clip
08-02-2009, 08:15 PM
Picked up the car last week (it came in a month earlier than expected :)). Put a couple of tanks fulls through it over the weekend and managed to get a pretty good feel for it in different situations. But basically, to say I'm impressed is the understatement of the year!
First up, this is what I got:
125, manual, comfort pack, park assist, 19' wheels - and that's it.
I won't go on about the interior and the plethora of thoughtful standard things -like really clever interior lighting (love the red glow over the centre console, the illuminated door handles, the footwell lights etc), the central locking system with the remote window control, the fit and finish of the whole car, the exceptional paint work (as good as any of the other Bavarian car manufacturers), the very smooth manual drive train (the 6 speed gearbox is a gem IMO, regardless of some of the more critical reviews - not sure what they're on about with is - unless they were testing it in the TDi, in which case I didn't like the manual in the TDi either, but that wasn't the gearbox, that was the application of it in the TDi IMO), ...anyway, I could go on, but you all know that stuff.
If you are thinking about wheels for your Tig, I would go with 19". The dealer had one with 18", and it looked OK, but IMO, the 19" fill out the wheel wells that bit better. They make a very big difference to the handling over the 16"s, and minimal difference in ride (that is unless you were going to do some rough road driving).
Anyway, how does the 125 petrol manual "go"? Well it doesn't go like any respectable 125Kw car I've driven in the last few years. But in the interests of unbiased reporting, this is what others that drove it on the weekend said:
- After my mate drove it (he's owned GTi's and now has an R32), he reckoned that:
"I think VW must now be quoting their power figures at the wheels, because this thing goes far too well for any 125Kw engined passenger car, let alone in a ****ty SUV"
- My brother said when he first slotted it into second gear and had to make a quick accelerated move:
"I though you said you hadn't got it chipped yet". I assured him I hadn't.
Obviously, the high torque figure is the clincher? Well, something is, and what it does is transforms what should be a nice, but relatively docile performing SUV (aka CRX, RAV4 etc), into a seriously quick SUV that is an absolute blast to drive. Getting it out of first gear as quickly as possible, (minimal turbo lag too- especially compared to say, the Mazda) and then giving it some head in second gear, sees you accelerating at a seriously fast pace with an absolute minimum of noise and apparent effort. Slotting it into third gear keeps the pace happening as the little 2litre happily spins up again propelling you forward well into the national maximum speed limit if you're not careful. Keep in mind also, that I was not thrashing it, this was reasonably conservative driving - no full throttle, no red lining- or anywhere near max revs for that matter.
While this might all sound like I'm a bit of a hoon -I'm far from it, but I do really appreciate good cars that perform well, and this is a great performing car even by today's ever increasing higher standards. IMO, the real bonus of the Tig, over something like the GTi anyway, is the power delivery thru the 4Motion. It gets the power to the ground solidly, with no fuss and no drama. IMO, the Tig sets a new benchmark for SUVs - raising it a few notches to boot!
So that's the 125 engined Tig! I'm almost scared to think what Guy's chip will do to this little beast -best part of 180Kw PLUS 360Nm of torque!... well I just can't imagine it, but let's just say that if I was a rex owner and a Tiguan pulled up beside me.......
I reckon when word gets out, they'll sell plenty, and I suspect Guy will become very popular (if he isn't already).
Next additions will be upgraded sway bar (just to help flatten it that bit more), the AVC9000 (already on order), and, of course, Guy's 178kw remap.
Some pics of the little fella:
http://members.westnet.com.au/jsturn/tig2.jpg
.
http://members.westnet.com.au/jsturn/tig4.jpg
.
http://members.westnet.com.au/jsturn/tig3.jpg
First up, this is what I got:
125, manual, comfort pack, park assist, 19' wheels - and that's it.
I won't go on about the interior and the plethora of thoughtful standard things -like really clever interior lighting (love the red glow over the centre console, the illuminated door handles, the footwell lights etc), the central locking system with the remote window control, the fit and finish of the whole car, the exceptional paint work (as good as any of the other Bavarian car manufacturers), the very smooth manual drive train (the 6 speed gearbox is a gem IMO, regardless of some of the more critical reviews - not sure what they're on about with is - unless they were testing it in the TDi, in which case I didn't like the manual in the TDi either, but that wasn't the gearbox, that was the application of it in the TDi IMO), ...anyway, I could go on, but you all know that stuff.
If you are thinking about wheels for your Tig, I would go with 19". The dealer had one with 18", and it looked OK, but IMO, the 19" fill out the wheel wells that bit better. They make a very big difference to the handling over the 16"s, and minimal difference in ride (that is unless you were going to do some rough road driving).
Anyway, how does the 125 petrol manual "go"? Well it doesn't go like any respectable 125Kw car I've driven in the last few years. But in the interests of unbiased reporting, this is what others that drove it on the weekend said:
- After my mate drove it (he's owned GTi's and now has an R32), he reckoned that:
"I think VW must now be quoting their power figures at the wheels, because this thing goes far too well for any 125Kw engined passenger car, let alone in a ****ty SUV"
- My brother said when he first slotted it into second gear and had to make a quick accelerated move:
"I though you said you hadn't got it chipped yet". I assured him I hadn't.
Obviously, the high torque figure is the clincher? Well, something is, and what it does is transforms what should be a nice, but relatively docile performing SUV (aka CRX, RAV4 etc), into a seriously quick SUV that is an absolute blast to drive. Getting it out of first gear as quickly as possible, (minimal turbo lag too- especially compared to say, the Mazda) and then giving it some head in second gear, sees you accelerating at a seriously fast pace with an absolute minimum of noise and apparent effort. Slotting it into third gear keeps the pace happening as the little 2litre happily spins up again propelling you forward well into the national maximum speed limit if you're not careful. Keep in mind also, that I was not thrashing it, this was reasonably conservative driving - no full throttle, no red lining- or anywhere near max revs for that matter.
While this might all sound like I'm a bit of a hoon -I'm far from it, but I do really appreciate good cars that perform well, and this is a great performing car even by today's ever increasing higher standards. IMO, the real bonus of the Tig, over something like the GTi anyway, is the power delivery thru the 4Motion. It gets the power to the ground solidly, with no fuss and no drama. IMO, the Tig sets a new benchmark for SUVs - raising it a few notches to boot!
So that's the 125 engined Tig! I'm almost scared to think what Guy's chip will do to this little beast -best part of 180Kw PLUS 360Nm of torque!... well I just can't imagine it, but let's just say that if I was a rex owner and a Tiguan pulled up beside me.......
I reckon when word gets out, they'll sell plenty, and I suspect Guy will become very popular (if he isn't already).
Next additions will be upgraded sway bar (just to help flatten it that bit more), the AVC9000 (already on order), and, of course, Guy's 178kw remap.
Some pics of the little fella:
http://members.westnet.com.au/jsturn/tig2.jpg
.
http://members.westnet.com.au/jsturn/tig4.jpg
.
http://members.westnet.com.au/jsturn/tig3.jpg