VW Tiguan in Malaysia

The Tiguan has finally made its way to Malaysia, at a stratospheric price of RM250k, no thanks to our tax structure which is very prohibitive to cars that are fully imported in CBU form. At the moment (as far as I know at least) all Tiguans are manufactured at VW's Wolfsburg plant in Germany, which by the way is VW's first and oldest plant. But far from being a relic, Wolfsburg plant remains one of the most sophisticated in the world. But Germany also one of the highest labour costs in the world. C'mon VW, built them where you sell them. Come to Thailand. 

In terms of product positioning, the Tiguan's conquest market is supposed to come from Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, maybe a little bit buyers from BMW X3 and the upcoming X1. But Malaysian motor vehicle tax structure skewed the respective vehicles pricing terribly and only the domestically assembled CR-V (Pegoh, Melaka) has a real chance for decent sales volume. Toyota's RAV4 sells in forgettable numbers even in the grey market, as reconditioned Harriers / Lexus RX can be bought for the same price. 

But the highlight I would like to make is it that the I believe Tiguan is the first vehicle officially sold in Malaysia with a self-park feature.  All ASEAN market specs Lexus LS460L does not come optioned with the Park-Assist. Watch the Tiguan's ParkAssist in action in the video below. 


Also, globally Tiguans are available in two trims - Sport & Style and Track & Field, differentiable from their front bumpers. Malaysia will only be getting the Track & Field version. VW's brochure claims a 28 degrees approach angle for the Track & Field models (vs 18 degrees for Sport & Style). No mention about departure angles though. So what's the point if I can attack a hill but cannot come down without taking out rear bumper plastic mouldings? Anyway for comparison sake, serious off-roaders like the Isuzu D-Max has a 34 degree approach angle and a 23 degree departure angle.
Sport & Style
Track & Field
Images from GermanCarZone.

Neighbouring Singapore market gets the Sport & Style version though, but ParkAssist is a SGD 11k option for them.

It will be some time before local motoring journos can publish test drives / impressions on the car. The closest regional review on the Tiguan can be found from OneShift.com

I never really fancied the Tiguan's looks since its global launch in 2007, but I still liked the car anyway. In fact, there is not a single VW model that I can say am impressed with the way it looks (that honour goes to Mazda 3 and 6), but I still liked most VW models because of their superb interior, and a general sense of high quality in its fit and finish. Of course, having a German badge helps too. 


Flat folding seats offer great utility but Honda CR-V's twin tier trunk is a far more useable item on an everyday basis. Hope that will be included in the next model update.


I personally prefer upward opening tailgates compared to sideway opening ones. They are easier to open when your hands are full and are particularly useful in the rain.

Comparison between Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and VW Tiguan (US specs)  


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