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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday November 12, 2008 - 25 continued from page 24 But on the road, performance is what makes the Tiguan a standout. Volkswagen lists a 0-100 km/h time of 8.2 seconds for the automatic. It's smaller than many of its competitors and doesn't offer the third-row seating that the RAV4 does, but it's a fun little vehicle to drive and excellent for inner city driving and those tight little parking spots. It's equally at home on the open road and handles the twists and turns on the back roads competently. Seating is comfortable, both front and rear, and the rear seats have a 60/40 split if you need more cargo room and have to fold one or both down. However, cargo room falls below that offered by most of the competition. The taste for premium fuel and the front-end cost of the Tiguan aside, Volkswagen has a winner with its new SUV/crossover entry. Whether the public will notice, remains to be seen because this is such a highly competitive marketplace. When you think about it, in addition to the RAV4, CR-V, Escape and Rogue, the class includes the Hyundai Tucson, Jeep Compass/Patriot, Dodge Nitro, Mazda CX-7, Mazda Tribute, Subaru Forester, Saturn Vue, Mitsubishi Outlander, Kia Sportage, Chevrolet Equinox.... and the list goes on. VW hopes that many of its Jetta customers will move into the Tiguan and that in itself will be a boon to the company by keeping customers in the fold, rather than having to lure them back at some point in the future. Although smaller than many of its rivals, the Tiguan makes up for it with sporty styling and performance. Well worth a look if you're shopping this class of vehicle OAKVILLE HONDA 500 Iroquois Shore Rd., Oakville 1-800-915-0430