[Sheel]

Originally Posted by bharatbits

The thuds are so evident that passengers ask me to slow down. Is that the same case with SUVs too?

At some places, expansion joints have deep dish, their top layer happens to be gone.

You can either take it slow or take it at a decent speed. For a change, tackle it at a decent speed if traffic allows you to. That would help IMO.

[sreejinair]

Oh my lord, I really wish I went through this particular thread 20 days ago i.e. before buying the VW Tiguan (highline) which has rock hard suspension with 235/55 R18 tyres

[Brishti]

Took a long drive in the Audi S5 Sportback and well its not comfortable at all. Its hard while on bad roads and I had to keep it slow for the rough patches "Shimla to Chandigarh".

[pseudo_coder]

Originally Posted by sreejinair

Oh my lord, I really wish I went through this particular thread 20 days ago i.e. before buying the VW Tiguan (highline) which has rock hard suspension with 235/55 R18 tyres

You bought it without a test drive?

[sreejinair]

Originally Posted by pseudo_coder

You bought it without a test drive?

No I didnt, I did test drives.Checkout the post here

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ml#post4661809 (Volkswagen Tiguan : Official Review)

[reppy]

test drove a Superb. Loved the ride quality - we own an E class and the Superb was not far behind!

Also test drove A3 and A4 - nowhere even close to the above.

[pseudo_coder]

Originally Posted by reppy

test drove a Superb. Loved the ride quality - we own an E class and the Superb was not far behind!

Also test drove A3 and A4 - nowhere even close to the above.

It's not just the ride quality. Superb is really superb in almost every aspect.

[sreejinair]

Originally Posted by sj_koova

I ended up with Highline for many other reasons and if I have one thing to complain about the car, it is the ride quality combined with the stiff seat.
While Tiguan is excellent for long highway drives, it is extremely painful in the city, especially at lower speeds.

Did you change anything in your Tiguan to get a better ride quality, I own one and planning to sell it because I just cant handle the stiff ride in our city of pot holes. I unfortunately have 2 disc bulges or what they call a slipped disc, well 2 of them actually. I tried an almost suspension less Ritz and in spite of the vibrations I dont get a lot of back pain on the same roads. It might be due to the bucket seats where the lower back ends up arching in the wrong way. I also find the seat a little small for my size. Of course the stiff suspension and the 18" wheels are no good in my case, but I some how get a feeling that its the seat which is the culprit here.

[Iyencar]

Originally Posted by sreejinair

Oh my lord, I really wish I went through this particular thread 20 days ago i.e. before buying the VW Tiguan (highline) which has rock hard suspension with 235/55 R18 tyres

From the official review:

I must add that the poor ride quality is probably accentuated by the 18" rims and 235/55 profile tyres. The lower Comfortline spec with 17" wheels and 215/65 tyres should offer a more compliant ride due to its taller tyre sidewall. Won't be a world of difference though.

Immediately downsize the rims and change your tyres. You can also look at something like this link. Just check if it affects airbag deployment. If you have a diagnosed back issue and the ride is aggravating it start looking for fixes immediately. It takes every less time for back issues to go from bad to worse and is much more difficult to reverse than to avoid. Good luck

[sreejinair]

Originally Posted by Iyencar

Immediately downsize the rims and change your tyres. You can also look at something like this link. Just check if it affects airbag deployment. If you have a diagnosed back issue and the ride is aggravating it start looking for fixes immediately. It takes every less time for back issues to go from bad to worse and is much more difficult to reverse than to avoid. Good luck

Couldnt find anything for Tiguan like the roger, I'm going to try with a little bit of extra cushioning on the seat specially the back because the bucket seats make the posture worse, another thing would be 29-30 psi instead of 32-33.

