Picked up our SEL 190 on Wednesday, and 350 miles in to ownership, we’re generally very pleased, with just a couple of questions/niggles...

 

I slightly regret now not specifying Canton - not for the sound quality (although that would be nice), but because I didn’t realise at the time that it also provided noise cancelling. When I test drove the dealer car with Canton, I was struck by how quiet the cabin was. I can’t be sure, but I don’t get quite the same impression with ours. It might be expectations, or different tyre brand, but although much quieter than our old car, it doesn’t seem quite so hushed at speed - there’s just a touch more tyre noise than I was hoping. Not a massive issue.

 

Ride quality - we have some dreadful quality roads around here. The dealer demo coped with them fantastically. Ours manages big bumps brilliantly - speed bumps and pot holes are covered almost as if they’re not there. However, you can feel every single small bump in the road. It’s almost like the tyres are pumped to a hundred PSI, although I’ve checked and they’re fine. Maybe it’s expectations again, but I thought the dealer car was better. I’m pretty sure it didn’t have DCC fitted.

 

Ambient lighting - a bit underwhelmed by it. The colour strips in the door are pretty dim and hardly noticeable - not nearly to the level of BMW/Mercedes ambient cabin lighting. I was hoping they’d provide gentle cabin lighting at night, but they don’t.

 

Sat nav - doesn’t seem to have moved on since I last had it in a car 14 years ago. It’s prettier, but its route choice still isn’t as good as Google/Apple, and despite having the extra infotainment online traffic information, it still piled us into a closed road last night, necessitating a time consuming diversion through the centre of Cambridge. Glad we have Car Play / Android Auto available.

 

Everything else is fantastic though. The electric tow hitch is simply brilliant. I thought it might be a bit gimmicky but it’s massively easier to use than our old removable hitch. I use the hitch at least 3 times a week, and our old removeable one used to stay permanently fitted (tendency to seize, and just hassle). The electric one is so simple to pop down and hide away again - no more bashed shins!

 

Very pleased we spent the extra cash on the 190 engine too. It feels utterly effortless to drive and overtaking is now a quiet glide past the car in front on part throttle, rather than dropping a gear or two and listening to a thrashy engine. The 150 we test drove had to work a lot harder under acceleration. Makes journeys a lot more relaxing. Despite being forced to have 4x4 with that engine, the MPG doesn’t seem as badly affected as I feared - 49MPG on my commute, and 45MPG on our first long distance motorway trip - fully laden with bikes attached to the tow bar rack. Hopefully that will improve further too.

 

Adaptive cruise control is simply fantastic. I’m never having a car without it again. It makes long trips on A roads a bit more relaxing, and the occasional stop start / slow moving traffic on my commute is now effortless. I really like how the stop/start system uses the radar sensor to kick the engine back in ready when it spots the car in front move off. Very thoughtful.

 

Panoramic roof - perfectly timed for the weather improving again. Enjoying being abe to have a bit of a air in the car, and makes it a more pleasant place to be for the passengers too.

 

Big boot - loving being able to finally fit everything in the boot, rather than having to cram it around the passengers or put up with the MPG hit of the roof box.

Ride quality & sound - might be rim size / tire profile related, no? Are you on bigger rims than the demo'ed car?

Nope. I test drove an Edition that had exactly the same wheels (19” Triglavs). It might just be my memory being selective as the ride is generally excellent over the bumpier roads, it just transmits a bit more shock from small ridges than I’d like. 

I drove a car with canton at the dealer and have bought one withouth. There is no noise cancelation, the wind noise is there at higher speeds but it's the same as in the Tiguan. The tire noise depends on tarmac quality and tyre profile. You shouldn't go above 68dB tyre ratings on summer tyres and 72dB on winter. The new Tuareg has a little better noise insulation but not much, you have to go Audi or MB for realy luxury quiet cars.

Thank you. That makes me feel better about not picking Canton.

 

Still impressed by the car. One week and 750 miles into ownership and the MPG is looking better than some of the scary stories I read - getting up to 50mpg on my commute some days now, with the long term average comfortably into the 40s

Canton is ridiciously cheap only 350euros and I'm happy that I chose it. Its worth every penny. My 190hp was like another skoda...pedal on the ground and 3-5 sec of thinking and then the burst. Installed Racechip XLR and that throttle lag is history. Really recommend this tiny box which make such a big difference and brings smile to my face when accelerating