The name of a new species of Volkswagen has its origins in the tiger and the iguana. With a pairing that would have intrigued Charles Darwin, the Tiguan is a crossbreed that combines the DNA signatures of an estate car, a hatchback and an off road-capable compact SUV.

Designed to bear a clear resemblance to its much bigger brother, the mighty Touareg, the 4MOTION all wheel-drive Tiguan comes late to a sector in which the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V are firmly established. But VW regards that as no bad thing because the Tiguan offers a special off-road version called the Escape. Tiguan engine choice also includes a smooth 1.4litre TSI petrol engine that has a supercharger and turbocharger designed to provide the performance of a 1.8 litre, but with relatively modest economy and CO2 emissions.

VW launched the Tiguan in Budapest, which meant much time spent in traffic jams in the city centre and very slow-moving queues through the suburbs, proving little about the car except that I could appreciate its height (5ft 6in) with very good visibility.

It has a massive dashboard, efficiently shaped seats, a reasonable driving position and a touch-screen navigation system that enjoys practical jokes, such as late instructions and an occasional spurious demand for a U-turn. If this were typical – I suspect it is not – it might be worth considering the optional £500 automatic parking system. The driver just operates the pedals as the car reverses into a space.

Once free of the city, the Tiguan’s capability could be better appreciated. The ride is firm, but comfortable, although some lateral ridges are felt. The car went very quickly and with thorough competence on winding roads, and its 4MOTION system ensured lots of grip through tight corners. In fact, handling is almost Golf-like in the vehicle’s quick responses and predictability. The Tiguan is based on a mix of Golf and Passat chassis technology.

Tried on a very short “angles and dangles” off-road course, the Escape version of the Tiguan, with sump guard, higher bumper and 28-degree angle of approach capability, proved able. S, SE and Sport versions have an 18-degree front end. An “off-road switch” automatically activates support systems, including hill -descent assistant, modified pedal reaction to make the most of torque and electronic differential locks and adapts the ABS for use on loose surfaces and gives hill climb assistance. A low-ratio transmission is not available.

Fitted with the 1.4litre engine, performance is smooth and main-road cruising quiet, but the car (from £19,500) does not feel particularly lively, despite having 148bhp. Zero to 62mph takes 9.6sec and top speed is 119mph, combined fuel consumption 33.6mpg and CO2 emissions 199 g/km. More powerful versions are planned.

About 85 per cent of Tiguans, though, will be bought with a diesel engine. The introductory unit is a 2.0litre with 138bhp and a useful 320Nm of torque from 1,750rpm.

A 168bhp version and 198bhp will be available next year. Transmission for both engines is six-speed manual, with an automatic planned.

Maximum Tiguan trailer weight is up to 2,500kg – a typical Rice trailer with a couple of 16-hands high horses on board.

There is plenty of room for five adults in the Tiguan and Volkswagen describes the interior as having the variability of a van. The rear seat, slightly higher than those in front, is divided 60:40 with a centre section that can also be folded down. The seat can be adjusted longitudinally more than six inches. The seat back is tilt adjustable. Load area with the seat in place is 470 litres, 1,510 litres folded.

The finish of the Tiguan is to a high level, with tougher plastics fitted to areas that might get damaged during typical sport utility vehicle use; sometimes kids bring their active sport into the car.

Safety includes extensive chassis electronics, plenty of airbags and a five-star Euro NCAP rating. An attractive £800 opening panorama roof is on the options list.

The new Tiguan may be more pussycat than tiger and – with its off-road agility – more gecko than iguana, but a VW Cateko or Geckat? Not even on Darwin’s list of possibilities.

Specification

Car Volkswagen Tiguan S TDI
Engine 138bhp 2.0litre four-cylinder common rail turbo-diesel with 320Nm of torque from 1,750rpm to 2,500rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual (automatic coming later)
Fuel consumption 37.7mpg (combined)
CO2 emissions 189g/km
Price From about £20,300
On sale February 2008

Alternatives ToyotaRAV4 Popular, drives well, good performance, Toyota reputation. Honda CR-V Honda engineering, highly competent and . . . Honda engineering. Land Rover Freelander Impressive off road and on, quality, image

Volkswagen might be the biggest selling brand in Europe, but it’s sometimes amazingly slow to give its customers what they want. It took the company seven years to offer the Touran as a riposte to Renault’s 1996 Scénic MPV, for instance, and it’s a staggering 13 years since the appearance of the Toyota RAV4, the compact 4x4 that inspired this Tiguan “baby off roader”.

