models can't be equipped with a third row. Most trims have a power tailgate. If cargo space is a top concern, the Honda CR-V does ultimately beat the Tiguan in this area.

Interior storage space consists of large door pockets, two large cupholders in front, and a covered center console that doubles as an armrest. At the back, there are seatback map pockets, and second-row passengers have a fold-down armrest with two more cupholders.

Four trims provide enough choice for customers to balance their budgets with the features they need. The base model is the S and it gets all the essentials like cruise control, air conditioning, manually-adjustable front seats with heating, and an eight-inch digital gauge cluster. From a safety perspective, the base price buys you a rearview camera, forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring, and rear traffic alert. The SE is the first trim to get the new dual-zone automatic climate control system with touch-sensitive controls. It also adds an eight-way power-adjustable driver's seat, an auto-dimming interior rearview mirror, a power liftgate, wireless charging, the IQ-DRIVE driver-assist system, and adaptive cruise control.

The SE R-Line Black gains a 15-color LED ambient lighting system that gives the cabin a cool glow at night. It also has park distance control, but otherwise, its changes are more visual than anything else. Finally, the top-spec SEL R-Line leads the way with an overhead camera system, dynamic road sign display, a parking steering assistant, the larger digital gauge cluster, a heated steering wheel, a power-adjustable front passenger seat, and seat ventilation for those in front.

For shoppers who look above the base S model, Volkswagen's new eight-inch MIB3 infotainment system is intuitive to use once you realize you need to go into the Apps section to get to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto - both of which are standard. As well as Bluetooth, two USB ports are standard up front and a 6.5-inch screen with the eight-inch digital cluster. On the base S, you make do with the older MIB2 system on a 6.5-inch screen. Upgrades can include a Fender Premium Audio System (standard on the SEL R-Line) with 480 watts and nine speakers over the standard six and a 10-inch digital cluster for the Digital Cockpit system. The standard sound system is a little hollow sounding, so if you care about the quality of music, then upgrading to the full, rich sound of the Fender system is well worth considering. Other standard features include Amazon Alexa, SiriusXM, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and HD Radio.

According to J.D. Power in the USA, the 2022 Tiguan has a rather average quality and reliability rating of 76 out of 100. Several other compact SUVs are rated more highly than the Tiguan in this area. So far, the 2022 model has been subject to one recall by the NHTSA for an improperly tightened brake pipe nut that could affect braking performance on up to 1,285 cars. The 2021 model was recalled twice; these problems were for bolts that could be missing from the front seat tracks and issues with the images from the rearview camera. Fortunately, no major maladies have affected the powertrain in recent years.

If anything does go wrong, the Tiguan is sold with a four-year/50,000-mile limited warranty that extends to the powertrain. A two-year/20,000-mile complimentary scheduled maintenance warranty is part of the deal in the US too.

All of the Tiguan's virtues could be undone by poor crashworthiness scores, but there's nothing to worry about in this area. The IIHS has yet to fully evaluate the 2022 Tiguan but it did score top Good scores in every crash test it was subjected to. The 2021 Tiguan was fully evaluated and it emerged with a Top Safety Pick award. It's just as well that all Tiguans now have LED headlights, though, because last year's model with more basic halogen reflector headlamps only managed a Poor rating.

At the NHTSA, the 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan SUV was partially evaluated, scoring four stars for the rollover test and five stars for the side crash test. However, the agency noted that during the side impact test, the driver's door unlatched and opened. That was the only issue picked up in the NHTSA's Volkswagen Tiguan safety review.

Those impressive VW Tiguan safety reviews are little surprise considering the array of standard safety gear. The Tiguan lineup is generously specified with safety equipment. All models have six airbags, including front side airbags and curtain airbags for front and rear occupants. A rearview camera, tire pressure monitoring, forward collision warning with autonomous emergency braking and pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring, rear traffic alert, and automatic post-collision braking are all standard.

From the SE and up, the Tiguan gets VW's IQ.DRIVE system. This endows the SUV with semi-automated capability with lane centering and a capacitive steering wheel and uses front and rear radar sensors. At this level, the VW also has active side assist, adaptive cruise control with Stop & Go, lane-keep assist, travel assist, and emergency assist. The SE R-Line Black adds park distance control, and the range-topping SEL R-Line has park assist, high beam control, dynamic road sign display, and an overhead-view camera.

The Volkswagen Tiguan was already one of our top picks for a compact crossover, but with its new styling and updated standard feature set, it's a solid contender at the top with Toyota's refreshed RAV4. The center display is small if you look at the numbers, but the Digital Cockpit takes some of the pressure off of a center-mounted display, so we didn't find that frustrating. In terms of day-to-day driving, we can't find a deal-breaker when putting it up against higher-trim competition like the Honda CR-V. The Mazda CX-5 is a nicer place to sit, but the Tiguan has a technological edge. The most comparable compact crossover in terms of technology and ride comfort is Hyundai's Santa Fe, which is the one we suspect most people interested in the Tiguan will be cross-shopping against. It's technically a little larger, but as far as three-row compact SUVs go, there really isn't a long list to pick from. Our biggest note with regards to the Tiguan is that if you're buying in this segment for performance, look elsewhere, as Mazda, Kia, and other brands all offer more in that department.

