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As we rolled into Boulder, it didn’t take long to realize why Volkswagen had chosen this booming northern Colorado burg for the U.S. rollout of its new Tiguan compact crossover.

Not only does Boulder possess a latent hippy-artsy, granola-crunchy vibe that sits well with the brand’s ethos, to look at its streets is to think you’ve stumbled upon Wolfsburg West. The entire town is positively cluttered with VWs of all descriptions: Jettas, Passats, even older Sciroccos and Buses, most with roof racks. In fact, it would appear that aspiring Boulderites have two choices to make when they reach city limits for the first time: “Volkswagen or Subaru, sir?” “Thule or Yakima, ma’am?” It’s absolutely uncanny. When we mentioned this to Volkswagen’s director of press and public relations, Steve Keyes, he smiled, noting that the company enjoys about a 12 percent market share in Boulder. VW only registers about 1.5 percent in the rest of the country.

In any case, Boulder also proved to be a fitting setting beyond its commuter tableau, as the area’s twisting and climbing roads were an excellent environment to properly gauge whether the Tiguan could live up to Volkswagen’s billing of it as The GTI of Crossover Utility Vehicles. Admittedly, it looks quite a bit like a tippy-toe version of the celebrated hot hatch. More exactly, the Tiguan has seemingly been conjured with bits borrowed from the entire VW family. A Rabbit platform here, a Passat four-link rear suspension there, and it’s Poppin’ Fresh time. This is not to say that the Tiguan feels at all cobbled together. In fact, it’s a remarkably well-rounded proposition from stem to stern. Of course, given its tardy arrival to one of the most hotly contested segments in the business, it had better be.

Aesthetically, VW’s freshest fruit clearly hasn’t fallen far from the tree. The Tiguan displays a mature and classy look, albeit one that’s a bit too familiar for our tastes. The front-end sheetmetal, lights, and fascia, for example, all look like they could be direct swaps on the Passat, Touareg, or Eos. By comparison, VW’s 2006 Concept Tiguan show car differed largely in the details, but evinced about 150 percent more attitude.

Inside, the paired round HVAC vents are new, but most fixtures will be familiar to VW drivers of recent years, meaning a mix of red and blue backlit gauges, high-quality plastics, and logically organized controls. Seat coverings differ for each of the three trim levels (S, SE, and SEL), with the latter going from cloth to cow. Optional interior frosting includes a new touchscreen sat-nav/backup camera system that boasts one of the most vivid displays we’ve ever come across, an eight-speaker Dynaudio stereo (standard on SEL), and a mammoth 12.7-square-foot double sunroof.

Despite a smallish footprint of just 174.3 inches, the Tig offers good head- and legroom front and back, thanks largely to a more upright seating position. Better still, it weighs just under 3400 pounds (a reasonable 300-pound premium over the admittedly portly GTI). Stuffed with VW’s firecracker 2.0-liter TFSI engine, the Tiguan is more entertaining to drive than most of its four-cylinder competitors, though its powertrain does call for premium fuel—something of a costly aberration in this segment. Incidentally, it was originally believed that VW’s cute ute would arrive with a segment-first diesel engine option. However, that decision is on hold—a move that strikes us as a missed opportunity even with the fuel’s inflated prices at the pump. As it is, the EPA indicates that our gas-powered, manual-transmission, front-drive S model returns 19 miles per gallon city and 26 mpg highway.

Speaking of which, while there was little wrong with the six-speed automatic SE we tested, we much preferred the six-speed manual, which is unfortunately only available in front-wheel drive models. Although not the cleanest cogswapper we’ve ever sampled, it was the most engaging and enjoyable setup for making use of the TFSI’s 197 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque. For the record, the Tig’s automatic has a +/- manual ratio selector feature on the gearshift lever, but it is not VW’s DSG dual-clutch unit. It also lacks paddle-shifters, which is an involving feature we would like to see in a vehicle that VW claims is close kin with the GTI.

During our drive, it was evident that the Tiguan’s ride and handling tradeoff was well judged, with a firmer ride that’s more at home climbing up and over twisty Rocky Mountain roads at speed than much of its competition. The Tiguan understeers when pushed, but it’s easier to pile this VW into corners more confidently than most of its Japanese rivals, largely because it refrains from nautical roll angles. We sampled front- and all-wheel-drive variants, and found both surefooted in the typical microcosm of weathers that one gets while driving through mountain ranges (sunny and warm one minute, rain the next, moments of near whiteout snow thereafter). The electrically assisted steering won’t win any awards for feel, but it is nicely weighted and free of kickback.

All-in, the Tiguan is a stirring and competent little crossover, but without VW’s TDI diesel or some other killer app, it lacks a truly unique selling point to differentiate it from a crossover herd already thick with talent. Then again, VW is only looking to shift a modest 20,000 units per year, so you probably won’t see yourself coming and going the way you might in a Honda, Toyota, or Nissan. Well, at least if you don’t live in Boulder.

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Magazine Issue: Winding Road Issue 35