And there have been heaps of successful offerings from other manufacturers in the meantime, not least Honda with its CR-V, Mitsubishi with its Outlander, and Nissan with the recently launched Qashqai. However, it is the Land Rover Freelander that the Tiguan is aimed at.

One advantage of being late to the party is that you get to see what everyone else is wearing, and if the Tiguan is not the most glamorous or modish of off roaders, it is certainly one of the better thought through.

For a start it comes packed with all the latest whizzy motorist aids that would have drivers of an old Land Rover Defender scratching their heads in bemusement. These include an electronic self-parking system, a rear parking camera, a panoramic sunroof and a particularly flash sat nav and stereo system that can store 30 gigabytes worth of music.

More practical is the fact that the Tiguan can tow 2½ tons, more than any other car in its class and an advantage complemented by a neat, optional pop-out tow hook. Further pleasing details include a steering system that prevents the wheel being wrenched about during serious off-roading, a sat nav system that can work out where you are even if you are off road and a front passenger seat whose backrest folds forward for extra long loads.

Acknowledging that few drivers do in fact go off road with these soft-roaders, VW has devised a version called Escape, specifically intended for the rough and tumble of unasphalted topography.

It has a different front-end design that allows it to mount steeper banks without scraping its bumper, and comes with a more sophisticated battery of electronic off-road aids. These include hill-descent control, pioneered by Land Rover, which brakes the car to crawling speed on steep slippery slopes, and a hill-holder that operates in conjunction with the electronic handbrake so you don’t roll backwards in the boondocks.

The car’s brain also activates a limited slip differential to eliminate wheelspin, alters the antilock brakes’ strategy to suit loose surfaces and reduces the accelerator’s sensitivity – useful over rough stuff. And there’s also a compass.

Yet VW reckons only 5-10% of Tiguan buyers will opt for this version. As with most four-wheel drives, the majority of buyers see these cars as stylish estate cars. They enjoy the high seating position and the feeling of enhanced security it provides, the better view and the protection of all-wheel drive in slippery conditions.

All Tiguans come equipped with permanent four-wheel drive – 4Motion, in VW parlance. Rather than sending most power to the front wheels when moving off, this latest system divides it equally between all four wheels, ensuring maximum traction from rest whatever the weather. Once on the move it will send 90% of the engine’s energy to the front wheels if conditions are clement, this being the more economical arrangement.

And this is the problem for VW. On the one hand it knows there is a market for 4x4s such as this, while on the other it is sensitive to accusations of environmental vandalism. After all, how many mothers need thirsty four-wheel drive for the school run?

To try to counter this image the Tiguan is the first VW to be fitted with the company’s latest, much-needed and more efficient diesel engine. It’s a 2 litre direct injection turbodiesel. As you’d hope, the new 140bhp diesel is considerably quieter than VW’s cacklingly loud old-school diesels, especially at a cruise.

This engine is expected to be the bestseller in the UK, although at its launch next February there will also be a 150bhp 1.4 litre petrol unit. If that sounds unfeasibly small for the task of propelling a moderately stout off-roader, fear not, for this engine is boosted not only with a turbocharger but a supercharger too.

The TSI petrol engine, as it’s called, has already debuted – to mixed reviews – in the VW Golf GT, and is an early example of an engine trend called downsizing that’s sweeping through the car business.

Smaller capacity motors, even when boosted like this, are inherently more economical, improving a car’s consumption and reducing its carbon dioxide emissions. That the Tiguan 1.4 TSI puts out 199g/km – pretty close to the 189g/km achieved by the slower 140bhp diesel – proves the point. These two engines will eventually be joined by two additional petrol units and one more diesel.

The economy of all Tiguans is improved by the standard fitment of a six-speed manual transmission, a component that will see a fair bit of use in the 1.4 TSI, which demands committed gearchanging to get the best of an engine that sometimes struggles slightly, not least when moving from rest. Happily, it’s an otherwise brisk performer, if less relaxed than the 140bhp diesel that makes the better buy.

The Tiguan’s road manners are complemented by its comfortable and classily appointed cabin, which is not only well finished but also exceptionally well laid out. The sat nav screen is sited conveniently high, the instruments and controls are easily understood and the electronic handbrake frees plenty of storage space between the comfortable front seats.

