Words: Abhay Verma
The past few years have seen Volkswagen up the ante in terms of setting enthusiasts’ pulses racing with its TSI-powered cars. And last year, with the announcement of its ‘Volkswagen Experiences’ the manufacturer came up with a unique initiative that allows its customers and petrolheads (like us, automotive journalists!) to do more with its cars than just enjoy the affable performance and dynamics Volkswagens are known for. Volkswagen Experiences thus became a gateway for us to experience and explore our own country in a manner we’ve not done before. We’ve been a regular with the program since its inception, but while last year Volkswagen Experiences had us drive to the rooftop of the world, this time around, things were different.
This time, we teamed up with Volkswagen India to set a new national record, in its latest SUV for the Indian market, the Tiguan R-Line. The Tiguan R-Line is Volkswagen’s new flagship in India and is the Tiguan’s sportiest, grandest and most premium version yet. Now, the Tiguan is an SUV I’ve driven extensively and done a lot with – be it visiting Jawai in Rajasthan, a place that’s one of the only ones on the planet to be co-inhabited by human beings and leopards together, or teaming up with British ultra-runner Will Robinson as he ran 700km across India, from the country’s east coast to the west coast. So a chance to be a part of a team of journalists that’s setting a new national record was something I simply couldn’t resist.
The idea was to create a new record – for the fastest drive from the Gateway of India in Mumbai to the India Gate in Delhi, in a convoy. And that’s why we had not one, not two, not even four, but six Tiguan R-Lines being driven together! En route, the convoy would also visit some of the country’s most iconic landmarks. And we at TURBOCHARGED drove the Tiguan R-Line from the Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Baroda to the Monsoon Palace in Udaipur. In case you didn’t know, Lakshmi Vilas Palace is the largest private residence in the world and is four times the size of the Buckingham Palace! It sits on a sprawling landmass of over 500 acres and blends Indian, Islamic and European styles of architecture. And besides the vastness, it’s the striking architecture of the palace that is spell-binding.
On the other hand, Udaipur’s Monsoon Palace sits perched atop a hill just outside the city and is known for the stunning views it offers, of the city, and also the Aravalli Hills it is surrounded by. It is yet another architectural marvel and is known for its tall towers, balconies and overall architecture that reflects the grandeur and luxury that palaces in the state of Rajasthan are known for. Admittedly, these two palatial buildings were also complimenting the all-new Tiguan R-Line brilliantly given the SUV’s grander and more premium positioning as Volkswagen’s new flagship in India. Its design language is all-new, interiors are a lot more premium and the performance and dynamics are a lot better than before too. That’s besides the fact that Rajasthan is home to some of India’s best driving roads, some excellent highways and brilliant country roads too.
So driving a premium SUV that’s as sporty as the Tiguan R-Line in the state, with Volkswagen’s refined and powerful 2.0-litre TSI engine under its hood, along with the famed Dynamic Chassis Control to enhance its handling is no less than a tick on the bucket list for enthusiasts. More importantly, what you see here is the all-new, third generation Tiguan, and India gets it in the sportier, R-Line trim that’s inspired by the manufacturer’s high performance R models. The headlamps deserve a special mention for their sleek design and inclusion of Volkswagen’s IQ Light HD Matrix lights, that can deploy 38,400 multi-pixel LEDS for optimum illumination. The new grille also looks very sleek and incorporates the letter R, hinting at the SUV’s sportier genes, while the front bumper is an appealing looking mesh finished in gloss black.
The Tiguan R-Line also looks sportier from the sides thanks to its curvier silhouette, while the rear end boasts an all-new design with striking looking tail lamps connected by an LED strip. And the fact that the R-Line is the grandest, sportiest and most tech-laden avatar of the premium SUV for India yet made our drive even more special. The 2.0-litre TSI engine offers an even higher 204PS and 320Nm now, sent to all four wheels via Volkswagen’s famed 4MOTION all-wheel drive system. And with its kind of performance, swift responses from the 7-speed DSG and also the SUV’s sporty handling, be it around corners or on the highways, the Tiguan R-Line was also adding a sense of occasion to our drive, as we bolted from one royal palace to another.
