KEY POINTS:
If you think the Europeans are always the leaders in vehicle design, consider this: the Japanese created the compact 'crossover' segment back in 1994, with the likes of the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CRV.
These crossovers were small wagons that looked like off-roaders but were based on passenger-car underpinnings. Yes, it's all oh-so-familiar now. But back then it was innovative, radical even. The whole genre became huge.
It's taken giant German maker Volkswagen - a company famous for a plethora of platform-shared models and an ability to discover niches that never existed - 14 years to join in the compact-crossover fun with its Tiguan. No prizes for originality, then.
But Tiguan is a solid effort, as it should be with that much prep time. It's been launched in New Zealand in just one version, with a 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine, priced at $53,990. That at least slots it into an interesting place in the market: it's more posh than mainstream models like the $45,990 RAV D-4D - makes sense, as VW is regarded as a pseudo-prestige brand here - but not as upmarket as the $69,990 Land Rover Freelander.
What'll she do? Take you almost anywhere on the open road and return fuel economy of less than seven litres per 100km, judging by my 400km in the vehicle. The 2.0-litre common rail diesel is the very latest from the VW Group and combines refinement with amazing thrift for a 1500kg vehicle. VW usually teams its diesels up with twin-clutch DSG transmissions, but in this instance it must have figured the Tiguan deserved the more relaxed nature of a conventional six-speed automatic. I'd agree: the strength of a diesel and the smooth slur of a torque converter seem to go well together.
Handling is safe but hardly inspired. Tiguan will cover ground quickly but you won't have a lot of fun doing it; not when rivals like CRV and RAV4 feel genuinely engaging on a winding road. At least when you get to your destination you can pull out the Tiguan's party piece: it comes as standard with ParkScan, which can identify a suitable parking space by radar and then reverse your car into it automatically, as long as you control the brake and acceleration. Yes, it's a gimmick. But it works really well and it's just as quick as doing it the old-fashioned way.
The cabin is generic VW: which is to say beautifully made, well-equipped but pretty much like every other model in the maker's lineup. Still, the seats are great, visibility is excellent through the massive glass areas and you can jazz things up with options like those fitted to our test car: a glass roof to brighten the cabin and a grunty Dynaudio stereo system to test the integrity of the interior plastics.
But really, what makes Tiguan special compared with Japanese soft-roaders? The unfortunate answer is not a lot. The diesel engine is a draw - but the RAV4 now has one of those and so, too, will the Nissan X-Trail in August.
Granted, you can't argue with the quality and refinement of the Tiguan - leave emotion out of it and the VW really does tick all the boxes. But it's just so staid and safe compared with the likes of the CRV, which has striking (I didn't say pretty) styling and dynamic sparkle. Tiguan is undeniably well-rounded; just not that interesting.
