Land of the Kiwi

Back on the road, the Tiguan makes for a comfortable long distance drive. It offers a pliant ride and the handling is pretty good for an SUV this tall. The TDI diesel version is powered by a 2-litre turbodiesel making 140bhp and a whopping 320Nm. With so much torque in hand, the Tiguan makes overtaking slower traffic and farm tractors a breeze. The engine is also refined and smooth for a diesel although it clatters a tad at idling speed.

The interior is also comfortable and offers a nice, high quality ambience that is typical of a Volkswagen these days. Utility wise, the Tiguan’s cabin offers lots of practical storage areas as well as big ad well shaped boot that can be expanded by collapsing the split/fold rear seats. Moreover, the front passenger set can also tumble forward should you need to haul extremely long items.

Another car we sampled during the drive that we sampled was the Passat BlueMotion. The large saloon is powered by a 1.9-litre TDI engine and just like the Polo BlueMotion, has a five-speed manual gearbox. The Passat offers a decent speed around the country roads close to Auckland, with only the tall top gears hindering its progress. We experienced the engine’s fuel sipping nature first hand – in the hands of lead-footed journalists, it returned an average fuel consumption figure of just 5 litres per 100 km – that is equivalent to n astonishing 20km per litre for a full sized saloon!

We soon arrived in Auckland before long. With such enjoyable, open toads behind us, the 300km drive felt shorter than it actually was. Time to plan for a more thorough driving holiday in the land of the Kiwi soon then.

You can check out on some other recommended driving holiday routes from the official New Zealand website at http://www.newzealand.com/travel/getting-to-around-nz/driving-routes/all-driving-routes.cfm

New Zealand's tourist routes are of a generally high standard and the main roads are sealed. All roads, including those in rural locations, are signposted. Remember to drive on the left! Although your Singapore driving license can be used to drive in NZ, it’s better to apply for an International Driving Permit for good measure. NZ has its own driving and road laws and the local police take a dim view for drivers who break these laws so remember never ever to drive beyond the stipulated speed limits.

Credits: Story and photos by Raymond Lai