Comments on: SUV Comparison Volkswagen Tiguan vs. Honda CR-V vs. Subaru Forester

By: Greg

Greg — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:48:16 +0000

Driven many VWs in my life. I now own a Honda and a Toyota, LOL Hallelujah. The problem with a car review is they only last a few days. Take those cars on a 20,000 km trek and I’ll tell you the results.

1. VW will break down first. Guarenteed. Reason. Probably the cooling system. Next the dash will become a rattle trap and start falling apart. (I’m having a good chuckle about the weekend warrior bozos buying the amarok ute. ) VW’s all test well. They never last long.
2. Next Subaru will fall to pieces or the driver will commit suicide. Really a very primitive cramped vehicle.
3. Honda . Might need it’s wiper fluid reservoir filled up. PS It is quite capable off road. You just need to know how to do it.

By: Pete Roper

Pete Roper — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 16:04:11 +0000

Seversl year ago my company car options included SUVs so I took cardboard boxes (folded down) scaled to represtent the items we always take camping. No good looking good, or performing briliantly if the car won’t carry what we need. The dealers faces were very amusing as I rocked up and asked “Can I tru loading it first?” Amused sniggers then affirmative grunts>” One even had several colleagues watch my antics. Of course when my boxes and guitar case didn’t fit I walked! They stopped smirking. The forester, despite its theoretiaclly poorer space took it all. Now Some things can ve packed in different containers, even I know this. However, some things are fixed such as fridges etc.
I upgraded, eventually, to a Disco 2004 TDi. Same routine same satisfaction. Being diesel I get a better furel economy when towing than the forester and it is more rugged.
It all comes down to what do you want and what do you really need. Now, can you afford wht’s available?
Enjoy the Tiguan.Forester, CV whatever, its your love.
Pete

By: Brett

Brett — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 07:55:31 +0000

I own a current model forester XT Premium and agree that Subaru are reliable and perform well ( previously owned a Outback 3.0 and a Leone). However I will not be going back to subaru for the following reasons.
Lots of rattles – traction control unit behind dash. Sunroof which was reinstalled and still rattles. Cheap foam cut out for spare wheel sqeaks going over bumps which I had to fix with blue tack. Roof rack rattles. Factory fitted blue tooth did not work with my phone from new. New mobile did not also work. Dealer would not give me my money back and took a year and a half to fix with software upgrade which has to be reinstalled every time battery is discoected.
Four speed gear box is reliable but pittiful. Economy is pretty bad. The plastic interior is cheap. The silver paint on the plastic comes off if it makes contact with a scent card.
I have ordered a tiguan with leather tinting and comfort pack in diesel for 45k all up. It does not have sat nav or blue tooth or a sunroof. At least thats one thing that wont rattle. After market sat nav has blue tooth – i can upgrade it it costs a lot less. Tiguan also has features not available on the forester.

By: brand-junkie

brand-junkie — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 05:08:07 +0000

Poeple go a bit crazy over brands…
My wife and i drove the CRV, the Forester and the Tiguan. I liked the interior of the CRV. It was young and stylish. The front was a bit ugly, but could have looked aside if it werent for the gutless engine. Im a Honda man. Love Honda’s. But i just knew my wife would complain eventually about “the hills”. Just too sluggish.

The forester has a great exterior i really like it. Interior isn’t very nice in my opinion. Handling was great. power was acceptable (not the premium version). It seems like the practical mans choice.

The Tiguan was the winner (its for my wife). Servicing was quoted at 295, 440, 295, then 1100 per 4 year cycle, which i thought was pretty reasonable. The fuel efficency will pay for the servicing alone. The power and DSG transmission is excellent. Heaps of b@lls. The handling was on par with the subaru. The interior felt well made. Exterior is a bit so-so, but my wife likes it. its more expensive. But alteast i can load it up, have the air conditioner on, and still go up a hill at the same time.
Good luck.

By: Realist

Realist — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:57:21 +0000

Benjie, did you read my post, I OWN ONE, so therefore i have seen the amount of plastic in it and it is exactly the same amount as EVERY OTHER CAR BEING MADE TODAY. And have you ever driven a turbo Impreza, bored is a word one that never comes into your head. Your an F-ing moron, go fetch.

By: Benjie

Benjie — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:01:32 +0000

Hah. You got totally ripped.

Have you seen the amount of plastic in a Forester? It’s atrocious!

I’d rather wait for a Tiguan than be bored to death by an oversized Impreza.

By: REALIST

REALIST — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 14:53:42 +0000

What a poor comparison test this is. Choose the correct models to compare to start with. Like so many have said, you cannot stack a base model Forrester against a big Golf, sorry, Tiguan. Also, CR-V’s have to be approached backwards for those with stomach complaints, even then when the interior carpets are sighted all control is lost. Been living with Forrester XT for 5 Months now and only fault was fixed with proper size rear sway bar. Even at 50k drive away mine would still have been cheaper than a Tiguan of equivalent spec WHEN delivered in identical time ie 6 weeks. To get a cheap Tig you gotta wait… and wait… and then when you get it and pull up at an intersection, you go to accelerate, AND YOU STILL GOTTA WAIT. Whats with the delay. Then the turbo kicks in and you gotta back off. AND Forrester is the ONLY real AWD, not a Front drive with rears that turn when all hell brakes loose. Are Tig’s cheaper to service, go and ask someone who’s owned one for 2 years and prepare to be shocked(no such thing as fixed price servicing). Do the homework, do the math, made in Japan wins every time. (CR-V is from Thailand remember)

By: mike

mike — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 10:02:07 +0000

A woman choosed the Tiguan but a man will choose Forester. Thre are two diferent expectations. First you have to compare the expectation and then make the choice.

By: don

don — Sun, 30 May 2010 23:51:46 +0000

Those who bought the MY07-08 Honda CRV will find a real sting in the tail when they go to sell – thay are worth next to nothing on the used market – real lemon for resale. Well made but a crappy design

By: Mark S

Mark S — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 03:50:29 +0000

I have to agree with the article decision too but my reasons are different for buying the Tiguan

The Honda was excluded due to the lack of a diesel.
The Subaru because it looks too agricultural and it can only tow 1200KG (at the time I was looking). the servicing costs are greater than the Tiguan.

Captiva LX too large and expensive for such poor materials and build.

IX35 has all the bells and whistles but a cheap plastic interior and visibility was woeful out the back. I felt like asking if the white cane came as an option. Braking was poor too.

CX-7. My first choice looks great with good build quality, handles well but unless your family is under three feet tall, the back seat shouldn’t even be considered. Also, the visibility was a shocker.

The Tiguan won for me because the rear seat is adjustable fore and aft and the seat back can be reclined. We have a tall grand parent to get in so the rear seat room was paramount. Visibility is good allround and it performs almost as well as the CX-7 with better fuel economy. Servicing intervals are at 15K and are considerably cheaper than subaru’s

Also, I can’t tow a decent load (Boat) with either the CRV or the Subaru (Tiguan has a 2000Kg towing capacity.
Finally, the Tiguan is small enough for daily use and boot space is not an issue as we have a top box for holidays.