[sgt0raffie]

Hi everyone!

As in the title, just got back from a 2 weeks trip to Albania. Until now I still had some reservations about the Tiguan but it performed admirably.

Wasn`t looking for offroad action all the time but in Albania offroad find You. Coming from a big 4x4 (patrol) had me a bit cautious initially. After some driving, I had to admit that for the small SUV, Tig is quite capable offroad. I have the 4 Motion but without the offroad button. Even without it, the car was very predictable and the Haldex is smart enough not to get the car stuck. Probably a lot to do with the tires as well as I put on BFG AT copies on the car just for this trip. Used the stock steels and I`m not taking these off. The drive is so much better than on the 17`s. A little bit more noise inside but coming from 33`` MTs it was more than comfortable.

The biggest problem was the clearance. I`m not surprised with people putting the spacers in. Bumper lip did its job, so did the bottom covers (even thou these are plastic). The biggest annoyance was the fuel tank being the lowest point of the car. It did receive a few bumps and scrapes but seems very rigid. Anyone knows how tough is the tank? I`ve been told it`s made from a very thick material but would love a second opinion on this.

As I`m not scared about taking the Tig off-piste now (almost no mechanical problems after the trip, just the rear sway bar link started knocking towards the end of the trip) I have plans now to put the spring spacers and bigger tires on first. Then I will probably fabricate some guards for the underside and look at retrofitting the offroad button.

I know it`s probably nothing new for most of You but wanted to share my joy

.

On the road to Theth. Most of it is now tarmac but the last few kilometres are still quite rough (but no problem at all). I really like the car on the steels.

The road to Nderlsay from Theth. This part looks easy but it was the worst road of the whole trip. Really bad bumps, tall rocks etc. Took almost an hour to drive around 4 km.

We mostly camped. Tig is big enough for 2 people and an awful lot of camping stuff

The road from last camping spot, near Permet. Some rocks, washouts, streams etc. Nothing the car can`t handle.

I can`t recommend Albania enough. Go there while it`s still a bit "wild". Lovely people, great outdoors, nice food. Nothing more is needed.

Thanks!

 

[JaseZA]

Fantastic post, always great to hear about others' journeys with their Tiguans!

I've been very impressed with our Tiguan. We've just come back from a week spent at the beach in Mozambique, specifically Ponta Chemucane. The road there is through an Elephant reserve and is basically a rough sand path through the bush! The Tiguan handled admirably and was nearly needed to pull my brother's Touareg out! And he has low range, air suspension and centre and rear diff-lock! The only time we had problems in the Tig was on very uneven terrain where one wheel was in the air and another was light. Then a diff-lock would be great. But we could generally make a plan by choosing a better line to follow or doing a bit of trail fixing (I always bring a spade on these trips!).

 

[n4s]

Great post, thanks for sharing

 

[Wojtek]

Great to hear that the bitumen is boring.
I've installed some progressive rate uplift Eibach springs front and back on my 2010 Tig.
Great as it gives 30mm higher and a solid smooth ride.
We do a lot of camping and the progressive rate keeps the clearance and doesn't do the bounce thing on bumpy roads at slow speed even when loaded up good.
I'm in Oz and need some info on crash plates underneath please, anyone?