Quote:
Originally Posted by Table 5
Personally, I always thought the Tiguan was a bit of a useless tit. When Pylon said it was like a raised Golf, that's exactly what it is. And I have no idea what benefits raising a Golf would give you to be honest. I think the Jetta Sportwagon is much more useful vehicle.
• You have way more cargo volume with both seats up and down (cause hey it's an actual wagon and not just a raised hatch to give you the appearance of volume),
• It gets way better fuel economy, especially when you get the Diesel (but even if you don't). Plus the Tiguan recommends Premium fuel, where the Jetta doesnt.
• It's cheaper by about 4-5 grand. For the base price of a Tiguan you can get the Diesel mid-level Jetta..and have 36mpg to the Tiguans 21.
• Like all cars, it has lower center of gravity, so it has way better driving dynamics. Engineers can do marvelous things these days, but they can't cheat gravity....and just think about who tends to be clumsier, tall guys or short guys.
• People make fun of CUV's as soccer mom cars because that's exactly what they are. Useless fads. Not that you should give a crap, but a station wagon will get you respect from car guys.
• The only advantage I see is the optional AWD (but one that's no match for your current Outback).
Both of these cars have average reliability at best. While VW's do have solid construction, they still rank near the bottom of every reliability list. VW sales guys might start jumping on the door to prove their toughness, but that's not what you have to worry about....it's the electrical gremlins. Just like with most german cars, be ok with having a flexible work schedule.
Also personally, I think VW has taken a step back in interior materials across the board. Our 2000 Golf felt much nicer than the last '12 Golf I looked at. In the end though it will probably still feel more premium than a Honda.
Anyway, that's my two cents. Also keep in mind I have a general hate on for any CUV and love for all things wagon.
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I've always been torn between the Tiguan and the Golf Wagon TDI. On one hand, Tiguan nets you a Haldex system thats, IMO, totally on the same page as Subaru and obliterates Honda/Toyota/blah blah. When you're talking about the all-wheel differences in Volkswagen/Audi and Subaru, the differences are so slight, and I think it's an understatement to say the majority of Canadians would never, ever push their vehicles hard enough to even notice a difference. I beat the #### out of a Tiguan just to see it at its max, with all systems on (4Motion, Electronic Stability Control, Anti-Slip Regulation, Electronic Differential Lock) and I was pretty nervous. At the risk of sounding like a sales guy, I wouldn't do that to a non-European vehicle because I don't want to pay for anything that breaks or damages the vehicle. Anyways.
On the other hand, the Golf Wagon TDI is simply ruthless fuel economy. 1,200km per tank isn't any small accomplishment. I did one up for a super nice family a little while ago. The husband didn't want a van, but needed the space and fuel economy. I showed him a few things, but he'd already made his decision to go with it. Gave him a good-guy deal on the Wagon, and he tinted it up 35% all the way around and bought the GTI wheels to go with it. I was pretty blown away at how good it looked for a family vehicle. Resale wise, the TDI Wagon is worth its weight in gold.