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2020 Volkswagen Tiguan SE R-Line Black Review by Mark Fulmer +VIDEO


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Popular Crossover Adds Tech and Polish

By Mark Fulmer
The Auto Channel


R-Line: "a special trim level designed to give drivers a car that looks and feels like a racing inspired, but still provides a great value to VW drivers." This years new SE R-Line Black trim adds some nice touches to an already popular crossover.


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How about a truly panoramic sunroof, front and rear parking sensors, foglights, Fender premium stereo, and a 360-degree overhead camera system (excellent tech for navigating in and out of undersized parking spaces). Should your favorite sports team have black as one of its team colors you may feel quite pleased with its black badging, black 20-inch wheels, black-accented front and rear bumpers, and black themed interior.


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The whole range in the US is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine that goes hand in hand with a traditional eight-speed automatic transmission and delivers a total of 184 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque. FWD models achieve EPA estimated mileage of 22/29/25 mpg city/highway combined with AWD models dropping these figures to 20/27/23 mpg. The big wheels give a sturdy ride, while the adaptive dampers smooth out the irregularities of our ancient crumbling roads. The brakes provide a soft pedal feel that makes feathering to a stop and creeping in stop-and-go traffic an easy chore. Quite simply, for all but the lead-footed drivers, the Tiguan handles and performs quite well on urban streets and highways. If you deal with ice, snow, sleet, or hail there are multiple selectable driving modes: on-road, off-road, and snow mode functionality.


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The interior is a blend of comfort and practicality. Comfortable seats with premium-feeling leatherette with a soft-touch feel for the dashboard and doors, with plenty of legroom and headroom. Practical use of user-interface knobs and dials and VW's innovative Virtual Cockpit technology let you set up your cluster display to your liking.


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Adaptable cargo space configurations ease the hauling of passengers with equipment. The Tiguan is chuck full of all the usual safety systems like forward collision warning with autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping assist.


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For those looking for a safe, comfortable, and useful vehicle for the family that won't make you take out a second mortgage depending on how you equip it, be sure to include the Tiguan on your test drive list.