The Tiguan has been around for a good few years now and has sold very well in all parts of the country. When the new facelifted model turned up last year, you could see the Tiguan had really grown up. This is the latest version of the Tiguan and comes with more space and the ability to have seven seats, with two pop-up seats in the boot.

Walking up to the Allspace its extra size is barely noticeable as the styling of the standard car is carried on over the longer length without looking like it has been stretched. It is only when you open the boot that you notice the extra room and the seats. As is often the case with these boot seats, they are fine for medium- to small-sized children but not great for the tall teenager or standard-sized adult.

Once in the main cabin the Volkswagen (VW) seven seater is very comfortable in the highline spec with lots of technology up front, including the excellent latest generation VW infotainment system, which includes Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard. This system is very intuitive and the touch screen has very little lag which is better than most. The built-in satellite navigation is very good but I still always end up going back to the old reliable Google Maps through the bluetooth audio.

In the back there is separate heating controls so the rear passengers can control their own climate, without having to disturb the driver. There is also aeroplane-style tables on the back of the front seat, where during the week my younger passengers used to great effect to set up mini play areas to keep them amused on any longer drives. Anything that keeps the smaller commuters happy is a good thing.

The airplane-style seat back tables were well-used by the small ones.

On the road

The test car was the 2.0 TDI version producing 150bhp. This power was transmitted to all four wheels via the Volkswagen DSG automatic gearbox. This power train set-up makes this sizeable SUV a very nice car to drive and despite its size, it handles better than you expect from a car this size. As this is the four-motion version of the Tiguan, it has selectable driving mode from normal road driving to what appears to be icy mountain mode. With the current weather it was hard to find anything other than a hard surface to drive it on, but when asked to climb a steep incline it scrambled up it with no fuss, just a small cloud of dust. On the main roads, the stretched Tiguan was very well -behaved with lots of tech to make life very easy. In this spec, it came with cruise control as standard and has been given the technology upgrade which includes a nifty heads up display, panoramic sunroof and a very useful lane change assist system, which helped to make changing lanes a far easier and safer proposition. This car also came with VW’s very smart Dynamic Light Assist system, which claims to deliver the optimal light for driving without causing your fellow motorists any grief. It seemed to work as at no point was I getting flashed by oncoming traffic and you could barely notice the change in visibility when meeting another car.

Verdict

The Tiguan Allspace fits in very well in the Volkswagen range, just above the normal Tiguan and below the newly arrived Touareg. With the capability to seat seven with ease it’s a great addition to the range. This size doesn’t affect the character of the Tiguan, it still feels like a very well put together SUV with lots of technology. As always, the test car was very well-specified and thus bring the price to a smidgen over €50,000. This is a lot of money in anyone’s books but if you need the seven seats and have deep enough pockets, it is a very nice way to transport yourself and the family in comfort.