Used Volkswagen Tiguan AllSpace cars for sale

Used Volkswagen Tiguan AllSpace pros and cons

Is a second hand Tiguan AllSpace a good car?

The Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace is a mid-size SUV that’s been stretched to provide some extra room in the back so you can fit more people in. In that sense, it’s rather like putting an extension on a suburban semi — and about as exciting, truth be told. 

The Allspace gains lots of extra boot space compared to the regular Tiguan, and the extra seats allows it to compete with its VW Group siblings, the Skoda Kodiaq and the SEAT Tarraco. 

Inside, the Tiguan’s cabin is made of seriously high-quality stuff, especially after the update in 2020 which also gave the Tiguan a rather more attractive front end, with sleeker headlights.

The Tiguan’s interior gets lots of squishy soft-touch plastics, but even so it’s a bit of a dull looking dash, and not as cool as the (mechanically identical) Skoda Kodiaq’s ‘cliff face’ style dash. 

The touchscreen in the centre of the dash was eventually updated to 8.0 inches across, and then later again to 9.2 inches, and both are much better and easier to use than more modern VW touchscreens, with simple menus and the saving grace of physical air conditioning controls. That said, the 2020 update also brought along touch-sensitive aircon controls, which are rather more fiddly. The 10.3-inch digital driver’s instrument panel — eventually fitted as standard — is good, though, and gives the Tiguan almost an Audi-esque look inside. 

There’s lots of space, and excellent storage space (the door bins are massive) in the front, and loads of legroom and headroom in the middle row, too thanks to the Allspace being a longer car than the standard Tiguan. The third row is really only for kids, but there’s pretty much as much space as in the chunkier-looking Skoda Kodiaq. A Kia Sorento has more third-row room, though. 

Fill all the seats, and there’s only just about enough space left in the Allspace’s boot for a decent trip to the supermarket. Fold those seats down and there’s a useful 700 litres of luggage space, but again the Skoda has the VW licked when it comes to ultimate boot volume. The good news is that all of the back seats tumble and fold easily, and when they’re all folded flat there’s enough space for two mountain bikes in the back. 

Engines range from a basic 1.5-litre turbo petrol (which sounds too small but which is actually a good all-rounder) to the more popular 2.0-litre TDI diesels, with either 138hp or 197hp, both available with four-wheel drive (the higher-power one has 4WD as standard). There’s also a 2.0-litre petrol turbo with 187hp or 242hp and again standard four-wheel drive. A seven-speed DSG automatic is available for all engines, and standard on 4WD models, but it can be rather slow and sluggish to respond around town. 

The four-wheel drive gives you plenty of grip on slippery tarmac, but the Tiguan Allspace isn’t really a serious off-roader. If you need that, with seven seats, consider a Land Rover Discovery Sport. It’s good for towing though, and ideal for heading into town thanks to great visibility, and comfy ride quality.

Just don’t go expecting fun from behind the wheel. Early Allspace versions were deeply dull to drive, and while the later post-2020 R-Line versions were a little more engaging, there’s really nothing here for a keen driver to get hold of. 

The good news is that the Allspace comes with lots of safety kit, and was a five-star car in the Euro NCAP crash tests, so it’s safe for all the family. 

What to look for when buying a used Volkswagen Tiguan AllSpace

Being as it’s such a family friendly car, you’ll want to check the cabin carefully for any signs of child-related damage such as scratches, scuffs, and the whiff of spilled milk. The DSG gearbox has been known to be troublesome, and needs more attentive servicing — and regular oil changes — than the manual ‘box. There are also issues with the touchscreen and the sat-nav at times. 

Volkswagen finished a poor 29th out of 32 brands in the Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, with 23% of owners reporting problems with their cars. However, the Tiguan finished in 45th place in the Driver Power Top 50 Cars To Own list, although it didn’t get a good rating for reliability and quality.