Compare the2023 Subaru CrosstrekVS 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
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

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 Crosstrek CVT 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 Subaru Crosstrek 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 Crosstrek has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move 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 Crosstrek. But it costs extra on the Tiguan.

The Crosstrek CVT’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 Crosstrek and the Tiguan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors 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 Subaru Crosstrek is safer than the Volkswagen Tiguan:

	Crosstrek	Tiguan
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	428 lbs.	510 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	201	330
Spine Acceleration	49 G’s	49 G’s
Hip Force	824 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 Crosstrek is 1.2% less likely to roll over than the Tiguan.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, with its optional front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Crosstrek its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 126 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Tiguan is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.

Warranty

Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the Crosstrek 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 Crosstrek’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 Crosstrek’s reliability 68 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 Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. With 39 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Subaru higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 16 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Subaru Crosstrek is faster than the Volkswagen Tiguan (automatics tested):

	Crosstrek 2.0	Crosstrek Sport/Limited	Tiguan
Zero to 60 MPH	8.8 sec	7.8 sec	8.9 sec

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Crosstrek lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability without compromising ground clearance. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Crosstrek
AWD	Manual	2.0 DOHC flat-4	22 city/29 hwy
	Auto	2.0 DOHC flat-4	28 city/33 hwy
		2.5 DOHC flat-4	27 city/34 hwy
Tiguan
	Auto	S 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/31 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/30 hwy
AWD	Auto	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
		R-Line 2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/28 hwy

The Crosstrek has 1.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tiguan FWD’s standard fuel tank (16.6 vs. 15.3 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Transmission

The Crosstrek offers a manual transmission for better acceleration, control and sportiness. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a manual transmission.

The Crosstrek offers an optional 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.

Brakes and Stopping

The Crosstrek stops much shorter than the Tiguan:

	Crosstrek	Tiguan
70 to 0 MPH	169 feet	183 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	120 feet	134 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Crosstrek has larger tires than the Tiguan (225/60R17 vs. 215/65R17).

The Crosstrek’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.

Suspension and Handling

The Crosstrek Premium handles at .81 G’s, while the Tiguan 4Motion® pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Crosstrek Premium executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Tiguan 4Motion® (27.3 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Crosstrek’s turning circle is 2.3 feet tighter than the Tiguan’s (35.4 feet vs. 37.7 feet).

Chassis

The Subaru Crosstrek may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 to 600 pounds less than the Volkswagen Tiguan.

The Crosstrek is 9.6 inches shorter than the Tiguan, making the Crosstrek easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Crosstrek has .2 inches more front headroom, 2.9 inches more front legroom, .6 inches more front hip room and 1.7 inches more rear hip room than the Tiguan.

Cargo Capacity

The Crosstrek has a much larger cargo volume than the Tiguan with its rear seat up (20.8 vs. 12 cubic feet).

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

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Crosstrek is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Tiguan. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Crosstrek’s available exterior PIN entry system (not available on Crosstrek 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.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Crosstrek 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 Crosstrek’s available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Tiguan’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

The Crosstrek’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.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Crosstrek owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Crosstrek 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 Crosstrek is less expensive to operate than the Tiguan because it costs $46 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Crosstrek than the Tiguan, including $324 less for a water pump, $364 less for a muffler, $140 less for a starter, $189 less for fuel injection, $120 less for a fuel pump, $47 less for front struts, $43 less for a timing belt/chain and $271 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Subaru Crosstrek, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Volkswagen Tiguan isn't recommended.

The Subaru Crosstrek outsold the Volkswagen Tiguan by almost 12 to one during 2021.

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