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| Exploring Welland in a VW Tiguan. It was a good fit. A fine driving small SUV, and a city with character. |
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| I would go back to Welland again just to see the interior of St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church. |
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| This is an old swing bridge over the Welland Canal. A strong imprint against the horizon. I like the simple, masculine lines of the Tiguan against the bridge. |
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| This is the new Flatwater Centre on the Welland Canal, built for the 2015 Pan Am Games. |
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| The former Atlas Steels plant in the background here. It used to employ over 3,000 workers. A small group has the plant working again. 100 person workforce making ingots. |
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| The interior of the Tiguan is logical and functional. Executed so the driver concentrates on the road not on finicky controls. The navigation was intuitive to use. Here's my review for the Toronto Star Wheels section.
2014 VW Tiguan
Kathy Renwald
Pretty cities are a dime a dozen, but ones showing their
character and scars make a better road trip.
So on a recent spring fling we packed our maps and cameras
and headed to Welland in a 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan.
I lived in Welland when I went to Niagara College. Lake
freighters were still stopping traffic on Main Street as they passed under
bridge number 13 on the old Welland Canal.
Now a new canal bypasses downtown, and the lakers no longer
creep through the city. Welland lost a bit of pageantry then, and it’s been losing industry for
years.
The Tiguan, with its steady profile and absence of cuteness
seemed a perfect vehicle to take stock of the former factory town.
Buttoned-down yes, but not boring, the Tiguan I tested
with Comfortline trim was $37,640. The price of the upper trim levels provokes
carping. But throttle back to the entry level Tiguan at $24,990 and you can
still enjoy the best features of this SUV, precise steering, excellent
visibility and rock solid road manners.
Comfortline adds
the aspirational goodies people love, panoramic sunroof, navigation, bigger
wheels, boosted audio, back up camera and so on. We had ‘em so we were going to enjoy use them.
Blowing down the QEW to Welland let us evaluate the
2.0-litre, 4-cylinder turbo, the same engine on all versions of the Tiguan, produces
200 horsepower. It’s juicy, passing, merging, it
does it all without panting. At highway speed the cabin is hushed, and the
Tiguan is absolutely stable, even in crosswinds. The steering is sharp and
responsive with the sort of balance that never needs correcting.
In Welland we did a meander along the canal, inspecting the
old and marveling at the new. The 1930 Main Street lift bridge casts a pretty
shadow with its delicate filigree of steel hiding the heavy lifting it had to
do for over 40 years. It’s
important enough to Welland’s identity that it’s getting $3.4 million in rehabilitation and repainting.
North on the old canal is the new Flatwater Centre location
of canoe and kayak races for the 2015 Pan Am Games. In contrast a decomposing swing bridge that once carried the
Canada Southern Railway over the canal between 6th and 7th street is a time
capsule of the city’s past.
Exploring in smaller cities is great. You can often walk or
drive anywhere, without an agitated official telling you stop. That’s why
we were able to pull the Tiguan up close to the mostly shuttered Atlas Steels
plant. We posed it near a spur line, with the rusting factory in the
background, when employee Rene Maurice came by to tell us the railway line was
still live. The mammoth Atlas Steels employed 3,000 at its peak. It’s been sold and bankrupted many times since. Now it’s producing steel again he said with just 100 workers,
in a building where “it takes 20 minutes to walk
end to end.”
Maurice, was driving a pickup, but liked the looks of the Tiguan.
The interior of the sensible sized SUV, like the exterior is
free of flourishes. Some might pine for more excitement but I like it’s clear headed functionality. The instrument panel
gauges are handsome and readable in any light. The centre stack, within easy
reach of the driver, features a navigation system that is nearly flawless to
use. Climate and audio are operated with sensible dials. Well-designed front
seats are comfortable for all-day driving, headroom is generous, and visibility
gets an A+.
Before we left Welland we had lunch at a period piece-the
Rex Hotel. In the Crown Room bobble head sports figures, and photos from Fort
Erie Racetrack set the theme. Our last photo stop was St. Michael the Archangel
Ukrainian Catholic Church. It was a must see according to friend and former
Welland Tribune reporter Joe Barkovich. He was right. Onion domes, a Byzantine
interior, it’s an explosion of fancy plopped in a plain
neighbourhood.
On the way home we followed the serpentine Welland River,
enjoying the Tiguan’s unflappable ability to
handle tight turns. On gravel
portions, the 4Motion all-wheel drive system clamped down on squirrely
behaviour.
The Tiguan’s, 6-speed automatic transmission is slick, but at
certain speeds it drones in Drive mode, or whines in Sport. The engine is
smooth, with appreciable torque, but takes premium fuel. We averaged 9.4
l/100km. You’ll also find more cargo room among segment
competitors, but we easily moved chairs, soil and mulch during our test week.
The best cargo took no space though, memories of a road trip where the past is
wrestling with the future.
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