Volkswagen has an interesting petrol powered Tiguan option, which uses the latest engine technology to generate power and performance from a 1.4-litre engine. This Tiguan compact SUV is a real competitor for the diesels in the sector. Michael Moroney took it for a test drive to assess it value and opportunity. Read what he has to report

Volkswagen now offers the Tiguan with a 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine as the entry model in the range, with a starting price of €38,070 before delivery charges.

When we think about compact SUVs, we consider diesel to be the only practical and efficient fuel source. That's because diesel power is considered more efficient and up until recently it was cheaper than petrol.

Now Volkswagen has changed all that. The German company has introduced a new version of the Tiguan compact SUV with a tidy and efficient petrol engine. And now, with petrol more competitive than diesel at the pumps, this new Tiguan option provides the reason to rethink the diesel versus petrol options.

I had the Tiguan diesel on the road some time ago and was impressed. The petrol Tiguan has equally attractive styling; this gives it instant appeal to everyone who sees it. The silver coloured test car stood out and caused remarks wherever I drove.

For the petrol powered Tiguan, Volkswagen uses the Sport & Style specification. This gives a lower front bumper with fog light mouldings and a strong front end look. It will have a slightly lower front end to the Track & Field version meaning that it will not cope as well with heavy off-road driving. Keep to the grass and limit the adventure is the message.

The 1.4-litre petrol engine in the Tiguan Sport & Style deserves special mention. This is a really compact engine that uses turbo power to achieve good output, torque and acceleration. You'll be surprised at the performance of the engine, which delivers 150bhp. That's more than many of the competitor petrol powered SUVs, such as the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, both of which use 2.0-litre petrol engines in the same sector of the market.

The 1.4-litre Tiguan has slightly more torque than these competitors at 240Nm. Combine these power and torque figures and it's no surprise that the Tiguan can outpace the others by one second in a 0 to 100km/hr race to give a figure of 9.3 seconds. That gives it a livelier pace than all the diesel powered competitors, including the Tiguan diesel option.

The petrol power and the pace do impact on the economy figures. The 1.4-litre TSI Tiguan delivers a fuel economy figure of 8.4 litres/100km (33.6mpg). That's about 18 per cent less efficient than the 2.0-litre diesel powered version and the Tiguan is not the most efficient of the diesel powered compact SUVs.

If you are considering petrol power only, the 1.4-litre Tiguan is a good match for the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 options in terms of economy. You will struggle to improve on the combined economy rated figure. With the petrol versus diesel price difference at about four per cent depending on where you buy it, the poorer economy figure for the petrol option Tiguan needs to be considered.

And then there's the matter of the CO2 rating. This 1.4-litre TSI engine is efficient but not clean enough to be a match for the bigger 2.0-litre diesel model. The CO2 rating is 199g/km, which is ten units higher than the diesel model.

That margin is enough to push the Tiguan petrol in Band F for VRT and Road Tax purposes, giving the Tiguan petrol a €1,000 annual road tax charge compared with €600 for the diesel model. Over a five year ownership period, that's an extra €2,000 in running costs!

So think Tiguan petrol power carefully, even if the entry price, at €38,070 before delivery charges, is more competitive. I'm beginning to sound like a diesel head, but the facts speak louder than sentiment. Diesel is still making more sense, with lower buy-in prices, especially for higher mileage drivers.