VOLKSWAGEN'S Tiguan floats amid a sea of small SUV offerings from virtually every one of Australia's mainstream manufacturers, and saying shoppers in the segment are spoiled for choice would be an understatement.

Options range from a sub $20,000 driveaway Chery to Mercedes' tarmac-incinerating GLA 45 AMG for a touch under $80,000, but it is the $30,000 to $50,000 portion where the competition is fiercest – exactly where the Tiguan range sits.

A vast proportion of vehicles in the small SUV segment rarely venture off the black-top and with underpinnings shared with the previous-generation Golf, the Tiguan has attracted a following with its likable road manner.

But in a segment as competitive as this, not one of the competing car-makers can afford to stand still.

In a bid to keep the model fresh, Volkswagen has thrown more equipment, an improved diesel engine and a sporty flagship variant at the Tiguan line-up, but is it enough to keep the little SUV afloat?

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