Better still, given this is a family car, is that the back bench is almost equally accommodating, and when slid into its rearmost position provides generous legroom. The seat is split 60:40, is easily dropped (though folding it back requires unexpected effort), and though it doesn’t pack totally flat it nevertheless opens up a substantial load bay. The boot itself is well shaped and reasonably big, even with the back seats pushed fully back.

If all this sounds dourly practical, keen drivers will be pleased to hear the Tiguan turns out to be unexpectedly deft on twisting back roads, rather like Honda’s CR-V.

Body roll doesn’t disturb the equilibrium of either car or occupants, there’s plenty of grip and a surprising resistance to running wide. So while the steering hardly feels like it’s been lifted from a sports car, this off-roader gets about with satisfying athleticism.

It achieves athleticism of a different kind off road, too, tackling steep hills, monsoon drainage ditches and body-tilting earth banks with pleasingly robust insouciance, though its stiff suspension can make the experience rather jostling for occupants. That this is quite often the case on poorly surfaced tarmac roads may turn out to be the Tiguan’s biggest drawback, unless you hold rather unexciting styling against it.

But unostentatious, sober design and a well honed blend of abilities to go with it are what VW specialises in. Factor in a standard of finish that’s usually a cut above – as is the case here – and a pleasing absence of irritating foibles, and you can see why Volkswagens usually sell.

The Tiguan is unlikely to buck that trend, despite the long, long wait. Freelander beware.

Vital statistics

Model VW Tiguan 2.0 TDI SE
Engine type 1995cc, four cylinders
Power/Torque 150bhp @4000rpm /251 lb ft @ 2000rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual
Fuel/CO2 39.2mpg (combined) / 189g/km
Performance 0-62mph: 10.5sec / Top speed: 116mph
Price £21,000 (estimated)
Verdict Sober, well thought through SUV
Rating
Date of release February next year
The opposition Model Honda CR-V 2.2 i-CDTi £21,417
For Practical, comfortable, good to drive Against Odd styling
Model Land Rover Freelander 2.2 TD4 £20,960
For Classy, stylish, excellent to drive
Against Lacks space and versatility

There are various ways to measure how fast a car is. You can quote its top speed, but that’s near enough meaningless as few cars get anywhere near maximum potential on a road. You can quote acceleration times, but these are a poor guide, too: four-wheel-drive cars have a traction advantage over two-wheel-drive cars, so their figures are usually flattering, and the same can be said for those cars with engines behind, rather than in front of, the driver. And it gives no credit to a car’s ability to stop or get around a corner, both vital measures of the total performance package.

This is why the most sensible guide to true performance is a lap time, where acceleration, braking and cornering all contribute. And by this measure, what you’re looking at are the fastest production cars that Ferrari and Porsche, the two most fabled supercar manufacturers, have made.

Around Ferrari’s Fiorano test track, the £172,500 430 Scuderia is faster even than the ultra-exotic, limited numbers Enzo of 2004. Over in Germany, if you flogged the £131,070 Porsche 911 GT2 around the old Nürburgring racetrack, your lap time would be faster than that of what was previously Porsche’s fastest production car, the Carrera GT.

But what is perhaps most extraordinary about these two, and explains their joint appearance on this page, is that their makers decided to introduce them to the press at opposite ends of the same week.

Ferrari went first and lost no time explaining why the 430 Scuderia, while looking little different from the F430 on which it is based, is worth about £40,000 more. Use of hugely expensive lightweight materials such as carbon fibre and titanium has dropped its weight by 220lb while the output of its 4.3 litre V8 motor has risen 20bhp to 510bhp. A paddle-shift gearbox is standard rather than optional (as are carbon ceramic brakes). Were it not for the air-conditioning, airbags and electric windows, you’d think you were looking at a racing car.

And that’s how it drives. Even at idle the V8 sounds brutal, intimidating and utterly thrilling. Drive it quickly and you have to recalibrate your mind before you will come to terms with its capabilities: not only will it hit 62mph in 3.6sec, it will also pull more than 1.5G in braking and through a corner, when most well-sorted road cars do well to hit 1G.

The traction control system uses the same logic as Ferrari’s F1 car, which means instead of lifting the throttle when it detects an impending loss of grip, it keeps the tyres on the edge of adhesion through the curve. You can stamp on the accelerator halfway through a second-gear corner and instead of either cutting the power dead or throwing you into the trees, it will make your passenger think you’re Michael Schumacher.

