Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace

 The seven-seat version of Volkswagen's mid-sized SUV, the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace, has now had a mid-life update in line with the regular five-seater, and this is our first chance to drive the refreshed version on UK roads. 

The Allspace gets 110mm of extra length in the wheelbase, and seven seats as standard in the UK. It has a revised range of engines, with two 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesels remaining alongside three petrols, in a market where, even among family workhorse options, the diesels continue to dwindle.

The Tiguan’s derivative line-up has been simplified slightly so that there are now Life, Elegance and sporty R-Line models to choose from - and while the Life models are an entry-level grade, the other two are priced broadly similarly to each other. A seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is either a de facto cost option or standard fit on every engine in the range, with part-time 4Motion four-wheel drive available with every engine except the 1.5-litre TSI petrol.

The Tiguan’s mid-life refresh is mostly about new assistance and infotainment technology, although there is a new radiator grille with the obligatory illuminated light bar just in case ‘cool dad’ from that memorable TV advert was at risk of feeling left out. There are new adaptive matrix LED headlights (which have special illumination modes for use on the motorway, in urban areas and in bad weather) and updated traffic jam assist and blindspot monitoring systems for upper-trim cars as well, although none was fitted on our entry-level diesel Life test car.

As regards secondary controls, the Tiguan’s layout has changed slightly, retaining good usability in key areas, but losing some in others. There’s an updated, better-networked 8.0in touchscreen infotainment system - thankfully, not the same system that the Golf Mk8 uses, but one with permanent menu shortcuts buttons and physical volume and zoom/tune knobs. And there’s a new heating and ventilation control console that swaps easily grabbable temperature and blower control buttons and knobs for touch-sensitive slider controls. Sure enough, they demand more of your attention to use than the old controls when you probably ought to be looking at the road.

Generally, though, the Tiguan Allspace’s interior is a smart and convincing one, albeit quite Volkswagen-typical conserative in its presentation. There are some neat extra storage features around the cabin of the kind that MPVs of a similar size used to specialise in: a lidded cubby on the dash top, and lined drawers that appear from underneath the front seats, should you want somewhere to keep wallets, handbags and electrical devices out of sight.