Used Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace long-term test: report 6

The car Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace Match 2.0 TDI 4Motion Run by John Bradshaw, Chief photographer

Why it’s here To find out how much more practicality and kit you get for your money if you buy used, and see whether a traditional diesel engine can still make sense today. 

Needs to Be practical in all weather conditions, cut the mustard as a photographer’s workhorse, prove comfortable and economical on a mixture of journeys.

Mileage 4350 List price (2020) £30,704 Price new with options £36,845 Value now £25,047 Test economy 39.3mpg 

13 May 2021 – Putting hard work on the table

'Picnic table' was always a bit of a misnomer, really. As well as in my Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace, they’ve featured in posh cars for decades.

Bentleys, Rolls-Royces and Vanden Plas-badged Austin Allegros all had shiny walnut-finished ones on their rear seatbacks, and who knows whether they were ever used for picnics. Sensibly, then, the ones in my car are described merely as 'folding tables' – and I hadn’t really paid any attention to them until a recent workday deluge brought them to the fore.

With so much of my photography work taking place deep in the countryside, I’m rarely anywhere near a handy desk. My lap, the dashboard and the car’s roof usually serve as working surfaces, and none of them is what you’d call ideal.

In the Allspace, though, the tables are just the job for my laptop. I can work with a comfortable posture, staying warm and sheltered from the rain while listening to BBC Radio 6 Music through the DAB stereo. Really, with four-wheel drive and decent economy, the Allspace is as capable a go-anywhere office as I could ask for.

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