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After a brief hiatus, Volkswagen has brought back its mid-size SUV, the Tiguan in the Indian market with a few added features on the inside and sleeker styling on the outside. The facelifted Tiguan is offered solely with a turbo-petrol engine, which it borrows from the Tiguan Allspace, which replaces the diesel mill available earlier. Let’s see what the 2021 Volkswagen Tiguan has to offer against its rivals — the Citroen C5 Aircross, Jeep Compass and Hyundai Tucson.
The Tiguan is 4509mm long, 1839mm wide and stands 1665mm tall. It is the longest SUV here, but when it comes to the size the C5 betters it on all other fronts. The C5 is taller, wider and has a longer wheelbase and that makes it more practical and roomy on the inside. The Tiguan and Tucson have a marginal difference in their dimensions. The Jeep Compass, meanwhile, is smaller on all fronts, though it isn’t a significant difference and when it comes to road presence, the Jeep certainly has plenty. When it comes to the boot space, the Tiguan with its 615-litre boot is the segment leader, followed by the Citroen, Hyundai and lastly the Jeep. All four SUVs ride on 18-inch wheels.
Like all new VWs, the Tiguan can only be had with a petrol power plant under its hood now. It is now propelled by a 2-litre TSI engine, borrowed from its (now discontinued) seven-seater sibling — the Tiguan Allspace, which produces 187bhp and 320Nm torque. This engine is mated to a 7-speed DSG gearbox with all-wheel-drive as standard. This engine makes 47bhp more than the 2-litre TDI turbo-diesel engine that was on offer earlier. Once the least powerful amongst its competitors, the Tiguan now boasts the ‘best-in-class engine output’ tag courtesy of the bumped power figure.
Powering the Citroen C5 Aircross is a 2-litre diesel engine that delivers a peak output of 174bhp and 400Nm. The engine is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission which delivers power to the front wheels only. AWD is not available even as an option. Citroen doesn't offer you the option of a petrol powertrain with the C5.
The Jeep Compass gets a choice of two engines. On offer is a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol unit that generates 157bhp and 250Nm torque. This engine can be paired with either a 6-speed Manual or a 7-speed DCT. The other engine on offer is a 2-litre turbo-diesel mill that produces 167bhp and 350Nm torque. This engine can be had with either a 6-speed MT or a 9-speed automatic transmission. The Compass is the only car here to get a locking AWD system, which also serves as its USP. This drivetrain is available only with the Limited and Model S trims, and only when you opt for the diesel engine and automatic transmission combo.
There are two engines on offer with the Hyundai Tucson — a 2-litre turbo-petrol making 150bhp and 192Nm of torque, and a 2-litre turbo-diesel which makes 182bhp and 400Nm of torque. The diesel engine comes paired to an eight-speed automatic, while the petrol unit is coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission. Only the diesel mill of the Hyundai Tucson can send power to all of its four wheels with the optional AWD system. Now the second most powerful car in its class in diesel guise, the Tucson’s petrol engine is also the least powerful.
The new Volkswagen Tiguan is available in a single fully-loaded ‘Elegance’ variant. It gets features like a handsfree boot, electrically-adjustable driver seat with memory function, cornering headlights, 30-colour ambient lighting, illuminated gear shift knob, panoramic sunroof, connected car features with VW’s My Volkswagen app, an 8-speaker sound system, reverse parking camera and a three-zone climate control system. What's new on the 2021 Tiguan is a heated steering wheel, heated seats, a configurable 10-inch digital instrument cluster, a new 8-inch infotainment system that's compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Type C ports and Taigun-style touch sliders for the AirCon along with a segment-first feature — gesture control. With the new Tiguan VW hasn't skipped on the safety front either. It gets six airbags, ABS, ESP, a driver alert system, hill start assist, hill-descent control, auto hold, an electronic differential lock, and a tyre pressure monitoring system. But even when it is the second most expensive of the lot, it still misses out on cooled seats, a feature that is very welcomed during Indian summers.
