This will be the Tiguan's Achilles Heel. The boot is about the same size as my Astra. When I took it to Perisher, I could just fit my 174cm skis diagonally with the back seat folded down and the front passenger's seat well forward. OK when the passenger was my son before his growth spurt. Would not have worked with an adult passenger. Take your longest skis with you to test fit before committing to a Tiguan. Seriously. Otherwise you might find you need roof racks and ski carriers.
hmmmm Thank you - a friend flagged the DSG and told me to get one from 2011 onwards, is this not correct? (i actually test drove a couple of petrols yesterday)
I wish there were more cars in Aus with 40/20/40 rear seats, or substantial ski ports (gotta fit my snowboard through there)
We have a 2015 tiguan r line. Boot is on the small side but we fit a family of 4 pretty easily. The rear seat slides forward which is nice. Can add just that bit more space to the boot if needed. Our skis and boards go in a pod on the roof but would fit inside through the ski hatch. Being an r line clearance for chains is tight so we have to use k summits.
@Astro66 fits his skis in the back of his Kuga. And his knees have recovered, so he's off the ultra-short skis. The cubic measurement of the cargo area is only 1 aspect. The Kuga may have a longer, shallower cargo area than the Tiguan. IIRC @Astro66's Kuga was sidelined last year with a failed transmission? I'm not sure if this is typical of the model.
I can fit my 200 Cm long classic XC skinny skis inside my car. I do have to put the back seat down on the RAV 4.
I wouldn't buy a DSG equipped VW earlier than 2015 or so. They've basically bet the company on the DSG so have put the resources into getting the bugs out. Unlike Ford. Do NOT buy a European Ford with a DSG under any circumstances. Google Ford DSG problems if you really want the gory details. Edit: In the Ford world, their name for DSG is PowerShift.
A3 Sportback AWD ... value motoring https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/Audi-A3-2013/SSE-AD-5918840/?Cr=4 I would love to do some suspension work and a bull bar on one of these. Add some snow tyres and it would be an awesome ride.
Don't think that fits @Ozgirl planned budget, looks like $15K+. I started a journey at the end of last season looking for a replacement for the old Commodore wagon. Like Ozgirl I started with a budget of $10K. Initially the Forester XT was a front runner but maybe I should stretch the budget a bit, I hadn't considered a Golf Alltrack. At this stage the Commodore is going around again with a Vic all resort pass and fitting chains! I dare not rack up any more K's on the other half's new Vitara after last season.
It'll cost you less in the long run to maintain and get serviced. I'm really late to the party, but why not the obvious choice of a Forester? I'm biased, I just can't do european cars, between their unreliability and he pretentiousness of the drivers they just don't do it for me.
I'm not that pretentious, I even talk to Japanese vehicle owners sometimes. Sorry, missed Ozgirl's budget.
Re Subarus. We've owned 9 Subies over the past 20 odd years. Had two burnt out clutchs replaced on two of the cars under warranty and a blown head gasket replaced but not under warranty on one of the others. They're good cars overall as long as they're serviced regularly and the oil level is checked between services. We have found this is a must.
I really should test drive a forester. For some reason I am worried that an auto will have no guts. I thought it was an impreza engine on a bigger body.
I need to get an awd snow/camping car. Thinking of the forester GT or XT, would like a Forester GT but with a late move My05 sti drive train with the forged ej207 and DCCD 6speed, that would be cool.
I never check anything between services. Tyres occasionally. 11 year old Impreza, 200k on the clock. Never missed a beat.
Service departments always told me to routinely check the oil in Outbacks that I've owned and I was glad I did on numerous occasions. And this is when they were serviced at 10,000 k intervals.
I think Subaru's are a bit notorious for being greedy with the oil. FWIW I am completely in love with our 3.6l Subaru Outback. Apart from the fuel bill that is.
Go to your local trustworthy mechanic with a hoist and you'd be surprised how many loose nuts n bolts to be found.
So does anyone fancy themselves as a good haggler? I test drove a car last week that i really, really want (a Tiguan) i drove a hard bargain and waked out, when they only came down by $250! I tried to drop by $2,000. Car has been for sale for 3 weeks and this weekend. EOFY is almost here, they have two on their books, rego is due in August. They should want to sell but suspect they are not wanting to bargain with a female (i also got 'pretty womaned' at a car dealer ship on Sunday. They actually would not let me test drive the car as they didn't believe i was a legit buyer even after i told them i could pay cash - suspect thats what they didn't think was real!)
Send an email with a purchase offer. Put a bunch of detail in like make, model, color, options, and their stock number. Do all that in bullet points, make it look official and businesslike. Then add your terms in similar layout: offer close date, pickup date, payment method, price you will pay. Get a friend to go in there if you dont have all the info, this should all be done at arm's length now. Send in the email with closing period stated as end of business the following day. Terms should also state all taxes and fees to be covered by offered price. Make some reference to 'the successful vendor' to imply this email is going out to multiple addressees. Then do nothing. Field their phone call if they make one, clarify questions but if they talk price, tell them you made a written offer and need a written response so you can assess all offers clearly. Basically it is like a tendering process.
DSG in Tiguan. You must check from the VIN number which gearbox is fitted. (5NCW) After their DSG woes they fitted a good one (same internals as Porche Carrera) in 2011.
I looked for old Suby for one of my graduates. They hold their value too dam well. Only found worn out examples. Tigger stuff to keep in mind: Suspension is Golf fitted with higher tyres, so not much horizontal clearance for chains, wider than standard tyres no good.
I Did it!! A well timed (9am Monday morning) "i notice this car is still for sale. My offer still stands.." They split the difference with me and i have just said yes - probably could of pushed harder. But can't be bothered!
Well done! I've purchased two new vehicles by "tendering it out" via email. In both cases I received offers 20% below RRP. I know I couldn't have pulled off a lowball offer like that in person.
Ordered ours on Friday.....AWD performance. Should be good for return to snow from Canberra and looks like there's a charger in Perisher and Lake Crackenback if needed
Lol. Not for that kind of Performance.......Not many cars doing those kinds of 0-100 times under 100k.
I ordered on Friday as well, White, AWD Performance, with FSD. No extra performance pack though. (did you use my referral link? someone did) Don't forget, there is also the NRMA DC charger in Jindy, and a few hidden power outlets at the Skitube station. quite a few destination chargers are showing up down there. not that you need it with the Superchargers at Cooma. but how does it handle snow? Though, i must admit, My Old Subaru Forester GT was great for winter trips, even on High performance summer tyres, and worked well as a single mans accommodation at Island Bend.
