Volkswagen Experiences 3: Record Run with the Beyond Iconic Tiguan R-line

Some cars are embedded into the mind of the car enthusiasts like me as the greatest and the most timeless of all time. The Volkswagen Tiguan has been on top of the charts for a very long time, and it gave me quite some core memories every time I drove it out to places with my friends and family. 

So when I got to know that Volkswagen India is finally bringing in the car in a fresh new avatar as the Tiguan R-line, I was more than just elated. Further, I was told it is a record-setting drive from the financial capital of India, which is the city of Mumbai, to the national capital, which is New Delhi. All of this whilst exploring some of the important monuments and locations in between. I was a part of the leg that ran between Udaipur and Jaipur, a total distance of 430 kms at the start of the scorching summer, which sometimes gets relentless in the state of Rajasthan.

The first sight of the car after seeing it in pictures had me in awe, the beautiful creases and illustrious shade of what VW calls the ‘Persimmon Red Metallic’ did some magic besides the decorative Rajasthan dusk, and those significantly handsome-looking 19-inch alloy wheels. What a great-looking car this is indeed. The moment the clock started ticking for me, we rushed to the car, only to spend the next 5 hours in it exploring the centre of the Rajasthan highway ecosystem.

Greeted by the splendid interiors, it was a space I could spend a full day in without complaining. Why would I be so sure? Look at the seats, the full fabric R-line seats, which are a boon in the hot summer months. Besides pure aesthetics, they are very ergonomic and cushioned well to give you extra comfort while you’re cannonballing through the mad highways of India.

A 15-inch touch screen infotainment has the majority of the controls and has all the important features at the access of your fingertips, irrespective of how long your arms are, which is a great ergonomic advantage since touch screen infotainment systems can get a little tacky in their usage.

Out on the highway, the steering is sharp and communicative, with an added advantage of DCC Pro ( Dynamic Chassis Control Pro), which is a standard fitment in the Tiguan R-line. Once you switch to Sports mode, the suspension and steering get stiffer, giving you a more reassuring handling character.

In Comfort mode, the suspension is nice and cushy and barely lets you know about the undulations on the road, whereas in ECO mode, it turns into a budget hatchback giving you a a great fuel economy.

In our run from Udaipur to Jaipur, the Tiguan R-line returned us a fuel economy of 16.3 kmpl running at an average speed of 90 kmph. In our short hypermiling run we scooped out 20.3 kmpl, all of this thanks to a great fuel management system and great power reserve while cruising.

As we reached our destination, the Amer Fort in Jaipur, I realised one thing. No matter how hard we try, there is hardly any car out there that could compete with the engineering prowess, quality and price quotient of the Tiguan R-line in today’s time. It is an absolutely great value for only 300 of lucky Indians who’d get their hands on it.