VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN

Golf of crossovers is reinvented for athird generation with asharp focus oninterior usability and technology

- MURRAY SCULLION

I'm not complaining, because the engine doesn't really need that extra power. Volkswagen really knows what it's doing with diesels (ahem).

It's effortless, really: at speed, its seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox doesn't need to shuffle much and it just serenely gets on with ferrying you and your rock-star colleagues around.

It's not quite so brilliant at lower speeds, though. The DSG can be slightly hesitant to change down, sometimes leaving you a bit in the lurch when joining a roundabout. It also sounds pretty gruff at high revs.

But this is pretty normal diesel fare. You can get around the hesitancy with a pull of the left-hand paddle and you put up with the diesel racket in exchange for the economy.

Officially, this TDI will do 50mpg. The TSI hybrid is theoretically more frugal, but as with any PHEV, its economy depends largely on whether you bother charging the battery or not and how you use it, whereas the derv will just implacably deliver you value as it chugs along the motorway.

The Mk3 Tiguan sits on the Volkswagen Group's latest MQB Evo platform, just like the new Passat. It has nicked the Vehicle Dynamics Manager programme from the Golf GTI. And it has two-valve dampers with 15 increments of stiffness.

It's controlled via the drive manager, which is no longer a physical button. Instead you have to stab around at a small icon at the top of the infotainment touchscreen to get there. It's the sort of thing you get used to, but it's quite an annoyingly prolonged process if you want to change modes quickly.