"Make a u-turn when possible," urged the navigation as it attempted to get us back on track toward the Hungarian capital of Budapest. As we whipped Volkswagen's all-new 2009 Tiguan around, we got an early indication of its turning radius (tight) and electromechanical steering (quick and light at low speeds). A few zigzags later, we were finally pointed in the right direction.
Positioned as the Touareg's scrappy, smaller sibling, The Tiguan is arriving late to the crossover party. When it goes on sale in May next year with pricing starting in the mid-20s, the Tiguan will join an already crowded field littered with established offerings including the Honda CR-V and Toyota's RAV4. But unlike others in its class, there's not a lot of "cute" in this 'ute. The Tiguan strikes a more athletic, traditional SUV-style pose. Though it's based in large part on the latest version of VW's Golf/Rabbit, the Tiguan in no way looks or feels like a Golf behind the wheel -- it's been engineered with the goal of becoming the most capable and satisfying small crossover available for the U.S. market.
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