2023 (23) Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace 1.5 TSI Life 5dr DSG

By Jonathan Crouch

Introduction

Back in 2021, Volkswagen's improved Tiguan Allspace seven-seat SUV got revised design, extra control and assist systems and new premium features. And, of course, it was still as practical as ever. Could it be all the family car you'll ever really need? Potential buyers may see this car in just that way.

History

By the second half of this century's second decade, increasingly it was no longer sufficient for a mainstream brand car maker to just offer a single mid-sized five-seat SUV. By then, the market was demanding that volume manufacturers also provide variants of such models that were lengthened enough to be able to incorporate a third seating row. Volkswagen couldn't ignore this trend - and didn't, bringing us the bigger 'Allspace' version of the Tiguan in 2017, which after generating over 1.5 million global sales, was then updated four years on to create the car we're going to look at here. You might think it doesn't look much different. You'd be right: Volkswagen was never going to radically change a winning formula. But there was plenty that was new here, primarily a range of enhanced technology features and more efficient diesel engines. As before, this Allspace variant wasn't much larger than the standard version, but as we'll see, the size upgrade was quite enough to make a real difference to the way you can potentially use this car. The problem for Volkswagen back in 2021 though, was that this model's two almost identically-engineered VW Group close cousins, SEAT's Tarraco and Skoda's improved Kodiaq, offered much the same thing for a little less. And, since this Allspace model's original launch, we'd seen useful revisions to key segment rivals like Peugeot's 5008 and Hyundai's Santa Fe: and all-new versions of the Nissan X-Trail and the Kia Sorento. So even with these improvements, this enhanced to one space was quite a tough sell for Volkswagen. It stayed on the market until 2024, when it was replaced by the new Tayron model.

What You Get

In Allspace form, this Tiguan ought to be just slightly bigger. Which of course it is, but somehow the changes made in creating this larger model have created something more. A model with the demeanour of a slightly larger SUV. This is the Tiguan - all grown up. Something that of course you can best appreciate from a profile perspective. This revised model gained an extra 27mm of length to add to the 215mm of additional length this seven-seat variant enjoys over the ordinary MK2 Tiguan from this era. As before, from the central B-pillar backwards, everything is re-designed to allow for an extra 106mm between this Tiguan Allspace model's black plastic-trimmed wheel arches, these housing rims of either 18-inch, 19-inch or 20-inches in size. The bodywork of this bigger variant follows a different contour from that of the standard model and the rear part of the side window design features a sharper curve upwards where it rises directly behind the C-pillar. The roof's different too, featuring its own unique set of structural lines and framed by standard silver roof rails. Inside at the wheel, it's certainly difficult to fault, with a premium-style feel that remains just a touch nicer than most obvious rivals in this segment from this era. You sit quite commandingly and the build quality and general ergonomics are difficult to fault. Changes made to this updated model included a smarter climate module and the introduction of (rather fiddly) sliders for fan and temperature control. There were also big improvements in media connectivity, thanks to the incorporation of Volkswagen's MIB3 technology for the central screen, normally 8-inches in size, but upgradeable to 9.2-inches if original owners spent more. Either way, you get an Online Connectivity Unit with an integrated eSIM that allows access into extra in-car connectivity through Volkswagen's 'We Connect' media set-up. The three-spoke wheel with its touch-sensitive buttons was part of the 2021 update too. And through it, you view a customisable 'Digital Cockpit Pro' 10.25-inch screen, which as a further part of this update across the range replaced the conventional dials. All well and good, but what you'll really want to know is just how much difference the lengthened Allspace design makes in terms of what you get further back. We'll start with the impact on passenger space - and passenger access: that's aided hugely by the longer rear doors. Most of the time of course, the folks you're carrying will want to take a pew in in the middle row, where Volkswagen says they'll enjoy 54mm more kneeroom than they'd get in an ordinary Tiguan. That's assuming the rear bench is set in the correct position. As in the ordinary model, it can slide backwards or forwards over a range of 180mm. Headroom isn't too bad either. What about the third row seating? Bigger mid-sized SUVs than this one offer fold-out luggage area seating that's distinctly cramped, so your spacial expectations here might not be great. Sure enough, if you pull up the seat shoulder catch to reach the very back and push the second row chair forward, you'll be accessing a necessarily rather restricted space. Volkswagen suggests that the 3rd row area is 'ideally suited' to folk of less than five feet two inches in height - children in other words. All well and good: that's what most potential owners will want the third row seating for. But given that remit, you have to wonder why the brand forgot something as fundamental as the fitment of ISOFIX child seat fastenings in the rearmost pews. Should you have really drawn the short straw and be confined in the very back as an adult, then as usual in a mid-sized seven-seat SUV, you'll find that the high floor line necessitated by having to make space for a 4WD system means that your knees will be a little uncomfortably positioned up towards your chest. Still, if those in the middle row can be persuaded to push their bench forward, it'd be bearable back here for fully-sized folk on shorter trips. OK, so we've covered the additional room that this bigger Allspace body style frees up for people. But what about packages? Once the hatch is raised, the room you'll have to play with depends of course on whether the third row chairs are upright. If they are, you'll have 230-litres of carriage space. If you need more room, then folding the third row chairs into the floor is easy using the provided shoulder catches, providing the second row seats aren't pushed all the way back. Once you've done that, you'll have up to 700-litres of space to play with, 85-litres more than you'd get in the similarly-configured boot of an ordinary MK2 Tiguan. If you need to flatten the middle backrest, then you can do it by using the neat latches on either sidewall on each side of the cargo bay. That frees up 1,775-litres of space, 120-litres more than that ordinary Tiguan can offer.

