Have your parents or grandparents ever spoken about people of the “old order”?
You know, those old-fashioned sorts with old-fashioned values. The kind of people who are always courteous, punctual, honest, decent and would gladly offer their seat on a bus to an octogenarian who looked as though s/he might need to sit down.
My mum speaks about these people all the time, primarily because she is one of them and hopes that I will grow up to appreciate these old-world values and because such people are few and far apart.
One of the rare people who slots into this elite group is Audi/VW/Seat fleet coordinator Athol van Heerden, who is always punctual, never lets you down and is so meticulous that he has his own driving mat so that when he delivers a car, you won’t find so much as a spec of dirt on the carpet.
Another such person, Aysa Abrahams, is also on the Audi/VW/Seat team as a PR coordinator and is the sort of person who will spend many sleepless nights away from her family to ensure that every journalist has everything s/he could possibly need on a new vehicle launch.
The reason I’m naming these people is twofold: one, because they’re not the kind of people who are quoted in stories about these brands, but are integral to the brands’ success; and two, because if Audi/VW/Seat made a point of employing more people of the old order, then maybe I wouldn’t receive so many complaints from their customers and perhaps my own VW Jetta wouldn’t have been lost when I took it for its last service.
Yes, they lost my car. I phoned at about 1pm after dropping it off in the morning and asked why I hadn’t been called because I was sure it needed new brake pads. I was assured the service was going fine and that my Jetta didn’t need any brake pads. Two hours later I received a panicky call from a guy asking where I had parked my car as they weren’t able to locate it.
Not only was I lied to, but VW had literally lost my car. I’m convinced that if “old order” people — such as Abrahams and Van Heerden — were to oversee customer service, VW wouldn’t have so many unhappy customers.
It was during the launch of the VW Tiguan that I realised VW had another successful product that would undoubtedly increase its market share. But my sincere hope is that they go back to basics and pay more attention to their customers because great cars will get you only so far.
The Tiguan is not a baby version of the Touareg. It is a car in its own right and you don’t feel as though it’s a cheaper, smaller version of anything else.
As I settled into the 2,0-litre diesel, which produces a healthy 103kW of power and 320Nm of torque, I thought of the cool Tiguan TV advert and could see that this isn’t a vehicle that should be underestimated.
During the launch in and around George, we drove on a variety of surfaces and the energetic little SUV was impressively composed and comfortable.
Available on the Tiguan is some pretty ground-breaking technology, including a turbo-supercharged engine (which I will get back to) and a park assist optional extra, which could be the answer to all those parallel parking nightmares.
The sensors of the parking steering assistance recognise suitable parking spaces at a speed of up to 30km/h. Once you stop and engage the reverse gear, the Tiguan will steer automatically into the space while the driver continues to operate the brake, clutch and accelerator pedals.
There is also a standard auto-hold function attached to the electronic parking brake, which keeps the vehicle stationary until you put pressure on the accelerator and pull away.
There are three model derivatives: the “Track and Field”, which has more of an off-road design, the “Trend and Fun” and “Sport and Style”, each of which have different equipment options.
The Tiguan comes equipped with six airbags as standard, as well as ABS and ESP.
The 1,4-litre TSi engine produces 110kW and 240Nm of seamless power. The upshot of an engine that has both a turbo-charger and a super-charger is obviously that there is no noticeable turbo-lag and the fuel consumption on a combined cycle is a pretty impressive 8,4-litres per 100km.
The Tiguan ranges in price from R265 500 for the base model 1,4TSi to R347 000 for the 2,0-litre TSi and includes VW’s five-year/60 000km maintenance plan, as well as the 12-year anti-corrosion warranty.