Agent00J
Agent00J
Life is too short to drive boring cars...
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VW TIGUAN at DEALERS NOW - Ready for YOU???
While Agent 001 is out in Boulder Colorado enjoying some of the prettiest scenery on earth, the rest of us are left behind to soldier on.  I had a chance to check out the new VW Tiguan on my own this week as they are starting to arrive at dealerships nationwide.

Initial impressions are good, this SUV certainly has a nice presence.  The lines are such that if this were the only small SUV in the market, we probably wouldn't have the term "cute ute."  Cute this thing isn't, it has a funky almost bulldog stance to it, but that bulldog stance is one that knows it has a chain attached to its collar.

The question that really matters however is will people buy it.  I for one think that this SUV will sell well.  It is certainly a decent alternative to others currently in the marketplace.  It is not going to be an all things for all people kind of car, but VW's never have been.

Volkswagen does benefit with its Audi arm as those interiors everyone loves to rave about does trickle down in bits and pieces into the Tiguan.  Although there aren't any new design themes here, I think they did a nice job with the circular vents and the trim detail that surrounds them.

All in all I think VW did a decent job, too bad they couldn't get the diesel to market at the time of launch, I think those would sell like hotcakes.

Be sure to check out Agent 001's gallery from Boulder:  shows.autospies.com/gallery/2009-VW-Tiguan-79/

and the photos I got this week courtesy of Glenn Krueger at www.hallmarkvwcoolsprings.com/

VW TIGUAN at DEALERS NOW - Ready for YOU???



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randy33randy33 - 5/15/2008 11:20:08 PM
+1 BoostDrop the Boost Up the Boost
EI34EI34 - 5/15/2008 11:55:46 PM
+3 BoostDrop the Boost Up the Boost
Another VW POS...

:-/


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EL34EL34 - 5/16/2008 1:36:31 AM
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Looks as good as any Lexus.

:-)



kpaxxkpaxx - 5/16/2008 9:02:32 AM
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Looks better than some Lexus. The es350 is basically a suppository on wheels.


_43LE_43LE - 5/16/2008 12:35:32 PM
-1 BoostDrop the Boost Up the Boost
This VW looks GOOFY! And that center stack look cheap.


farabira1farabira1 - 5/16/2008 12:40:15 AM
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That is one bad interior quality. Totally made of cheap plastic i see. Where is the VW level of build quality, like you find in the Touareg.

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S4cabriofoxoneS4cabriofoxone - 5/16/2008 12:51:05 AMView My AgentSpace
+1 BoostDrop the Boost Up the Boost
What are you talking about? That's nearly the same high-quality plastics they use in the Bentley Continental Flying Spur.


AlexTxAlexTx - 5/16/2008 1:12:20 AM
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I love comment from people who have not been near the vehicle and think it is junk..
Well I took it for a spin 2 days ago, and the interior quality is top notch: the dash, center consol, everything.
The sound the doors make when you close them, the fact that when you pull the door from the inside to close it, you don't see the whole door shaking.



M35MTM35MT - 5/16/2008 12:31:23 PMView My AgentSpace
0 BoostDrop the Boost Up the Boost
I havent been in one but in the pictures it does look cheaper than a rabbit/jetta. Uncharacteristic for vdub.


TeknikTeknik - 5/16/2008 1:03:16 AMView My AgentSpace
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I agree, nice but Yawn.

This is more interesting:

The ewFX35 beats the xDrive35i in Motor Trend:



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TeknikTeknik - 5/16/2008 1:05:19 AMView My AgentSpace
-5 BoostDrop the Boost Up the Boost
I agree, nice but YAWN.

This is more interesting:

The new FX35 beats the X6 in Motor Trend:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/suvs/112_0805_2009_bmw_x6_vs_infiniti_fx35_comparison/index.html


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maikoazumaikoazu - 5/16/2008 1:49:12 AM
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I don't see how the FX35 beat the BMW X6. According to the article you provided. The X6 beat the FX35 in every respect.

The X6 has a much smaller engine 3.0 vs 3.5 and yet they both produce about the same hp

The X6 is nearly 700lb heaver and yet beat the FX35 in 0-60 5.9 vs 6.1 respectively

Braking, 60-0 mph X6 116 ft vs FX35 127 ft

Lateral acceleration X6 0.86 g vs FX35 0.82 g

But anyways, why are you talking about the FX and X6 here? This article is about the VV Tiguan.



TeknikTeknik - 5/16/2008 2:07:21 AMView My AgentSpace
-8 BoostDrop the Boost Up the Boost
You don't see how the FX35 beat the X6?

The FX35 came in 1st and the X6 came in 2nd.

How hard is that to understand? It's simple really.

Yes, the X6 engine is smaller, but it has Twin-Turbo's and the FX35 doesn't. The X6 has more torque than the FX35. The FX didn't even have the sports package and it still won.

Guess what, past 70 MPH, the FX35 is quicker than the X6 xDrive35i and has a higher trap speed.

They also said that the FX is more fun to drive than the X6.

For the price of the X6 xDrive35i, you can buy a fully loaded FX50S which will destroy it.

Car and Driver FX50S Stats:

Zero to 60 mph: 5.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 12.6 sec
Zero to 140 mph: 32.4 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 5.4 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.6 sec @ 104 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 155 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 161 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.87 g



kablaamkablaam - 5/16/2008 4:32:36 PM
+1 BoostDrop the Boost Up the Boost
eeek, talk about taking things personal.


MiltonMilton - 5/16/2008 7:29:08 AM
0 BoostDrop the Boost Up the Boost
The interior is way too boring.IMO BMW X3 has the best interior in the segment.

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mlg2camlg2ca - 5/16/2008 8:08:43 AM
+3 BoostDrop the Boost Up the Boost
What will give an edge to this vehicle will be the TDI version. Too bad VW missed the mark on that one...

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ShredmoShredmo - 5/16/2008 9:22:39 AM
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The local dealer has had one of these sitting on the lot for a week now. I don't see the hype. From the outside, the vehicle is not compelling enough for me to take 1.5 minutes of my life to stop and check out. It is a decent compact SUV, but worth 3+ articles?

Come on!

Must be a slow automotive news week.


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AlexTxAlexTx - 5/16/2008 11:21:06 AM
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Commercials start next week on it... they will be selling well after that.


HeyhuubHeyhuub - 5/16/2008 1:03:25 PM
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What engines do you americans get in it?

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ShredmoShredmo - 5/16/2008 3:30:06 PM
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2.0T:
Type 2.0L 4 Cylinder, 4V, inline, gas
Bore 3.25 in (82.5 mm)
Stroke 3.65 in (92.8 mm)
Displacement 121.1 in3 (1,984 cm3)
Compression Ratio 9,6:01
Horsepower 200 @ 5100 - 6000 (147 kW @ 5100 - 6000)
Maximum torque 206 @ 1700 - 5000 (280Nm @ 1700 - 5000)

I pulled this off VW's website.



GodgoreGodgore - 5/22/2008 3:36:14 PM
+1 BoostDrop the Boost Up the Boost
People don't even know that this car exists because of poor marketing.

Oh yeah, they already have recalls.


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RidgelinerRidgeliner - 5/26/2008 4:20:08 PM
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Looks like they've already got an tiguan owners club. there's some info in pdf form that gives the pricing breakdowns and such. TiguanOwnersClub.com

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