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| Road Test Volkswagen Tiguan Escape 2.0 TDI Automatic |
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The Off-Road Choice
As Mike Grundon mentioned in his launch report, there are two engines available at the moment, and more will be along soon, but if you choose a Tiguan Escape rather than an S, SE or Sport the choice is reduced to just one unit - our old friend the 2.0 TDI turbo diesel (also found in numerous other cars, not all of them part of the Volkswagen Group), presented here in 138bhp form. This is expected to be the most popular engine in the Tiguan range by some distance, and it's also the most obviously suitable for the Escape, which is aimed at customers who require more off-road prowess than is supplied by the other models. In fact the Escape is in most respects mechanically identical to other Tiguans; where it most clearly differs is in the shape of the front end, which includes a gentle slope from the bottom of the bumper to the start of the engine bay. Personally, I think this treatment makes the Escape the best-looking Tiguan, but it hasn't been done for aesthetic reasons. Instead, it means that the approach angle increases from 18 to 28 degrees - and if you don't know what an approach angle is, the basic idea is that you can climb over steeper obstacles without doing damage to the car.
The Escape also has a standard system (available as an extra-cost option on the S, SE and Sport) whereby you press a button to prepare it for off-road work. All at once, electric assistance for climbing and descending hills comes into play, the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal is reduced, that of the cross-axle braking system is increased, and the ABS is reprogrammed to take into account of loose surfaces. What Volkswagen refers to as the "off-road mode" is abandoned if you deliberately switch off the engine, but not if you stall accidentally, which I must say seems awfully clever.
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