Compare the2023 Cadillac XT4VS 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages

Safety

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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 XT4 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 Cadillac XT4 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.

Both the XT4 and the Tiguan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Cadillac XT4 is safer than the Volkswagen Tiguan:

	XT4	Tiguan
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	328 lbs.	337 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	204	330
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	49 G’s
Hip Force	522 lbs.	855 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

Cadillac’s powertrain warranty covers the XT4 2 years and 20,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Tiguan. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles. Coverage on the Tiguan ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

The XT4’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Tiguan’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in initial quality. With 67 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Cadillac vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac above average in long-term dependability. With 24 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Volkswagen is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Cadillac vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Cadillac 3 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

Engine

The XT4’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 51 more horsepower (235 vs. 184) and 37 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 221) than the Tiguan’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Cadillac XT4 is faster than the Volkswagen Tiguan:

	XT4	Tiguan
Zero to 30 MPH	3 sec	4.1 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	7.6 sec	10.3 sec
45 to 65 MPH Passing	3.6 sec	6.5 sec
Quarter Mile	15.9 sec	17.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91 MPH	83 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the XT4 AWD gets better fuel mileage than the Tiguan R-Line 4Motion® (22 city/29 hwy vs. 21 city/28 hwy).

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the XT4’s fuel efficiency. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The XT4 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.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Cadillac XT4, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Tiguan.

Brakes and Stopping

The XT4’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Tiguan are solid, not vented.

The XT4 stops much shorter than the Tiguan:

	XT4	Tiguan
70 to 0 MPH	172 feet	183 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	118 feet	134 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the XT4 has larger standard tires than the Tiguan (235/60R18 vs. 215/65R17).

The XT4’s standard 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 XT4 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Tiguan S.

The XT4 has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Tiguan doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Suspension and Handling

The XT4 offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Tiguan’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the XT4 is 1 inch wider in the front and 1.2 inches wider in the rear than on the Tiguan.

The XT4 Sport AWD handles at .89 G’s, while the Tiguan 4Motion® pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The XT4 Sport AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2 seconds quicker than the Tiguan 4Motion® (26.3 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

Chassis

The XT4 is 5 inches shorter than the Tiguan, making the XT4 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the XT4 Premium Luxury/Sport 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 XT4 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.

As tested by Car and Driver while at idle, the interior of the XT4 Sport AWD is quieter than the Tiguan 4Motion® (39 vs. 42 dB).

Passenger Space

The XT4 has 3.9 inches more front legroom and 2.9 inches more rear legroom than the Tiguan.

Cargo Capacity

The XT4 has a much larger cargo volume than the Tiguan with its rear seat up (22.5 vs. 12 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the XT4. The Tiguan doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

The XT4’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Tiguan’s (2500 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Volkswagen Tiguan is only 1500 pounds. The XT4 offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the XT4 uses the StabiliTrak® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Tiguan doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Servicing Ease

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Cadillac service is better than Volkswagen. J.D. Power ranks Cadillac second in service department satisfaction. With a 47% lower rating, Volkswagen is ranked 28th.

Ergonomics

The XT4 Premium Luxury/Sport’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.

The XT4’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Tiguan does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The XT4 Premium Luxury/Sport offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

On a hot day the XT4’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Tiguan can’t use the remote to operate the windows.

The XT4 Luxury’s standard 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 XT4 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 XT4 Premium Luxury/Sport’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Tiguan offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the XT4 and the Tiguan offer available heated front seats. The XT4 also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated second row seats aren’t available in the Tiguan.

The XT4 Premium Luxury/Sport offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Tiguan.

The XT4 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.

The XT4 Premium Luxury/Sport’s optional Automatic Park Assist can parallel park by itself, starting and stopping automatically, with the driver only responsible for switching from reverse to drive. The Tiguan SEL R-Line’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the XT4 owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the XT4 with a number “8” insurance rate while the Tiguan is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the XT4 is less expensive to operate than the Tiguan because typical repairs cost much less on the XT4 than the Tiguan, including $170 less for a water pump, $286 less for a starter, $187 less for a fuel pump and $254 less for front struts.

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