I dont want to void the warranty, changing the rim and tyre size might void it, as you know the showroom are eager to say that even if you put a sticker on the car Though for Tiguan its a different case since the comfortline comes with 17" 215/65 R17 and the highline comes with 18" 235/55 R18. Might as well try the 17" rims and tyres. Rim offset however on both are different the 17" is +40 and for the 18" its +43. Shouldnt make much of a difference, but thought I'll mention it, experts please comment. The stock tyres 235/55 R18 gives a height of 129.25, if I go the 17" route I will prefer 235/60 R17 which gives me a wall height of 141mm. The change of rims and tyres will be the last resort though, like I said I dont want to void the warranty.

I really love this car, everything about it. I TDed the Endeavor and the Fortuner today, just to see how they ride did the same route which my Tiguan does everyday. Neither came close to the handling, mileage and the features the Tiguan has, but the ride quality on the Tiguan sucks big time. One thing is for sure when it comes to comfort the Endy is miles ahead of the Fortuner.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by sreejinair

I dont want to void the warranty, changing the rim and tyre size might void it...

I really love this car, everything about it...

The suspensions and the tire profile play a big role in ride comfort. The 17" rims with the higher profile will definitely make the ride a lot comfortable compared to the 18" wheels. A 10mm increase in profile can make a huge difference. If you get the size changed at VW with their OE 17" wheels and tires that come in Comfortline, I don't think this will void any warranty.

Before making this decision, why don't you test drive a Comfortline version of the Tiguan and see if there is any significant improvement? Also, before taking such a test drive, make sure that the tire pressure in the test drive car is not too high and is set to the normal levels.

Another option would be to see if softer OE springs are available. This may not be available with the dealer and may have to be imported. But if you get OE springs and get this changed outside, the dealer would not notice this to affect warranty. But this should be the last preference.

But remember, when you change either the wheels or the suspension setup to increase comfort, the handling will get hit a little. But I believe your first preference is the comfort (due to your spine issue) and you should be fine with sacrificing a little on handling.

[Iyencar]

Originally Posted by sreejinair

Couldnt find anything for Tiguan like the roger, I'm going to try with a little bit of extra cushioning on the seat specially the back because the bucket seats make the posture worse, another thing would be 29-30 psi instead of 32-33.

Originally Posted by sreejinair

I dont want to void the warranty, changing the rim and tyre size might void it, as you know the showroom are eager to say that even if you put a sticker on the car Though for Tiguan its a different case since the comfortline comes with 17" 215/65 R17

Yes, I was suggesting switching it to the rims from the Comfortline. As far as tyres go, you can swap them out even after you take delivery. Warranty will not be void. There are many such instances on the forum.

Originally Posted by sreejinair

I really love this car, everything about it.

I'm sure you'll figure something out. There is a certain charm that these "smaller" SUVs give which is very different from that of the larger trucks.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by sreejinair

Couldnt find anything for Tiguan like the roger, I'm going to try with a little bit of extra cushioning on the seat specially the back because the bucket seats make the posture worse, another thing would be 29-30 psi instead of 32-33.

If I'm not mistaken the Tiguan will feel a lot like the Yeti, rock-hard seats & rock-hard suspensions (the way German cars are going why have any springs at all? Just have a rock hard rod connecting the chassis to the tyres).

As someone who has struggled with sciatic pain for about a year (no idea why) I can tell you now that a VW shouldve been the last car to choose from, the Germans may like everything to be hard (except dashboard and door plastics, THAT they want to be squishy and soft) but keeping Indian roads in mind they are hopeless.

I'm sorry if I appear to have negative bias, but that's the way things are and the readers of the forum should know it, German cars are impractical. I've driven almost all the cars spoken about here for 50+ kms and hence my conclusion. I've never felt any car lacking in handling and stability, be it Hyundai, Honda, Toyota etc, each has its quirks but when approaching a corner or bad patch, all one has to know is when/how to brake and accelerate, as long as its all safe city speeds, I've never taken anything to highways but know several who've even taken old Santros, WagonRs and Altos into ghats many times over.

I'm posting a hilarious query page from HonestJohn UK, and some snippets too :

It's not just the seats - there is a growing trend towards cars having race-track suspension - great for blasting around on a private runway, but absolutely no use for the public highways of Europe!