The 2022 Volkswagen Tiguan starts at an MSRP of $25,995 for the S, increasing to $29,495 for the SE. The SE R-Line Black will cost $32,295 and the SEL R-Line - the only trim with standard AWD - has a price of $36,595. Adding AWD costs $1,500 on the other trims and removes the rearmost seats in the process. These Volkswagen Tiguan prices all exclude a destination charge of $1,195.

The VW Tiguan lineup consists of four trims: S, SE, SE R-Line Black, and SEL R-Line. Common to all is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot with 184 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. No other powertrain configurations are available. FWD is standard on the first three trims, but AWD can be added to each. The SEL R-Line has an AWD system by default. All FWD Tiguan models have a third seating row, while AWDs stick with two rows.

Starting things off is the S. It comes with LED headlights, 17-inch alloy wheels, and heated side mirrors, but makes do with a manual liftgate. Inside, this model has manually-adjustable, heated front seats and cloth upholstery. It comes with basic cruise control, keyless access, air conditioning, and an eight-inch Digital Cockpit. It's the only trim to use the MIB2 infotainment system with a 6.5-inch touchscreen.

The SE is a noticeable step up in features and luxury. It rides on larger 18-inch alloys and has a power liftgate. This model adds dual-zone automatic climate control, remote start, leatherette upholstery, an eight-way power driver's seat, an eight-inch touchscreen, and wireless charging.

The SE R-Line Black is more sportily styled and comes with both 19-inch wheels and a panoramic sunroof. The steering wheel now has a classier leather wrapping, and park distance control means you're less likely to scratch your bumpers.

The range-topping SEL R-Line is the flashiest model in the range by virtue of large 20-inch alloys and an illuminated grille light line. Inside, you'll find genuine leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, ventilated front seats, navigation, and a nine-speaker Fender sound system.

There aren't many packages to choose from since VW has already equipped the Tiguan to a high standard. On the base S, the IQ.DRIVE Package & S Convenience Package looks like excellent value at $895. With adaptive cruise control, lane assist, rain-sensing wipers, a leatherette steering wheel and more, this is a box we'd definitely tick. On the SE, a panoramic sunroof will add $1,200 to the bill. Other than these upgrades, the options list is limited to accessories like a bike holder, a cargo box attachment, and a hood deflector.

If you need all-wheel drive and three rows, then you're out of luck if you like the Tiguan. We suspect most will skip right over the not-so-basic S trim, which we think is a serious value proposition in the segment if you want something utilitarian. The SE trim is going to be Volkswagen's volume seller for the refresh, and rightfully so. It boasts a ton of utility and technology for the average family, whether the third row is going to be in regular use or kept down until the odd occasion it becomes useful. In that case, we really don't see much value in the R-Line Black trim level as larger wheels will negatively impact ride quality, and the sporty trim and accents aren't enough to help justify the cost to add the panoramic sunroof. We would tick that box separately and make sure we were careful when parking as the park distance control is a great feature.

Moving to the top SEL R-Line is something we would think about carefully and only seriously consider if we knew serious seat time was in the future. While it has genuine leather seats, the Fender sound system, and ventilated seats, we wish the 20-inch wheels were an option purely on the basis of ride quality.

Finding itself in the midsize category, the Atlas is a larger vehicle than the Tiguan. It's unsurprisingly pricier, beginning at $33,475 and going up to over $50k for the most expensive model. By comparison, the most expensive Tiguan is $36,595. Essentially, the Atlas is the one to go for if you want more of everything, be it power, space, or luxury. Its base 2.0-liter turbo-four makes 235 hp, more than the Tiguan's 184 hp. There's also an Atlas V6 with 276 hp. Behind every seating row, the Atlas trounces the Tiguan in terms of cargo capacity. Its third row is also a lot less cramped than that of the Tiguan's. But if you'll only be using the third row sparingly and are on a tighter budget, a well-equipped Tiguan doesn't feel cheap or nasty alongside the Atlas. There's no winner or loser here - simply pick the VW SUV that best suits your needs.

Starting at $25,900, the CX-5 begins at almost exactly the same price as the Tiguan. However, these are two rather different crossovers. Whereas the Tiguan prioritizes practicality with its third seating row and excellent cargo space, the CX-5 is a better performer and the nicer vehicle to sit in and drive. The base CX-5 isn't turbocharged but is faster than the Tiguan, while the CX-5 Turbo will leave the Tiguan eating its dust with its 256-hp engine. The Mazda handles as well as anything else in this segment, and it looks lovely inside and out too. The Tiguan fights back with better cargo space and the ability to carry seven. This is a close call and depends on how much you need seven seats. If you don't, go with the Mazda.