Volkswagen’s rather niche product lineup in India got trimmed even further with the discontinuation of the Tiguan, but it’s almost immediately been replaced by the Tiguan R-line. The new car takes over as the most capable and expensive product in the range, and also delivers a more premium and well-equipped experience than the regular Tiguan.
The Tiguan is available in India in just a single R-line variant, which (along with the fact that it’s being imported to India as a CBU model) bumps up the price a fair bit. However, the R-line comes with a much more aggressive and SUV-like design and stance, which arguably makes this a much more enticing proposition. It’s helped along by the intense looking 19-inch wheels, sharp lines at the back, and high seating position which drives home the big-car aesthetic.
Understandably, the Tiguan R-line is a spacious five-seater, with a massive 652L boot to go with it. A height-adjustable driver’s seat and various gadgets and features such as seat ventilation and massaging are good touches, as are the excellent and rather comfortable single-piece sports seats.
A notable point in the cabin is the lack of a stick shifter. Now this is an automatic car, but the drive modes are controlled through a lever behind the wheel on the right side. On the left is a rather complex level which controls the indicators, headlights, and wipers - which I wasn’t completely used to even after spending a whole day in the Tiguan R-line. There are also paddle shifters behind the wheel to manually take control of the transmission, if needed.
Where the stick shifter would be, there is a dial with a built-in display - this is used to adjust the volume for the infotainment system by default, or it can be pressed and used to switch between drive modes on the car. This is admittedly useful and makes the area a bit more spacious, but I’m left wondering if this is really the best implementation here.
The 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster sits just behind the steering wheel and offers a clean view at most key information, while you can also refer to the heads-up display which is projected onto the windshield. I quite liked the latter, letting me keep a close eye on speed and basic navigation instructions such as when to expect turns.
Unlike on many cars which have contiguous infotainment displays, the Volkswagen Tiguan R-line gets a decidedly separate and taller 15-inch touch screen infotainment display. This is a good touch, giving you better visibility and access to the screen thanks to its slight tilt towards the driver. It has its own set of built-in functions, and needs to be used for core requirements such as using the air conditioning or adjusting the ADAS features. Arguably, this is a bit annoying; I prefer having access to physical buttons for core controls.
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In terms of features, you get support for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, while the basic interface itself comes with its own set of features and connectivity. Steering-mounted controls are standard and extensive, and there is notably room to wirelessly charge two smartphones simultaneously. Usefully, infotainment screen will even tell you when these are in operation, and a lid above the wireless chargers lets you utilise the space to keep additional stuff if you want.
You also get Level 2 ADAS with support for 21 specific features, including forward and rear collision warning and assists, parking assists, lane change warnings, adaptive cruise control, and more. The 360-degree camera system triggers at the right points to give you driving assistance and warnings, and you also get features such as 9 airbags and tire pressure monitoring for added safety and ease of mind.