But besides a good engine and dynamics, the one thing that matters a lot, especially on long drives like the one we were on, is the ambience inside the cabin. And the Tiguan R-Line has the plushest and most modern looking cabin we’ve seen on any Volkswagen in India yet. That’s because the Tiguan R-Line feels plush, spacious and very upmarket from inside. The sunroof is massive and a panoramic one that adds to the cabin’s sense of roominess while the seats are spacious, rich-looking and very comfortable, whether you’re sitting in the front, or relaxing at the back. Of course, this being the R-Line trim you get exclusive, sporty looking front seats that do their bit to add to the car’s sportiness.
Another big highlight is the all-new dashboard that has a more upright design. The gloss black plastic panels, which also integrate ambient lighting on the dashboard and door panels, help the cabin look very premium along with the soft touch leather surfaces, while the upright stance of the dashboard and the steering wheel with a flat bottom offer a very sporty feel. The design of the ambient lighting looks cool and very unique, and you can customise the lighting too, with over 30 colour options and multiple combinations to choose from. You also get three-zone climate control in the Tiguan R-Line, which adds to convenience for rear seat occupants as well. The Tiguan R-Line isn’t just high on the premium quotient though, it’s a tech-fest.
And when I say technology, I’m talking about stuff like a massive, 15-inch touchscreen, besides the 10.25-inch high resolution display for the Digital Cockpit Pro which functions as the driver’s display, and a head-up display as well. The Digital Cockpit Pro offers multiple customisation options, allowing you to tailor the information you want to see, thanks to Volkswagen’s latest, fourth generation modular infotainment system. And this freedom to customise everything on the technology front is an even bigger joy on the 15-inch infotainment screen. There’s tonnes of options and formats to choose from, and multiple pages to swipe between. You can also choose to view crucial information about the SUV on the screen like the steering angle, tyre pressures and more on the go.
The 15-inch screen is also a big help in terms of letting you view navigation and maps easily while driving, besides which, you can of course choose to view navigation commands on the Digital Cockpit Pro or head-up display. Another cool feature is that you get not one, but two wireless charging pads, hidden very smartly and neatly under a storage flap. This is besides the multiple, fast-charging, Type-C USB ports you have at the front and rear. The Tiguan R-Line is also equipped with stuff like the built-in IDA voice assistant that’s interactive and quick to respond to commands, besides a voice enhancer that amplifies and plays the driver’s voice through the speakers onboard to help rear passengers hear the driver better. These are besides the high-end music system onboard, equipped with 8 speakers.
The R-Line-specific front seats look sporty but are extremely comfortable to spend long hours in as I discovered on my drive from Baroda to Udaipur. Oh, and the driver and front passenger seats also have a massage function and pneumatically adjustable lumbar support, features you’ve probably seen only on high-end luxury SUVs previously. The seats certainly helped in making my long drive very comfortable! With so much on offer in terms of technology and comfort, the Tiguan R-Line was helping us munch miles effortlessly. The roads only got better in Rajasthan, allowing us to enjoy our time behind the wheel even more. The icing on the cake though is the Tiguan R-Line’s Dynamic Chassis Control which includes adaptive suspension that adapts to road conditions to reduce body roll around corners or soak up undulations better as and when needed.
I was thus able to make the most of the Tiguan R-Line’s sporty handling, as it holds its lines around corners very well and offers lots of confidence, adding to the joy of driving enthusiastically. But this isn’t surprising at all as Volkswagen’s SUVs, and the Tiguan for the matter, always handle sharp and true, and the new Tiguan R-Line takes that tradition forward very well. At the same time, it feels very plush and comfortable despite us driving over varied terrain and ever-changing road surfaces, thanks to the suspension adapting to it all quickly. This, coupled with the plush comfort offered by the well-cushioned seats ensure the Tiguan R-Line is an excellent machine to make light of long road trips. And when we made it to Udaipur, shortly before the sun was about to go down, it didn’t really feel like we had been driving all day long, thanks to the SUV’s excellent comfort.
In a nutshell, Volkswagen has always brought down its globally renowned products and technologies to India, and the Tiguan R-Line is a great example of the manufacturer’s intent to offer its best to Indian buyers, yet again. For the matter, we always enjoy driving to and in Rajasthan, but the Tiguan R-Line ensured this particular road trip was a class apart with its excellent comfort and tech-laden cabin. It’s an SUV that feels so much better than the version it replaces and takes things a couple of notches ahead for the Tiguan nameplate in India for sure.
