In this episode of Rush to Reason, John and Richard Rush dive into the details of the highly anticipated 2026 Volkswagen Tiguan. As the compact SUV market continues to expand with diverse options, the Tiguan emerges as a stand-out choice. Tune in to hear our expert insights on this vehicle’s performance, features, and why it might be the perfect fit for your driving needs.
Okay, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. It’s that time of the week where we do car reviews, and we’ve got a couple to catch up on because we were heavy on sports last week, Richard. So we’ve got two to do. Which one do you want to start with?
SPEAKER 01 :
Two to, yeah, let’s, well, kind of with the older of the two, I guess you could say, which is the 2026 Volkswagen Tiguan, Dad. And this is the trim we drove was the SEL R-Line Turbo, which is all new for 2026. But the Tiguan as a whole, Dad, is a compact SUV, right? That market is just exploding with lots of different options from lots of different manufacturers. And it’s kind of whatever flavor you want, you can get. I will say this. This vehicle, as equipped, was one of my most favorite cars that we’ve driven in the past year. And I’m talking this year, 2026, I’m talking in the past year. Just with some of the features that I’ll get into here in just a second and how the car drove and just everything about it and the value, which is, as you know, is big for you and I. It was really hard to beat. So let’s get into it. That R-Line Turbo, it’s got a new 268-horsepower turbocharged engine, which is a really big, I guess, horsepower bump.
SPEAKER 02 :
It is.
SPEAKER 01 :
And I guess I’ll tout that really quick. That car, it drove phenomenally. Sometimes when you get into turbo cars and, folks, when you get into as many cars as we drive, you can sense some lag at times. The tuning may not be up to par, especially at our altitude, Dad, right? And you and I have talked about this many times. It’s just different up here. However they have this car tuned is just phenomenal. It works amazingly well. There’s not a whole lot of lag, but it also doesn’t lurch you back into your seat and shock you. It just is really, really smooth and operates really, really well that way. You’ve got different trim levels, S, E, SE. Obviously, I mentioned the SEL R-Line Turbo. There still is a standard 2-liter turbo, Dad, which is about 201 horsepower on it. It does have an 8-speed automatic transmission across all the lines. Fuel economy, on a normal one, Dad, you’re about 26 and 34. But, again, the SEL R-Line Turbo that we drove was 22 and 29. Mind you, Dad, that was also all-wheel drive, which I know is a big thing for a lot of people, even when it does snow. here in Colorado. Onto the interior, dad, this is probably my favorite part. This car had pretty much everything you would want on a car that you would think is twice the money. And what I mean by that is this has ambient lighting where you can change the color. You can change, it’s got different patterns that you can select as far as that goes. Our second row heated seats, it’s got heated and ventilated front row seats that it has massaging. front passenger and driver seats to it and folks the tune of this car i think the price tag i don’t have the exact i don’t have the monroney in front of me it was about 45 000 and dad to get a car like that with all of the interior features it did not to mention in my opinion volkswagen has one of the better infotainment systems because a lot of these companies that as you know are going to you know most everything is controlled by the display right there’s not as many physical knobs The Volkswagen system, for whatever reason, just seems to be a little bit easier to operate, and it seems a little bit easier to maneuver, and you’re not lost in it. And you and I kind of use that as a good barometer of, okay, how can we – is this car, for you and I being pretty tech savvy, is this something that we can get into and not fiddle around with everything for so long, right? And this car has that. I’ll be honest that I could go on and on. It really was one of my more favorite cars. Just everything about it was able to fit two booster seats in the back. It would take the kids was able to lay the seats flat and transfer some cargo, you know, kind of do a little bit of a spring clean here outside of that. I really don’t have any negatives, to be honest with you. Everything about this car was positive, and I’m not just saying that because it’s a review. It’s just I really enjoyed this vehicle. So if you want to learn more about it, head to your local Volkswagen dealership, test drive it. By the way, Dad, the looks, that’s the last thing I’ll mention, the exterior of this car, people are going to be surprised because they redesigned it a little bit, and I think people will really like the look of it. So when you do that, let them know that John and Richard Rush from Rush to Reason and Drive Radio sent you.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is John Rush from Rush to Reason and Drive Radio. Thank you so much for listening. Check out more of our podcasts at RushToReason.com or Drive-Radio.com.
