Volkswagen Tiguan review - Interior & comfort

In recent times, Volkswagen’s interior quality hasn’t quite been up to par, with much-criticised hard-to-use touch-sensitive sliders and a drop in the quality of materials used. We’re happy to report that the Tiguan’s interior is an improvement, though it is largely dependent on the trim level you choose. Unfortunately, despite Volkswagen’s decision to rethink the much-criticised touch-sensitive controls, the Tiguan is a model that’s just missed out on this revision. At least one of the main complaints about these controls below the screen not being visible at night has been addressed, so they are now backlit. Elsewhere, such as on the steering wheel, there are conventional physical buttons which we prefer, being harder to press accidentally.

Our test car was an Elegance model, which sits one below the top-spec R-Line. We were impressed with the build quality and touches of leather and chrome trim that gave it a premium feel, though we think the base model’s interior does look rather dull. If it were our money, we’d avoid the base model and opt for Life or Match trim – these trims are actually very similar in price, with just around £200 in it, but add many more features over the base model.

Is the Volkswagen Tiguan’s infotainment and navigation system easy to use?

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The Volkswagen Tiguan gets the option of the brand’s latest 15-inch infotainment screen which looks rather massive on the dashboard. It’s a £1,000 option on Life models and up, while the standard unit across the board is a 12.9-inch screen. There’s a 10.25-inch ‘Digital Cockpit Pro’ driver’s display, too.

Unfortunately, the system’s MIB4 software wasn’t the most intuitive to use, and we found the menu layouts a little confusing. While there are onscreen shortcuts to jump to more frequently used features, we’d prefer if these were a little more prominent. Other than these gripes, the system was at least fast, responsive and had a clear and crisp screen resolution.

Is the Volkswagen Tiguan well equipped?

As touched on previously, the Volkswagen Tiguan’s interior really varies from trim to trim. As a result, it doesn’t feel like it’s as well equipped as some rivals. It seems quite expensive when you compare it to models like the Mazda CX-5 which offers lots of kit as standard, especially when you consider you can have a mid-range Exclusive-Line model for the price of the base Tiguan.

What options should you choose on the Volkswagen Tiguan?

If you go for a lower trim you can add options in packs that include many of the features that come as standard on the higher trims. The Winter pack is a circa £400 option at the time of writing and adds heated front seats, heated windscreen washer jets and a leather heated steering wheel. The Comfort Package adds keyless entry and an electric tailgate, but at a steep £900 we’d just opt for a higher trim level that includes these features as standard. There are plenty more packs to choose from, but it’s a similar story and we’d rather put the money towards a higher trim.