Compare the2023 Mazda CX-30VS 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-30 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.

The Mazda CX-30 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.

The CX-30 has standard Whiplash-Reducing Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the CX-30. But it costs extra on the Tiguan.

The CX-30’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 CX-30’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 CX-30 and the Tiguan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

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 Mazda CX-30 is safer than the Volkswagen Tiguan:

	CX-30	Tiguan
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	275 lbs.	337 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	178	330
Spine Acceleration	30 G’s	49 G’s
Hip Force	583 lbs.	855 lbs.

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

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the CX-30 is 1.3% to 2.1% less likely to roll over than the Tiguan.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the CX-30 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Tiguan last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2022.

Warranty

Mazda’s powertrain warranty covers the CX-30 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 CX-30’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Tiguan’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

Reliability

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 CX-30’s reliability 25 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 Mazda vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. With 50 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Mazda higher than Volkswagen.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Mazda above average in long-term dependability. With 13 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 2023 Auto Issue reports that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mazda fourth in overall reliability. Volkswagen is ranked 23rd.

Engine

The CX-30’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 7 more horsepower (191 vs. 184) than the Tiguan’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The CX-30’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 66 more horsepower (250 vs. 184) and 99 lbs.-ft. more torque (320 vs. 221) than the Tiguan’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Mazda CX-30 4 cyl. is faster than the Volkswagen Tiguan:

	CX-30	Tiguan
Zero to 60 MPH	7.5 sec	9.1 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	20.7 sec	25.9 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	7.9 sec	9.7 sec
Quarter Mile	15.8 sec	16.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	89 MPH	83 MPH
Top Speed	126 MPH	125 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the CX-30 gets better mileage than the Tiguan:

			MPG
CX-30
	AWD	2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/30 hwy
		2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	26 city/33 hwy
Tiguan
	FWD	S 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/31 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/30 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
		R-Line 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/28 hwy

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the CX-30 (except Turbo)’s fuel efficiency. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Brakes and Stopping

The CX-30 stops much shorter than the Tiguan:

	CX-30	Tiguan
70 to 0 MPH	177 feet	183 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	134 feet	Motor Trend

Suspension and Handling

The CX-30 Premium handles at .84 G’s, while the Tiguan 4Motion® pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The CX-30 Premium executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Tiguan 4Motion® (27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the CX-30’s turning circle is 2.9 feet tighter than the Tiguan’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.7 feet).

Chassis

The Mazda CX-30 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 pounds less than the Volkswagen Tiguan.

The CX-30 is 1 foot, 1.1 inches shorter than the Tiguan, making the CX-30 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The CX-30 has 1.5 inches more front legroom and .1 inches more front hip room than the Tiguan.

Cargo Capacity

The CX-30 has a much larger cargo volume than the Tiguan with its rear seat up (20.2 vs. 12 cubic feet).

Ergonomics

The CX-30 Premium has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning 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.

The CX-30’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Tiguan’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

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 CX-30’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Tiguan’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

The CX-30’s optional 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.