The Citroen C5 Aircross is available in two variants, namely, Feel and Shine. The top-end Shine adds in LED headlights, an electronically-operated tailgate, and a panoramic sunroof to the equipments list of the Feel which includes auto headlights, wipers and IRVM, drive modes, powered driver's seat, dual-zone climate control, an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a six-speaker sound system, 12.3-inch digital instrumentation, front and rear parking sensors, rear parking camera, 6 airbags, dual zone climate control, to name a few. Unique to the C5’s interior are its seats, the rear ones in particular, which are individual three-piece units with function of slide, recline and fold. What it lacks though is a 360-degree parking camera and cooled seats, which the Tiguan doesn’t get either. The C5 gets what Citroen calls ‘Progressive Hydraulic Cushions suspension’ which is unlike anything else in its class, you read about it more here and with this tech, the C5 surely is the most comfortable car in its class.
The Jeep Compass received a model update earlier this year with major changes to its interior. It is available in five variants — Sport, Longitude, Limited, Limited 80th anniversary and the top-end Model S. What's new is a reworked dashboard layout, a bigger 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay (the only car here which supports it wirelessly), a 9-speaker sound system, dual zone AirCon, a fully-digital 10.25-inch instrument cluster and redesigned switchgear across the cabin. The features list includes a 360-degree camera system, voice control, wireless charging (only on the top-end Model S variant). The 2021 Compass is Jeep's first product to get their latest U-Connect-5 connected tech which gets over-the-air updates. Safety-wise the Compass gets six airbags (lower Sport and Longitude trims miss out on curtain airbags), ABS, ESP, hill start assist, hill-descent control, auto hold and a tyre pressure monitoring system.
The Hyundai Tucson received an update last year. Although its interior layout remains to be the most mundane of the lot, it does get a lot of kit. It is available in three variants — 2WD AT GL (O), 2WD AT GLS and the top-end 4WD AT GLS. There’s a 10-way power adjustable driver & 8-way power adjustable passenger seat, panoramic sunroof, an 8-speaker sound system (11-speaker JBL audio on 4x4), Hyundai’s BlueLink connected car tech, dual zone climate control and wireless charging.To keep you safe the Tucson also gets six airbags, ABS, ESP, hill start assist, hill-hold and a tyre pressure monitoring system.
To sum it all up, all the cars here come very well equipped and the differences between them aren’t deal-breakers by a longshot. However, it's the use of high-quality materials and ultimately the interior design layout that should be the decision factor and that is something which you can't assess on paper.
The VW Tiguan starts at Rs 31.99 lakh and sits at the higher end of the price spectrum. It is only the Citroen C5’s higher ‘Feel’ variant which is more expensive than the Tiguan at Rs 32.80 lakh. The updated Jeep Compass and the Hyundai Tucson demand a price tag of Rs 27.19 and Rs 27.47 lakh respectively for their all-wheel-drive variants, and are Rs 4.8. and Rs 4.5 lakh more affordable than the Tiguan. Moreover they can be even more reasonable as both the Jeep and the Tucson offer lower two-wheel-drive variants with starting prices of Rs 17.79 and Rs 22.69 lakh respectively.
The Jeep Compass and the Hyundai Tucson make a good case for themselves with their own highs and lows. The Compass is smaller dimensionally, but with a premium cabin and features. Whereas the Tucson has more room on the inside, with all the features that you'll ever need (although it badly needs an interior update). The Citroen C5 is more neck to neck with the VW Tiguan both in terms of pricing and interior quality. Its lower ‘Feel' variant is Rs 79,000 more economical than the Tiguan, but then it misses out on stuff like LED headlights, a panoramic sunroof and a hands-free electric tailgate, all of which are available on the C5's higher 'Feel' variant which is Rs 81,000 more than the Tiguan. Both the cars are powered by a petrol or diesel engine respectively, but it is the Tiguan which comes equipped with all-wheel-drive. Moreover, the Tiguan gets more kit, but the Citroen with its cushion suspension and roomier interior is more comfortable.
The facelifted Tiguan brings with it subtle updates and joins its rivals in the mid-size SUV segment once again. On paper, it does make a good case for itself with a new more powerful engine and features that do about enough to help it stay at the front of its competition. We just expected it to be a bit more affordable, but then all the premium features and that TSI powerplant do justice to its hiked price tag. We can't wait to get our hands on the new Tiguan and also put it up against its rivals. Stay tuned!
