Volkswagen Tiguan Escape (2008-) Review

Overview

• Next: Reliability and Quality

Volkswagen's Tiguan already impressed us with its smart, if a little dull, looks, competent on-road behaviour, practicality and low running costs.

Primed to go head to head with a segment packed full of well established models, the Volkswagen will have its work cut out to convince the lifestyle-seeking crowd that it has what it takes to deserve your cash.

Land Rover Freelander aside, small 4x4s are all lumped together as equally capable or equally useless when the going gets muddy. Volkswagen, however, hopes its Tiguan Escape will convince otherwise. Odd really, since the Escape is expected to attract just 5per cent of Tiguan buyers.

Regardless, it's impossible to ignore the Tiguan Escape. It's the one that has an unusual, almost amphibious vehicle-like front end that, instead of housing a giant air dam to cool the radiators, slopes abruptly out of sight. There's a reason. Without the chunky lower part of the front bumpers the Escape can climb steep inclines without the tortured sounds of tearing front plastic.

And just to hammer home its off-road ambitions, the Escape features a sump guard, protection around the radiator and the hill descent system used on its bigger brother, the Touareg. There's even a compass...

Like the rest of the Tiguan range, the Escape gets a four-wheel- drive system that can shuffle up to 90per cent of torque to the front or 100per cent to the rear for best traction.

Thanks to an all-new 138bhp 2.0-litre common rail diesel a manual Tiguan can even tow up to 2.5 tonnes.

Escape pricing begins at £22,050 stretching to £23,300 for the automatic.