Luxurious Tayron a good fit

Photo: Richard Bosselman

ROAD TEST

Recently, I suggested a fairly innocuous seven-seater sports utility from China was a good school run deal for family users.

The MG QS stood out simply because it was a low-price choice within a genre of vehicle that’s at high risk of coming out of ownership in worse state than it started out.

You know why. Children can often become artful destruction experts. They twist, twiddle and tear; they scribble, and there are stains, smells, scratches. Surely the pain of that likely wear-and-tear can be offset by knowing you at least hadn’t paid a fortune?

So, anyway, soon after handing back the MG, I began driving the Volkswagen Tayron (pronounced "tie-ron"). Same ilk, much more upmarket and more expensive.

Germany’s mainstream marque has long been keen to sit on the periphery of premium; Tayron R-Line here has especially good viewing of that scene.

The R-Line spec, which carries a $96,990 tag, isn’t mandatory. There’s also the Tayron Elegance, an entry version for $18,000 less. Both are equipped with a 2.0-litre turbo engine driving all four wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission, but the R-Line’s motor delivered extra pep, with peak outputs of 195kW and 400Nm, compared to the Elegance’s 150kW/320Nm muster.

While the less expensive variant is probably the more logical choice, the R-Line fit out has long been popular here.

During my test I even met a man who has VW’s predecessor to the Tayron, a Tiguan Allspace. It’s been a great car for carrying his three pre-teens, but it was time to move up, and all the way, to the variant here. I was keen to hear his view.

Photo: Richard Bosselman

In respect to my theory? He didn’t disagree. He’d checked out the MG and agreed it wasn’t too bad. However, in his case cost wasn’t a particular consideration. Competency, badge cachet and driving charisma were. On all those, he perceived, Germany did it better.

So a new Tayron was a certainty. And the risk of the kids besmirching the interior? A "pre-flight" regime of ensuring anything likely to in any way mar the cabin was safely stowed had worked out well enough with the Tiguan. It would continue with the Tayron.

Tayron and last year’s new-gen Tiguan are closely related, and the larger choice presents many of the same cabin features which, for Tiguan, represented a big step up in interior quality.

While the cabin is not exempt hard-wearing plastics, most surface materials are soft to touch, while the appearance overall is premium. The ambient lighting is extensive, creating a more high-tech vibe, while the central touchscreen is massive and very top-end in both its look and operability. During my test, only adults rode in the car and almost all — without any prompting — felt compelled to comment on how luxurious it was.

My week did not fully utilise the passenger potential; the mid-row seats were occupied from time to time, but the rear-most pair were never used. For the most part, they were tucked away to enable a five-chair configuration that provisioned decent boot space.

In respect to practicality, it seems pretty good, though the view from the "dad driver" was that it still holds the same "five plus an occasional two" status as its predecessor.

It is better sorted to fit child seats, with ISOFIX anchor points on the two outboard seats of the middle row and on the front passenger’s seat. That none are in the third row might seems a pity, but the engineering considerations for that are apparently complex to overcome.

There’s not really enough space in the third row for adults (or perhaps anyone much over primary school age).

The rear seat sliding back and forth it a neat touch, enabling a juggle between rear-seat and boot space. Even with all seven seats in place there’s still a usable amount of boot space. Volkswagen quotes 345-litres available with all seven seats up, expanding to 850-litres with the third row folded down, and 1905-litres with the second row folded flat as well,

VW’s R-Line treatment lifts the visual pizzazz with different bumpers, seats and wheels but true sportiness only goes so far. Track driving is hardly set to be the remit of a large, practical family SUV, after all.

Photo: Richard Bosselman

Yet the 255/40 tyres, the broader range of ride adjustments and the engine’s extra zest really do enliven the car’s driving feel. All the same, if you were going to use a Tayron primarily as an in-town runabout, the Elegance on its smaller rims would be better, because with R-Line the ride is a touch too firm at times.

The other reason for staying with the entry-level choice is that it furnishes very good equipment. Tri-zone climate control, a heated steering wheel, ambient lighting, power tailgate, heated and massaging front seats with lumbar support, keyless start, parking assistance, dual wireless device chargers, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a full suite of electronic safety assistants are standard now.

