Compare the2025 Lincoln NautilusVS 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan

Both the Nautilus and Tiguan have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Nautilus has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Tiguan’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

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 Nautilus 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 Lincoln Nautilus has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help 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 a front passenger side knee airbag.

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

The Nautilus’ 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 Nautilus and the Tiguan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

The Lincoln Nautilus weighs 548 to 1151 pounds more than the Volkswagen Tiguan. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Lincoln Nautilus has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Tiguan has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.

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

The Nautilus 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’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. With 17 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Lincoln higher than Volkswagen.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Lincoln vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen With 16 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Lincoln higher than Volkswagen.

The Nautilus’ standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 49 more horsepower (250 vs. 201) and 73 lbs.-ft. more torque (280 vs. 207) than the Tiguan’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The Nautilus’ 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 49 more horsepower (250 vs. 201) and 59 lbs.-ft. more torque (280 vs. 221) than the Tiguan’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The Nautilus’ optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 109 more horsepower (310 vs. 201) and 74 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 221) than the Tiguan’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

The Nautilus Hybrid’s standard fuel tank has 5.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tiguan FWD’s standard fuel tank (20.1 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Nautilus’ standard fuel tank has 4.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tiguan AWD’s standard fuel tank (20.3 vs. 15.6 gallons).

The Nautilus 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 or a tether to prevent losing the cap.

The Nautilus 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.

For better stopping power the Nautilus’ brake rotors are larger than those on the Tiguan:

For better traction, the Nautilus has larger tires than the Tiguan (255/60R19 vs. 215/65R17).

The Nautilus’ 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 Nautilus has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Tiguan. The Nautilus’ optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Tiguan.

The Nautilus 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.

The Nautilus’ drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Tiguan doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Nautilus’ wheelbase is 4.3 inches longer than on the Tiguan (114.2 inches vs. 109.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Nautilus is 3 inches wider in the front and 3.5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Tiguan.

For better maneuverability, the Nautilus’ turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Tiguan’s (37.5 feet vs. 38.1 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Nautilus has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Tiguan (7.9 vs. 7 inches), allowing the Nautilus to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Nautilus 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.

The Nautilus has 9.7 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Tiguan (113.5 vs. 103.8).

The Nautilus has .1 inches more front headroom, 3.3 inches more front legroom, 2.4 inches more front hip room, 1.9 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom, 2.9 inches more rear legroom, 3 inches more rear hip room and 2.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tiguan.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Nautilus’ rear seats recline. The Tiguan’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Nautilus has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Tiguan with its rear seat up (36.4 vs. 26.5 cubic feet). The Nautilus has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tiguan with its rear seat folded (71.3 vs. 58.9 cubic feet).

The Nautilus Hybrid can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Nautilus can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Tiguan can’t be towed flat on the ground.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Nautilus’ exterior PIN entry system. The Tiguan doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Nautilus 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 Lincoln Nautilus has power folding mirrors that offer unparalleled convenience while maneuvering in tight places or parked. With the mirrors folded it’s easier to walk past and help prevent parking damage. The mirrors can be quickly unfolded when the driver is ready to leave. Power folding mirrors are only offered on the Tiguan SEL.

The Nautilus has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Tiguan SEL.

The Nautilus’ standard oscillating air vents move back and forth and distribute air evenly inside the vehicle, making everyone more comfortable. The Tiguan doesn’t offer oscillating vents.

Compared to the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Lincoln Nautilus eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its standard integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the driver’s visor.

The Nautilus offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Motor Trend selected the Nautilus as their 2025 Sport Utility of the Year. The Tiguan has never been chosen.