Compare the2023 Honda CR-VVS 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda CR-V have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Volkswagen Tiguan doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the CR-V are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Honda CR-V has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Tiguan doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the CR-V deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The CR-V’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Tiguan’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The CR-V’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Tiguan.

The CR-V’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the CR-V and the Tiguan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and rear parking sensors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CR-V its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Tiguan was last a “Top Safety Pick Plus” in 2022 but no longer qualifies.

Honda’s powertrain warranty covers the CR-V 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Tiguan. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Tiguan ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The CR-V’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Tiguan’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are over 67 percent more Honda dealers than there are Volkswagen dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the CR-V’s warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the CR-V has a standard 410-amp battery. The Tiguan’s 360-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the CR-V’s reliability 43 points higher than the Tiguan.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. With 47 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Honda higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 18 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

The CR-V’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 6 more horsepower (190 vs. 184) than the Tiguan’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Honda CR-V is faster than the Volkswagen Tiguan:

On the EPA test cycle the CR-V gets better mileage than the Tiguan:

The CR-V has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The CR-V has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a CVT.

The CR-V stops shorter than the Tiguan:

For better traction, the CR-V has larger tires than the Tiguan (235/60R18 vs. 215/65R17).

The CR-V’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Tiguan S’ standard 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the CR-V has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Tiguan S.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the CR-V is 1.1 inches wider in the front and 2.1 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Tiguan.

The CR-V EX-L AWD handles at .82 G’s, while the Tiguan 4Motion® pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Honda CR-V may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 250 pounds less than the Volkswagen Tiguan.

The front grille of the CR-V uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Tiguan doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The CR-V uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Tiguan doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The CR-V has 1.1 inches more front legroom, 1.1 inches more front hip room, .9 inches more front shoulder room and 3.8 inches more rear legroom than the Tiguan.

The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Tiguan with its rear seat up (39.3 vs. 12 cubic feet). The CR-V has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tiguan with its rear seat folded (76.5 vs. 73.4 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the CR-V easier. The CR-V’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 26 inches, while the Tiguan’s liftover is 29.4 inches.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the CR-V. The Tiguan doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The CR-V EX-L’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Tiguan doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

On a hot day the CR-V’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the Tiguan can’t use the remote to operate the windows.

The CR-V’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Tiguan’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the CR-V has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Tiguan only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The CR-V’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Tiguan’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

The CR-V has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Tiguan SE/SEL.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Honda CR-V, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Volkswagen Tiguan isn't recommended.

Motor Trend selected the CR-V as their 2018 Sport Utility of the Year. The Tiguan has never been chosen.

The Honda CR-V outsold the Volkswagen Tiguan by almost three to one during 2022.