It’s so awesomely effective on the racetrack, I half expected it to be undriveable on the road, but this is not how it transpires. At the advice of Schumacher, who drove the car during development, Ferrari provides a button that allows you to soften the shock absorbers, so instead of ricocheting off every bump the car simply soaks them up. It is devastatingly effective.

When I spoke to Amedeo Felisa, the boss of Ferrari, he said: “We wanted a car without compromise. If it doesn’t add to the driving experience, it doesn’t go on the car.”

And that is what has been created. Even in the rarefied world of Ferrari, it will always be a niche player because it’s so loud nobody is going to want to do a long distance, but as a track-day weapon it takes some beating.

On paper at least the specifications of the Scuderia and Porsche’s 911 GT2 appear so similar as to have been arranged with prior knowledge. The Porsche has a little more power (530bhp) but that advantage is slightly cancelled out by a fraction more weight, which is why it is a scant 0.1sec slower to 62mph. On the other hand, it will do 204mph, while those poor lambs in their Scuderias will have to settle for a mere 198mph. Both have two seats, both are high performance versions of preexisting models and both can land you in more trouble with the law than you could conceive in less time than you can imagine.

So when I arrived at its launch in Bremen and saw wet roads, I became anxious. One of the ways Porsche has lightened this car over the standard 911 Turbo is to remove its four-wheel-drive hardware, and I didn’t relish the thought of trying to harness something even more powerful than the Scuderia on sopping wet roads.

I need not have worried: despite being the most powerful 911 made, it’s easy to drive. Indeed, if you were blindfolded until you were at the wheel, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for any other Porsche. Unlike the Scuderia, the GT2 is quiet and more than comfortable enough to drive all day. You can see out of it in all important directions (which is more than I can say for the Ferrari) and when you squeeze the throttle, instead of barking at you like the Scuderia, there’s a gentle whistle as its turbos spool up to speed, followed by a purposeful shove in the back.

It’s only when you mash the pedal to the floor that the car reveals itself to be like no other Porsche built. It is so fast that I was grateful for the deserted and mercifully dry autobahn I was on, since it’s hard to believe the numbers that appear on the dial. Because it has more low-down torque than the Ferrari, its acceleration is even harder to comprehend, a state of befuddlement only augmented by the lack of drama that accompanies it.

Like the Ferrari it has carbon ceramic brakes of pulverising strength, so it would be interesting to find out which was quicker on a track: my guess is that it would be too close to call.

Which to choose? If you had only one car, it’s the Porsche by a mile. You could drive it like a Ford Fiesta through the traffic and forget the potential it packs – it is a practical everyday car. Used in this role, the deliciously deafening Scuderia would drive you to your wits’ end.

But people who can afford cars like this never have just one car. In which case the Ferrari is worth every pound that separates the two: it’s not so much what it does and the way it does it that makes this the most exciting modern supercar I’ve driven – and yes, that includes the Bugatti Veyron.

The Bug may trounce the Scuderia’s performance, but for those whose interests extend beyond the pursuit of power to a realm where the feel of the steering, the sound of the engine and the sheer relentless enthusiasm of the car beneath you are what counts, the Scuderia is preferable by far to the Bugatti, let alone the GT2.

Yes, it’s purely for recreation whereas the Porsche is a useful tool – but it’s also a Ferrari and the most exciting it has produced in the past 20 years at that. In my book, recommendations don’t come much higher than that.

Vital statistics

Model Ferrari 430 Scuderia

Engine type 4308cc, eight cylinders

Power/Torque 510bhp @ 8500rpm / 346 lb ft @ 5250rpm

Transmission Six-speed manual, paddle shift

Fuel/CO2 18mpg (combined) / 360g/km

Performance 0-62mph: 3.6sec / Top speed: 198mph

Price £172,500

Verdict The most exciting supercar on sale

Rating

Date of release Spring 2008

Vital statistics

Model Porsche 911 GT2

Engine type 3600cc, six cylinders

Power/Torque 530bhp @ 6500cc / 510 lb ft @ 2200rpm

Transmission Six-speed manual

Fuel/CO2 22.6mpg (combined) / 298g/km

Performance 0-62mph: 3.7sec / Top speed: 204mph

Price £131,070

Verdict Close but no cigar

Rating

Date of release February 2008