2012 Volkswagen Tiguan consumer reviews

LIKE: Unimpeded acceleration, especially at highway speeds - there's a horsepower rush once the turbo kicks in; quick steering response; heated leather seats; heated side-view mirrors; reclining rear seats; the "tray" on top of the dashboard for holding stuff; some features that are standard here are only available as options in other brands NOT LIKE: Transmission in city driving (20 - 50 MPH) is terrible - it loves to upshift quickly for fuel efficiency but then hunts for gears when you slow down, resulting in very non-linear gear shifts (the turbo lag does not help); brakes are too grabby; passengers bounce left and right too much on the highway; poorly-designed trunk - try fitting something around four feet long (like, say, a set of golf clubs?) - you can't do it without folding down one of the rear seats - not very utilitarian for an SUV

Handles great, runs like a dream and is nice to look at. Very solid and safe suv. I would recommend it for sure.

Not a good car for a family with 2 kids. Trunk space as well as interior space is very limited. Lacks in performance and handling.

I just love my tiguan, is my first 6 manual transmission this car is great. Plenty of space and lots of extras

Great car, good to use around town. Very fast, very fun. Low maintenance, I own a 2012, looks like new. Very comfortable and good purchase for the price. Highly recommend

This is my second VW. The car overall is a good ride. Performance is wonderful for a 2.0 turbo. Gas milage is fantastic. Cargo space is limited. Maintenance: Injectors replaced under warranty. Intake manifold replaced just out of warranty - broken motor or something. second intake replaced out of warranty - had a hole in it. Turbo replaced - seals failing. Injectors replaced out of warranty (stuck wide open - again). And now my heater core is leaking. I have 118K miles on the clock; have changed the oil at the service interval - with factory specified oils. Done all services. All my driving is highway driving.

I found a great deal on a Tiguan when I was out shopping for a small SUV. The car handles like a sports car but gives me the room I need to do light hauling. I love the styling and the interior feels very luxurious. The leather is well crafted and the controls feel solid. I have only two issues but they were not enough to dissuade me form the vehicle. #1 I wish the steering wheel would adjust down further. I am a top wheel hand driver and it only stays high angled making it feel awkward driving the way I do. #2. The infotainment system takes a little long to start up thus making the back up camera not come on right away when I start the car and put it in reverse. All in all, I really like the cars styling, drivability and comfort. I would highly recommend this car for someone in the small SUV market.

Having driven every 2014 compact SUV (other than the CRV and the Hyundai's), we found the 2014 Tiguan to be the most sporty feeling, but with an unacceptable price in the mid-30's. We decided to buy used, finding that loaded SEL 4motions were in the mid to low 20's, and with low miles. As the mechanical bits have remained essentially unchanged over the years, the 2012's drive identically. We bought a lightly used SEL 4motion with 20k miles on it, and in the last two months it's proven to be a fun and reliable vehicle, if a bit noisy on the freeway due to the 19" tires (if you want a quiet, soft ride, go with a smaller wheel/tire combo). The seats are exceptionally comfortable, and the stereo solid. It's a nice road car.- a complaint I've been unable to address is the wonky navigation system, which does not appear to be designed for Denver street names. We will address this with a vw dealer as we find it cannot find many familiar street addresses. Overall, the tiguan has proven to be reliable, sporty, and fun to drive- we have found it to be an excellent used value.

This is a excellent car for the price. I've logged over 40k miles and having driven it twice from Denver to Chicago. Have had no issues other than a occasional low level rough idle from the engine. This car gets great gas mileage, looks good, has a ton of cargo space and is very responsive. Handles the mountain passes in Colorado with ease and has enough clearance for any forest service road you can find. I opted for the S model with the stick and front wheel drive. AWD would be better but it's only available with a automatic.

I've often heard that Subaru owners are Subaru owners for life. Not in this case. As Subaru owners, we expected our next car to be a Subaru Forester. After test driving the Forester, my wife and I were both disappointed. The car was sluggish at best. Living in a busy city, we need to have enough confidence in the car that we know we can merge into freeway traffic. The Subaru simply didn't cut it. Our reaction was "under powered and over priced." We did our homework, test drove the competition, and settled on a Volkswagen Tiguan. It's roomy and comfortable, has a solid feel and ride, and it has plenty of zip. We're extremely happy with the Tiguan and have already recommended it to friends and family.