One might hope that smaller size would translate into better fuel efficiency, but here too the Tiguan comes up a little short against its main competitors, with official ratings of 11.6 / 9.3 L/100 km (city/highway) in all-wheel-drive trim, versus 9.5 / 7.5 for the CR-V, 10.5 / 8.2 for the RAV4, and 11.4 / 8.4 for the Ford Escape (all in AWD trim). The Golf Sportwagon, meanwhile, clocks in at 9.3 / 6.7 and runs on regular fuel, unlike the Tiguan, which requires premium. During my week with the Tiguan, in cool wet weather and with the odometer not yet reading 1,000 km (so the engine may not have been fully broken in) the best I saw was 10.8 L/100 km on a long drive with a 30/70 mix of city and highway conditions, and I noted that the Tiguan seemed to take longer than average to warm up before it could deliver its best efficiency.

Where the Tiguan does win out against its competitors is, as promised, in driving dynamics. I’ve heard it likened to a Golf GTI on stilts, and while this might be pushing things a bit (it’s more on platform shoes than stilts) it’s not an entirely unreasonable comparison. For sure, the Golf Sportwagon offers less body roll in corners and crisper handling near the limits (the Tiguan tends to get a little mushy when pushed hard, though this may be a function of the OEM tires as much as anything), but if you prefer the commanding driving position and available all-wheel drive of a CUV then the Tiguan is one of the sportiest and most dynamic CUVs available.

With its turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder engine churning out 200 horsepower and a very respectable 207 lb-ft of torque, the Tiguan accelerates with easy enthusiasm (0-100 km/h can be dispatched in about 8 seconds), and the conventional six-speed automatic works smoothly and unobtrusively in the background. For a truly sporty experience it might have been nice to have paddle shifters (these are only available with the Highline trim when you add the $2,995 R-Line package), but the truth is they’d be a little lost on this transmission, which isn’t near as quick-shifting as Volkswagen’s dual-clutch DSG automatic. Switch the Tiguan’s console shift into manual mode and you get a distinct delay between initiating a shift command and getting a response from the transmission.

In true Volkswagen tradition the Tiguan strikes a near-perfect balance between ride comfort and handling. The ride is never jarring or stiff, yet the Tiguan soaks up rough roads with aplomb and remains thoroughly composed when cornering within the limits. It’s an agile-feeling CUV, and the steering offers pleasingly quick and accurate turn-in. On the highway the Tiguan is impressively quiet, with the engine turning over at just 1,750 rpm at 100 km/h, and little in the way of wind or tire noise.

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