This article was written in collaboration with VW Malaysia
Some people say the car you drive tends to represent where you are in life. I can resonate with that. Looking back I found that I craved different types of cars at the different phases of life I go through.
When I was a student, any car that can fit 5 or more friends is very much appreciated. Ideally a car that isn’t too expensive to own and maintain too.
Then came the phase of the young working professional. Single, with a little bit of money to spend the cars I craved were cars that were a little flashy, sporty or both. The utility of a car took a backseat and more weightage was given to how cool a car is or what people would think of me if I drove this kind of car.
Then came the phase I am in right now. Married with kids.
Sports cars became almost totally irrelevant because they were too small or uncomfortable to fit a baby seat and stroller. Family vans became the most utilitarian car we could buy. It was high so it’s easy to load the kids into the baby seat. They had a lot of trunk space so we could keep a stroller and more and they were comfy.
The problem with vans though is that when I’m not going out with the family and going on my own, it’s a little bulky and the driving experience of a van isn’t exactly to die for. So came the SUVs or what I call the mini-SUVs. They have all the benefits of a van albeit being a little smaller but was still fun to drive around when I’m on my own.
The tricky part is finding the right car of this category and this week I’ve had the chance to drive this around.
The new VW Tiguan.
I’ve had it for a few days now at the time of writing and I gotta say I love it. As how I always review cars I’m not going to go into the technicalities of things but rather on why it’s great from a lifestyle perspective. Here’s why:
1) It comfortably fits two baby seats at the back and because it’s higher than a regular sedan car it makes it easier to get them in and out.
2) It has lots of trunk space.
3) It’s a fantastic car to drive. Powerful enough to excite you when you hit the accelerator and stable enough to not make you feel insecure when you’re traveling at a high speed.
4) It is safe. This is a big thing for me when it comes to family cars and I have this impression that VW cars generally feel solid and have a good number of safety features, airbags and all.
5) It is affordable. With all of the above what I couldn’t believe was what the price tag was.
Then there are all the other tech features. The dashboard is purely digital.
It gives you a lot of little information you never had before like every time I turn off the engine it tells me how far I’ve driven and for how long. It has censors all around it and has this safety feature that would have the car automatically stop if it senses it was going to knock something while parking or otherwise.
Oh and the car’s Bluetooth seamlessly connects with my phone and allows me to play Spotify from it into the car speakers. I can’t describe how important this is and how few cars actually do this really well.
The car also comes with a lot of other things. If you want to look at the specs, pricing or more pictures you can look here.
I’d recommend this car if you’re in the phase of life where I am. Family man but at the same time want a nice cool car to drive around on your own that isn’t too big. It’s no surprise there’s a bit of a waiting list for it.
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space