Up front, the dash is the same as that of the Tiguan’s, which provides clear and simple digital instruments and a single physical rotary controller. Interactions with the car’s many and various systems are much easier than on previous VWs, though the controller does takes a little learning, as it looks after not only stereo volume but also driving modes, plus the slightly twee "atmospheres", which change the colour and tone of the ambient lighting. This variant also adds in the handy ingredients of a head-up display and 360-degree camera.

The R-Line features a 15-inch central touchscreen that delivers a better configuration and superior clarity to the entry car’s 12.9-inch unit. The majority of the buttons, including for climate control, are now located inside the touchscreen. This creates an overall cleaner look but because it’s got so many features packed into it, the touchscreen takes some familiarisation.

The memory and ventilation front seat setting are good R-Line upgrades; the LED Plus headlights very worthwhile on unlit country roads. Speaking of illumination. The R-Line also has illuminated VW badges; on this example only on the tail. The nose should also light up, but the very first cars that arrived lacked that facility.

Leather also comes to the flagship and seems commensurate with the price. While you’d cry if it was damaged, my Tiguan-owning adviser reminded how it is more stain-resistant than cloth trim to spilled drinks and yoghurt.

From my experience, what appealed straight away about Tayron is that, operability and design-wise, it feels like a better considered product than its predecessor. Whereas Allspace was a stretched Tiguan, Tayron stands out much more as a singular car.

Volkswagen’s intent to create a standalone model to fill the gap between the Tiguan and Touareg, is much more evident.

At 4770mm long, 1852mm wide and 1660mm tall, on a 2791mm wheelbase, the Tayron is a touch longer and wider than the Tiguan Allspace, but shares its distance between the front and rear wheels. That allows it to sidestep the "stretched" appearance that became a love/hate issue of the old product.

With an additional 230mm from nose-to-tail, and 114mm between the wheel axles, it becomes an obviously larger car but keeps the donor’s rather handsome lines, at least as far back as the C-pillar. After that point the extra rear overhang and body bulk is well enough integrated that most people won’t notice any visual difference.

Photo: Richard Bosselman

When driving, Tayron doesn’t feel as lane-filling as the longer, taller and wider Touareg, but it is still a large vehicle. Outward visibility is decent and while the turning circle isn’t truly tight — three-pointers are the go in most city streets — it’s not too much of a handful.

The 2.0-litre engine has widespread use throughout the VW Group and is the same as went into the top Tiguan, but with elevated power and torque, so 195kW/400Nm now against 162/350Nm previously.

In this setting it’s a smooth, strong unit with masses of midrange torque. It doesn’t lack for overtaking oomph and get up and go, but handling-wise, while the body is reasonably well tied down, the Tayron is not a nimble car.

Impact on fuel burn is well contained. VW cites an official optimal of 8.8 litres per 100km; I saw 9.1 litres/100km from a week’s driving. Having put no particular effort into chasing parsimony — the "eco" mode was trifled with, but not regularly employed — I was happy with that, not least given it restricts to 95 octane and above.

The initial engine selection here has been more cautious than in some markets, but in time a plug-in hybrid Tayron is also set to become part of the family here. This has a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol with an 85kW electric motor married to a 19.7kW lithium ion battery. Combined outputs peak at 150kW and 350Nm, and a notional 118 kilometres of pure electric driving.

But also, because of the space requirements for the battery, the PHEV will be a five-seater, with front-drive, and a slightly smaller boot.

Additional Tayron powertrain and trim choice will make sense, because this is an important car.

In addition to presenting as an alternate to the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorrento, Toyota Highlander and Skoda Kodiaq in the here and now, it potentially will also become the largest SUV Volkswagen sells here once Touareg retires.

Conceptually, the Tayron meets the same expectations asked of Tiguan Allspace, but with a markedly more premium feel — and price. But look around and you’ll see all the aforementioned rivals have become more expensive than they once were; that’s because they’ve generally become larger and more extravagant too.

But, yes, those who are used to shopping for an Allspace in the under $60k zone are going to have to check behind the sofa for more coins this time.