Compare the2023 Ford EscapeVS 2023 Volkswagen Tiguan

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Ford Escape have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Volkswagen Tiguan doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

The Ford Escape has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps 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 Escape’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 Escape’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 Escape 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, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive 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 Ford Escape is safer than the Volkswagen Tiguan:

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

Ford’s powertrain warranty covers the Escape 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 Escape’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Tiguan’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

There are almost 5 times as many Ford dealers as there are Volkswagen dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Escape’s warranty.

The Escape has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the truck’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in initial quality. With 63 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 Ford vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford above average in long-term dependability. With 4 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 Ford vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Ford 5 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

The Escape’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 66 more horsepower (250 vs. 184) and 59 lbs.-ft. more torque (280 vs. 221) than the Tiguan’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Ford Escape turbo 3 cyl. is faster than the Volkswagen Tiguan:

On the EPA test cycle the Escape gets better mileage than the Tiguan:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Escape 1.5 Turbo’s fuel efficiency. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Escape 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 Escape stops much shorter than the Tiguan:

For better traction, the Escape has larger tires than the Tiguan (225/65R17 vs. 215/65R17).

The Escape has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Tiguan’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The Escape AWD handles at .87 G’s, while the Tiguan 4Motion® pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Escape AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Tiguan 4Motion® (27.7 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The Ford Escape may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 250 to 450 pounds less than the Volkswagen Tiguan.

The Escape is 6 inches shorter than the Tiguan, making the Escape easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Escape 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.

As tested by Car and Driver while at idle, the interior of the Escape AWD is quieter than the Tiguan 4Motion® (37 vs. 42 dB).

The Escape has .4 inches more front headroom, 2.2 inches more front legroom, .7 inches more front hip room, .6 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear headroom, 4.1 inches more rear legroom and .1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tiguan.

The Escape has a much larger cargo volume than the Tiguan with its rear seat up (37.5 vs. 12 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Escape easier. The Escape’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 28.1 inches, while the Tiguan’s liftover is 29.4 inches.

The Escape’s cargo area is larger than the Tiguan’s in almost every dimension:

An optional locking center console keeps your small valuables safer in the Escape. The Tiguan doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Escape’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Tiguan’s (2000 vs. 1500 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Volkswagen Tiguan is only 1500 pounds. The Escape offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Escape uses the AdvanceTrac® 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.

The Escape (except Base)’s optional 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 Escape Elite/Platinum offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed 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.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Escape’s available exterior PIN entry system (not available on Escape Base). The Tiguan doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Car-Net can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

The Escape’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 Escape 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 Escape Elite/Platinum’s optional Active Park Assist 2.0 can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Tiguan SEL R-Line’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

Insurance will cost less for the Escape owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Escape with a number “5” insurance rate while the Tiguan is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Escape is less expensive to operate than the Tiguan because it costs $300 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Escape than the Tiguan, including $390 less for a water pump, $282 less for a starter, $229 less for fuel injection, $178 less for a fuel pump and $211 less for front struts.

The Ford Escape outsold the Volkswagen Tiguan by 55% during 2022.