A springer in a Tiguan

[missbattenburg]

Now that Battendog is a year old and fully grown (mostly) he is looking a bit squished in the boot of my Golf and I am thinking of changing the car.

Wanting to stay with VWs my choices are a Golf Estate: loads of lovely boot space for him but nothing new for me - or a Tiguan: a bit more boot space for him and a new-to-me model for me. Plus, I drive a lot of bumpy country roads so an SUV might be a more sensible choice.

I took a look at the Tiguan boot and it was visibly bigger than the Golf, plus dimensions say it's almost double the volume of the Golf, but some of that is height rather than length. For context, the Golf boot is big enough for him for short journeys. He can sit, lie down, only just turn around if he breathes in. For longer journeys, though, it means he doesn't get to stretch out much.

Short of taking the dog to a dealer and putting him in the car to see, I wondered if any of you lovely people had a Tiguan you put a medium (about 25kg) dog in? What are your thoughts on space?

I don’t know about a Tiguan but I used to have a Passat estate and it was bigger than my Freelander.

Thanks MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig

The Passat was also a car I considered but I think is just a bit too long for the tight turn onto my driveway.

LOADS of space on the boot for a dog, though!

I’m not convinced my dogs want much room to be honest. I put all three of them in the boot of a Citroen C3 airspace and they seem very happy (they are about 12kg each). To be fair I wouldn’t leave them in there for long journeys as it is a bit tight but if I give them too much room they seem unsettled and unsteady.
I do like the Tiguan though and if I had a bigger budget I would have taken that over the Airspace

I've got a Vauxhall Zafira. It's got two extra seats in the back that fold into the floor, when I've had big dogs it's roomy for up to three when they are down. Currently have a terrier and a golden, The terrier likes to sit on a seat so he's on one if the back seats with harness, the golden used to be in a cage next to him but has graduated to a harness clipped into the belt buckle seat on the floor (with the second back seat down). It means i can carry people and dogs long distances in comfort. I love the zafira (my second) because of the flexibility - car full of kids/dogs/stuff. I've fitted a 6ft bookcase in the back with the middle seats shoved to the front.

Im just following with interest ....I have a large suv now (enormous, great for dog) but we're moving back to UK where we have a golf!! The boots are great, but leggy dog, child and bags etc is not going to work I think. So, absorbing all your answers!

I've got a Kuga that fits our lab and Golden Retriever in perfectly.

Is this the more pleasant sequel to snakes on a plane?

My 30kg Boxer happily travelled in our VW Tiguan for several years. Be sure to have a guard rail installed.

Allycumpooster I know what you mean about them not liking to be flung around. I just think he looks a bit squished in the current car.

Catsrus The Zafira has tonnes of space in there and Knowivedonewrong, a friend of mine just bought a Kuga and he did seem to have plenty of space in there when we used it to take the dogs for a walk. However, I am sold on the idea of another VW car. I think I just trust what I know.

StealthPolarBear

BiscuitBeast Good news! A boxer is a good comparison as he's a big springer. Very glad to know there was plenty of space for yours.

I took my Great Dane to a Peugeot showroom and they let me try for size as it were.

Had a Golf Estate too. Should be good for one dog, not as roomy as a Passat though.

We've just bought a Tiguan. Our lab cross (21 kg) seems v happy in the boot (once my husband remembered to remove the parcel shelf!) It's pretty huge and has neat little pockets to slot a water bottle/ball chucker etc into so they don't roll around. Mind you he's equally happy in the much smaller boot of our fiesta!

Good to hear, IllhaveaPpleaseBob because I have found one I like...

Does your labx jump in and out the car ok? It's a bit higher up than the Golf...

I have a Glen of Imaal terrier (about 19kg) and I can fit his carrier in the back of a Tiguan. He's a very long, but not high dog so his carrier is large dog sized. I do move the back seat forward by about an inch to get it to fit properly because then I can wedge it in snugly longways front to back rather than sideways.

Thanks BlackAmericanoNoSugar - this is starting to sound like the Tiguan is a goer!

It was definitely one of the things that I considered. I have to be able to get his carrier in length-wise as we go to a holiday cottage, so his carrier takes up one half of the boot and the other half takes bags for me, 2 DC and an au pair, plus food for the first three days. The only way that it would work is to have a roomy boot and my supernatural spatial awareness (modest) to pack everything in, so I measured every boot of every car that I did a test drive in.

The Tiguan boot is quite high, but there's no lip on it which makes it easier for jumping in.

My Lab can jump in and out of my Freelander easily, I would imagine it’s higher than a Tiguan.

Thanks everyone. I'm going in to test drive one later this week as you have all reassured me that battendog will be a-ok.

I have a a 44kg dog and he fitted fine my 07 reg Golf boot. Currently have an 14 reg Audi A3 and he's fine in there too (no spare tyre version with a deeper boot). Can stand up, turn around and lie down.

We had a passat estate at one point and he was actually less comfortable in there as as he got thrown about the boot when the car cornered.

I think if I had an estate again I'd get a car cage fitted. That would mean you could use the remainder of the boot which would be great.