Compare the2025 Subaru ForesterVS 2024 Volkswagen Tiguan

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Forester 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.

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 Forester 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 Forester 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 Forester 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 Forester. But it costs extra on the Tiguan.

The Forester Touring’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 Forester 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, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

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

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Forester has a standard 620-amp battery. The Tiguan’s 360-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 58 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen With 69 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Subaru higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 21 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

As tested in Car and Driver the Subaru Forester is faster than the Volkswagen Tiguan:

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

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

The Forester 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.

The Forester 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 Forester’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 Forester stops much shorter than the Tiguan:

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

The Forester’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 maneuverability, the Forester’s turning circle is 2.7 feet tighter than the Tiguan’s (35.4 feet vs. 38.1 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Forester has a 1.1 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Tiguan (8.7 vs. 7.6 inches), allowing the Forester to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Subaru Forester may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 300 pounds less than the Volkswagen Tiguan.

The front grille of the Forester 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 Forester has 1.6 inches more front headroom, 3.1 inches more front legroom, .2 inches more front hip room, .7 inches more front shoulder room, .7 inches more rear headroom, .7 inches more rear legroom, .2 inches more rear hip room and .9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tiguan.

The front step up height for the Forester is 1.9 inches lower than the Tiguan (15.5” vs. 17.4”). The Forester’s rear step up height is .3 inches lower than the Tiguan’s (17.25” vs. 17.5”).

The Forester has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Tiguan with its rear seat up (29.6 vs. 12 cubic feet). The Forester has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tiguan with its rear seat folded (74.4 vs. 73.4 cubic feet).

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the Forester uses the Vehicle Dynamics Control 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 engine in the Forester 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.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Subaru service is better than Volkswagen. J.D. Power ranks Subaru 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 58% lower rating, Volkswagen is ranked 29th.

The Forester Touring’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.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Forester 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 Forester’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 has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Forester and the Tiguan offer available heated front seats. The Forester Touring also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated second row seats aren’t available in the Tiguan.

The Forester 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 Subaru Forester outsold the Volkswagen Tiguan by over two to one during 2023.