What to Look For

Most Tiguan Allspace owners we surveyed were very happy with their cars, but inevitably, there have been those who have had problems you'll want to look out for. We came across a few issues with the DSG auto gearbox. Another owner reported faulty electric and various faulty sensors, plus problems with the GPS system. Apart from that, check for the usual things - interior child damage, scratched alloys etc. It's unlikely that any Tiguan Allspace models will have been serious used off road but check the underside of 4MOTION variants just in case. And of course insist on a fully stamped-up service history.

Replacement Parts

[based on a 2021 model 2.0 TDI 150PS diesel] An air filter will be priced in the £8 to £31 bracket, an oil filter will sit in the £6 to £14 bracket and a pollen filter will cost in the £6 to £28 bracket.. The brake discs we came across sat in the £95 to £242 bracket, with pricier-branded discs costing up to £357. Rear discs are in the £80-£140 bracket. Front brake pads are in the £38 to £88 bracket for a set. Rear pads are in the £26-£50 bracket. A starter motor is in the £103-£222 bracket; a thermostat is £15-£33; a headlight is around £254; a tail lamp is around £200-£234. A radiator is in the £194-£246 bracket.

On the Road

This improved version of the Tiguan Allspace was the stalwart of the school run, the 21st Century idea of the uber-complete family car. Volkswagen didn't change anything about the way this updated model drove. And it didn't change much in terms of what lay beneath the bonnet either, though the 2.0-litre TDI diesel engines that most customers still wanted gained the brand's more efficient 'Twin Dosing' technology. With this updated model, it could all be paired to freshly developed tech like 'IQ.LIGHT' intelligent matrix LED headlights. As with the original version of this car, a typical customer will probably prioritise refinement, comfort and, a little surprisingly if the sales numbers are to be believed, 4WD - up to two-thirds of original buyers choosing their cars with the 4MOTION system. 4MOTION gets you a useful range of driving modes and is mandatory (as is DSG auto transmission) with the fastest engines, the 2.0 TDI 200PS diesel and the 2.0 TSI petrol, the later unit available either with 190PS or with 245PS. 4MOTION is optional on the best-selling unit in the range, the 2.0 TDI 150PS diesel, though if you do without it, you'll have a chance to match the efficient-sounding returns of that base front-driven diesel variant - up to 53.3mpg on the combined cycle and up to 140g/km of CO2. An increasing number of customers with this updated model though, stuck with the base 1.5 TSI 150PS petrol engine, which only came front-driven but could be had with manual or auto transmission. Whatever Tiguan Allspace engine you prefer, as we suggested earlier, a really dynamic driving experience won't usually be on the agenda. But there's lots of clever tech, including (on pricier models) the brand's latest 'Travel Assist' system, which can take over partial control of the car to make highway and urban driving that bit easier.

Overall

As with the ordinary MK2 Tiguan model, providing you don't expect this Allspace derivative to be among the cheaper choices in this segment from its era, then there's very little not to like here. For the cost of, say, a five-seat Audi Q5 or Mercedes GLC from this period, you can get yourself, in this seven-seat Volkswagen, a family SUV with almost equal badge equity but quite a lot more versatility. What's not to like? All the established MK2 Tiguan virtues remain - high residuals, impressive efficiency and strong build quality. And as ever with this model, there's an extra dash of polish in everything it does that'll make you feel as good when you open the bedroom window as you will when you're at the wheel. It's efficient to run, easy to live with and practical to own. Other segment alternatives from this period make similar claims, but after trying them following a Tiguan Allspace test drive, you might end up feeling you'd be prepared to pay just a touch more for Volkswagen ownership. And we'd understand it if you did.