Tiguan: the real 5-year cost
The Volkswagen Tiguan 2024 pairs the Golf's 1.5 TSI engine with a bigger, heavier SUV body — and the numbers reveal the cost of that extra metal. At £33,000 to buy and 42.8 mpg combined, five years at 8,000 miles a year costs £33,630 — around £560 a month. Annual fuel is £1,232, insurance £664, maintenance £482, road tax £190. Compared with the Golf, you are paying roughly £68 more per month to run essentially the same drivetrain in SUV form.
That is the crossover tax in plain figures, and whether it is worth paying depends entirely on how much you value the raised driving position and the extra boot space. Below is the full five-year breakdown, plus how it stacks up against the Golf.
| Purchase price | £33,000 |
| Fuel (5 yrs) | £6,161 |
| Insurance (5 yrs) | £3,320 |
| Maintenance (5 yrs) | £2,410 |
| Road tax (5 yrs) | £950 |
| Minus estimated resale value | −£12,210 |
The Tiguan holds its value well — VW SUVs are catnip on the used market — but the first-year drop is still the one to dodge by buying nearly new. Running-cost tips: the 1.5 TSI rewards gentle throttle inputs, so anticipate traffic and coast where safe; stick with 17 or 18-inch wheels to keep tyre costs sane; and only take VW's service plans if you intend to use the main dealer anyway. Keep the spec mainstream, because odd options add little at resale.
Our verdict: the Tiguan is a Golf in a Barbour jacket — same engineering, higher price, higher costs, plus practicality many families genuinely need. If the space earns its keep, the premium is justified; if not, the Golf does the same job for less.
Full Volkswagen Tiguan review →