Thank you to our existing personal leasing customer from St Helens (Merseyside) for sending a picture of their replacement car – the VW Tiguan.
One of the UK’s favourite SUV options (in an ultra-competitive market), the VW Tiguan has been incredibly popular for VW as more and more customers move to SUV and crossovers. S
eeing the opportunity, the introduction and/or revision of the VW T-Roc, T-Cross, Tiguan Allspace and Touareg demonstrates just how important this segment is.
The interesting developments are clearly going to be in the alternative fuels (hybrid, PHEV and electric) and their collaboration with the SUV.
At present, VW are relying on the Golf and Passat GTE (which are petrol PEHV options) together with the e-UP! and e-Golf.
Moving forwards, the new “ID” range will see additional cars enter the market including the Buzz, Vizzion and an SUV in the form of a Crozz (more info). While some of these are only concepts, the ID 3 made an appearance at the recent Frankfurt motor show and will clearly be part of our automotive infrastructure in 2020.
The ID 3 will be a limited option, with only 30,000 being made and, of this, only some will be headed to the UK.
A small number of UK buyers will be enjoying this circa summer 2020. The initial product will feature a 200bhp engine from a 58kWh battery pack and range of between 186-261 miles.
The move to electric has seen more traction politically, as the UK Government has been somewhat resistant to invest the necessary funds to transform our infrastructure. Some personal and business customers are still concerned about operating purely electric vehicles, as charging infrastructure and ChargePoints are still considered to be scarce.
While there are now more charging point than petrol pumps, the obvious practical difference is the time it takes to charge a vehicle against the time it takes to put fuel in a petrol or diesel vehicle.
For slow charge points, it could take 3-7 hours and even 50KW rapid chargers could take 1-2 hours. S
ome of this is about customers reconsidering their lifestyles and fuelling behaviours.
The move to more retail experience charging points (coffee shops, dry cleaning, supermarkets) could help alleviate some of the charging time issues.
So what is the Government planning to do about electric car charge points?
In a recent publication the Government announced a £400m fund to bolster charging infrastructure, with the first £70m to be used towards 3000 rapid charge points. With the Government wanting petrol and diesel vehicles to be banned by 2040, more needs to be done to remove the issues facing electric car operators. As part of this, the UK’s electric infrastructure and energy generation will need to be reviewed. The obvious point is if we charge our vehicles at the same time, the grid will collapse!
It will be interesting to see what the Government, and local authorities, do as we manage emission zones, clean air zones and a removal of combustion engines from the UK’s fleet.
The decision of electric vs petrol/diesel is becoming more and more common. Customers now have an array of fuel choices to consider. Much of the decision should be based on driving styles and behaviours rather than the monthly rental. Cost is not everything. For company car users the main incentive may be to reduce company car tax, as HMRC are now offering 0% BiK on fully electric cars from April 2020. In contrast personal users may consider changing as part of reducing fuel costs, reducing maintenance costs and environment/sustainability. Not only that, electric cars drive and handle superbly.
In moving to the electric vehicle you are not losing on the driving experience as some customers do expect. Many of the vehicles are more responsive and quicker.
When considering which fuel choice is correct for you or the business, have a look at our fuel decision tree at – https://www.carlease.uk.com/car-e/
In terms of the car shown here, the Volkswagen Tiguan Diesel Estate 2.0 TDi 150 Match 5door (Manual 2WD), this is based on the following configuration:
· Urano Grey Solid Paint
· Rhombus cloth – Titan black
· Titan silver decorative inserts
· 19″ Victoria alloy wheels + anti-theft wheel bolts
As standard the car includes high beam assist, halogen clear headlights, driver and passenger lumbar support, steel space saver, trailer stability programme, comfort seats, cornering fog lights, discover navigation with an 8” screen, front and rear parking sensors, 3 spoke multi-function steering wheel, 19” alloys, rain sensor windscreen wipers, rear tinted glass, DTC, hill hold control, Bluetooth, cruise control with driver alert system, front assist with city emergency braking and pedestrian braking, lane assist, park assist, rear view camera (on the latest models only!), auto dimming interior mirror, electric folding door mirrors with heating, DAB radio, body coloured externals, dusk sensor, climate control, leather gear knob, active pedestrian system, 40/20 split folding rear seats, XDS electronic differential lock and alarm/immobiliser.
In terms of additional options to add at factory consider – power tailgate, winter pack (heated seats) and ambient lighting.
On the technical-side company car and business users can note the P11d at £30,715.00 and CO2 at 126g/km. The 1968CC 6 speed manual diesel engine delivers 58.9 combined (EC), 47.1 (WLTP), 150ps and 0-62 times of 9.3 seconds. Service intervals are set at every 12 months or 10,000 miles whichever lands sooner.
So would the Tiguan be your select leasing option? Or would the Peugeot 3008, Volvo XC60 or Nissan Qashqai be your preferred deal? Browse more German car reviews below…