We were given an Insignia the other week when on holiday. Actually, a lovely car, except for the sporty seats, ultra-stiff suspension and tyres which looked more like rubber bands.

Hit a piece of chewing gum in the road and your teeth would start rattling!!!

Most motoring journalists are at the bottom of the rung socially and economically, they look at cars through teenage boys' eyes. so dustbin lids for wheels, rubber bands for tyres and lap times at the 'ring are de rigour when it comes to their priorities.

I'm old fashioned, comfort is now the only priority for me, and it was as important earlier too. Bad handling can be overcome by driving slower or braking into curves and steering corrections. The most overrated concept to hit the rear ends of drivers world over is the term "handling", made worse by tons of YouTube reviewers like Mat Watson and Faisal.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

I'm old fashioned, comfort is now the only priority for me, and it was as important earlier too. Bad handling can be overcome by driving slower or braking into curves and steering corrections. The most overrated concept to hit the rear ends of drivers world over is the term "handling", made worse by tons of YouTube reviewers like Mat Watson and Faisal.

yes, handling is a bit overrated, but you have taken an extreme stand, way too much in the other direction. Suspension should not be spongy and rolly polly (like in xylo) otherwise, while it would be nice on a city commute, any stint on a highway or ghat section, can bring your breakfast out. It shouldn't be rock-hard like a track car, either, for the reasons that you mentioned. The word that you are looking for is "supple" - somewhere in the middle between spongy and rock-hard. VW group have 'tuned' the polo/vento/octavia/jetta/superb suspension differently from EU models (softened it a bit in the indian versions, sacrificing handling) precisely to cater to bad indian road conditions. Im guessing that the tiguan was perceived to be a low volume model, so they didn't bother with any of that.

There are many thousands of people who buy german cars in india - 99% of them non-"enthusiast" type folk, do you think they all are bothered about nurburgring lap times, rather than what they 'actually feel' when they are sitting in the car ?
I haven't ridden in a tiguan, but I would rather like to believe that it must be a case of "not bothering to re-tune it for india" compared to other VW group models, using the low sales volume as an excuse to justify the same.

[dark.knight]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Suspension should not be spongy and rolly polly (like in xylo) otherwise, while it would be nice on a city commute, any stint on a highway or ghat section, can bring your breakfast out. It shouldn't be rock-hard like a track car, either, for the reasons that you mentioned. The word that you are looking for is "supple" - somewhere in the middle between spongy and rock-hard.

In matters of discussion like this, all we can do is post our experiences and feelings of different suspensions and also, partly agree with the other opinions too, ideal world a car must be able to handle both good roads and bad, in each respective budgets.

That's why one may find contradictions in what I write, be it here or other threads, since I've also praised BMW and Minis in other threads but they were for different reasons altogether, given a smooth road, they can drive really nice and give a good feel of the surface too.

Where it all falls apart is on Indian roads with a plethora of conditions, surface irregularities, potholes, branches, floods etc, just 3 days back in Bangalore I saw an A4 stranded over the floods and I was shivering but somehow got through the other end by sheer luck.

Superb I've never sat in but all the other cars you've mentioned have either somewhat hard suspension (definitely not very comfy over bad roads at slow speeds) and combined with hard seats (Jetta, Octy) they can indeed cause back numbness/pain over sustained periods over bad roads for people with that sensitivity not all of them though, 90% should be OK with it.

The Audi Q3 has hard suspension but the soft squishy seats help a lot to protect from it, something the Yeti (granite seats) and from what I hear, the Tiguan do not have.

In a thread where people want fantastic drivability and road hugging capability I'll still recommend a Mini or BMW, but its not for me anymore given the pathetic roads of Bangalore. Hard suspensions also wobble a lot over surface undulations and cable pits, at city speeds.

The wavy floaty suspensions at high speeds are definitely not preferable either (I've never bought such a car for the same reason) but where is the majority of the cars with such a perfect balance of suppleness and feedback ? The last brand I drove with that perfect mix is Fiat, nothing else.