2010 Volkswagen Tiguan - Styling Review

See more photos

Shopping for a 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan? MSRP: $23,200 - $33,500

SEE LOCAL CLASSIFIEDS

The stylish SUV is based on the Golf platform, so it's compact and beneath it all more car than ute. It measures 173.2 inches in length, 72.8 inches in width, and 66.5 inches in height, with one of the taller, more upright stances of vehicles in this compact segment. When it comes to styling, one can safely say that the right balance has been achieved between startlingly adventurous and blandly contemporary. The lines of the exterior are accentuated by the headlamps and grille, with the richer finishes in the cabin contradicting the quality one has come to expect from Volkswagen.

The 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan is "your typical sport-utility," asserts Edmunds, and for 2010, the Volkswagen Tiguan is offered in "three trim levels: S, SE and SEL." According to Cars.com, "the [VW] Tiguan looks like a smaller version of VW's Touareg 2 midsize SUV until you step around back, where it looks like the rear end of a Rabbit compact hatchback." Road & Track more or less agrees, saying that the Volkswagen Tiguan's exterior styling "is an interesting blend of Touareg and GTI." Autoblog remarks the Volkswagen Tiguan "looks pretty bitchin' to us," as well as highlighting that it is not a "prettied-up tall Golf."

Edmunds reviewers find that the Volkswagen Tiguan "boasts a number of cues first established on the Concept A," a concept car from a few years back, "including its bold chrome grille and swoopy headlamp treatment." The concept, though, was a little more "sporting, coupe-like silhouette with a roof line that plunged to the rear," whereas the Volkswagen Tiguan should appeal to the masses with the high roofline exhibited by the models in the production line. The Auto Channel says the Volkswagen Tiguan's styling is "clean, graceful, modern and attractive."

The 2010 Volkswagen does not disappoint in terms of looks, exterior or interior. Inside, the styling is quite welcoming and familiar from VW's cars, yet a little more upright. According to Edmunds, "if the interior of the new Volkswagen looks familiar, it's no coincidence," adding that "in a bid to keep development costs down, Volkswagen has provided its new SUV with the same basic cabin architecture as the European-market Golf Plus." The Auto Channel rates it highly, saying that the "interior is attractive as well" and the "gauges, controls, and everything we interact with are thoughtfully placed." Kelley Blue Book labels the interior controls “thoughtful."