Volkswagen Tiguan review - Interior, design and technology

The previous Volkswagen Tiguan was beginning to look its age alongside more stylish opposition such as the stylish Range Rover Evoque and Peugeot 3008.

Exterior changes in the facelift brought the Tiguan into line with the larger Touareg. The nose is taller, with a larger grille feeding into redesigned LED headlights. Tiguans in Elegance trim and above are also fitted with adaptive matrix technology called IQ.Light.

The rear end also benefited from a refresh, with a new rear panel and updated tail lights. A new set of alloy wheel designs was also introduced.

The Volkswagen Tiguan comes in four main specifications. Standard equipment in the entry Life trim includes 18-inch alloys, an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with navigation, automatic lights and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. You also get rear privacy glass, sat-nav, front and rear parking sensors, and three-zone climate control.

Elegance spec adds an extra inch to the wheel size, chrome exterior trim, upgraded upholstery, a rear view camera and a panoramic sunroof. Opting for the top R Line version means even bigger 20-inch alloys, a sporty body kit and sports seats. The more recently introduced Black Edition offers the same standard kit as the R Line, along with exclusive styling tweaks such as black exterior trim.

The high-performance Tiguan R gets Matrix LED headlights and special 21-inch wheels, plus sports seats embroidered with R logos.

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Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

The dashboard in the Tiguan is more sensible than stylish, but everything is very logically laid out and simple to get along with.  

There's a new steering wheel with touch-sensitive buttons featuring haptic feedback, and Volkswagen's 10-inch Digital Cockpit Pro set-up - standard on Elegance trim and above.

The central infotainment screen was updated as part of the facelift, and includes touch-sensitive buttons, revised menus and display technology and updated voice controls. Sitting below, the heating controls were also upgraded with more modern touch-sensitive switches.