tiguan 125tsi or subaru forester xt

[gmw]

Be interested to hear whether anyone test drove the Forester before deciding on the Tiguan. Looking at manual versions of both, pricing seems similar by the time you spec the Tig with a few options (leather, bigger wheels etc). From the press reviews the Tig seems to have the edge. My only reservation on paper would be the boot space as I have 2 dogs (staffies). Have yet to test drive either but from what I can gather the Forester has the edge on performance and space, the Tig on quality and driving dynamics. Currently drive a Rav 4 Cruiser L and am looking for something that is more fun to drive but still want to stick with a SUV.

[anthony]

I drive a Jetta,so am biased towards the VW brand,but think that the Subaru is as ugly as sin...rather keep the RAV,whereas the Tiguan looks typically like a VW,sporty,elegant,and trendy.
Go for the Tiguan...

[Pullstarter]

I've driven both and yes the XT is faster than the 125 in STOCK form. However, a 2k chip will see the Tiguan flog the XT in performance. The Tiguan is a much nicer drive and has an immeasurably nicer and higher quality interior. The Tiguan also handles much better, a much nicer place to be in all aspects IMO, in the looks dept especially.

[clip]

Buy the Forester.

[Pullstarter]

Buy the Forester.

Clip's ploy for the Tig to remain more exclusive LOL

[gmw]

Previously owned a Bora tdi in the UK so I'm a big fan of the VW interiors - not such a big fan of the tdi's though, maybe the new common rail diesels are better. Will a 2k chip void the warranty?

[Pullstarter]

Technically yes but apparently its very hard for the VW techs to detect it when its set in "stock" mode.

[DJY]

Previously owned a Bora tdi in the UK so I'm a big fan of the VW interiors - not such a big fan of the tdi's though, maybe the new common rail diesels are better. Will a 2k chip void the warranty?

I didn't like the TDI when I drove it...
so I'm waiting to drive either a 125TSI or 147TSI in the next couple of weeks!

Tiguan is definitely a nicer all around package than the new Forester.
I don't like the new shape / size of the new one though - so I am biased there.

[Transporter]

Previously owned a Bora tdi in the UK so I'm a big fan of the VW interiors - not such a big fan of the tdi's though, maybe the new common rail diesels are better. Will a 2k chip void the warranty?

It would if the fault is related to the power increase. You will be in a mercy of the dealer - to repair or deny.

[Transporter]

Be interested to hear whether anyone test drove the Forester before deciding on the Tiguan. Looking at manual versions of both, pricing seems similar by the time you spec the Tig with a few options (leather, bigger wheels etc). From the press reviews the Tig seems to have the edge. My only reservation on paper would be the boot space as I have 2 dogs (staffies). Have yet to test drive either but from what I can gather the Forester has the edge on performance and space, the Tig on quality and driving dynamics. Currently drive a Rav 4 Cruiser L and am looking for something that is more fun to drive but still want to stick with a SUV.

We own the Forester for 10 years and I'm waiting for Forester with the diesel engine to arrive before I even take the Tig for road test. On the paper the Forester is a winner with its symmetrical drive train, 220mm ground clearance, bigger boot, for me I can also say that the Subaru was always more reliable than VW (it means less trips to the dealer with funny little things needing fixing), manual Forester has also a dual range gearbox.
Tiguan is better looking than Forester but Tiguan’s east/west engine transmission configuration is turn off for me. Also if I buy SUV I’d like to use it for a little bit of off road, which brings me back to Forester again.

If nothing from the above worries you and you find out that Tiguan drives nicer and you fill better in it, than buy Tiguan. Also the Tiguan TSI will have a better fuel economy than Forester XT.

[clip]

... for me I can also say that the Subaru was always more reliable than VW (it means less trips to the dealer with funny little things needing fixing)...

funny that, I know three people that have owned Subaru's over the past 15 years. Seems there's only two types of Subaru owners though, those that bought one and now wouldn't own anything else, and those that bought one and would never own another one again. Two of the three that I know are in the latter category, citing reliability (alternator/electrical gremlins) and of course the dreaded oil consumption issues of the last few years (as far as I know, Subaru are the only company that supplies a litre of oil in the spares kit to get you to the first service).

But then there is always plenty of stuff about cars and their faults if you want to dig deep enough. In the end it's up to driving the bloody thing yourself and then making decisions and opinions.

[Transporter]

funny that, I know three people that have owned Subaru's over the past 15 years. Seems there's only two types of Subaru owners though, those that bought one and now wouldn't own anything else, and those that bought one and would never own another one again. Two of the three that I know are in the latter category, citing reliability (alternator/electrical gremlins) and of course the dreaded oil consumption issues of the last few years (as far as I know, Subaru are the only company that supplies a litre of oil in the spares kit to get you to the first service).

But then there is always plenty of stuff about cars and their faults if you want to dig deep enough. In the end it's up to driving the bloody thing yourself and then making decisions and opinions.

So, now you met the 3rd type of Subaru owner. We have 3 VW cars in family and one Subaru. I have no problem replacing Forester with a better car but one has to be realistic mate and lets be honest VW has more than a fair share of the small faults we wish they wouldn't be there. There are way to many posts on this forum about VW engines using a lot of oil (expensive one too and not as available as the oil for Subaru), A/C pumps failing in GolfV, many people prefer manual gearbox rather than fantastic DSG gearbox because they fear that DSG will fail when the car is out of the warranty. So will the automatic transmission in Tiguan be as reliable as the one in Forester?
I will answer it for you Subaru has 20 years history in making their symmetrical drive train with all aluminium engine which was in their cars in the 70's and the AWD system is in the Subaru cars for over 20 Years. During that past 20 years they were very reliable cars. Can you say that about VW? Look at the USA market and do some search about VW cars there and compare it with Subaru in USA market. It's all good if you keep your car for 3 years and before the warranty runs out you buy another one.

P.S. You can't buy 2WD Subaru they sell only AWD in Australia and don't charge extra for it - 2WD is not even as option.

http://www.motortrader.com/industry-news/general-news/27433-honda-tops-which-car-reliability-index.html

[gmw]

Thanks for various responses. We have a Subaru Forester in the family - father in law has done 240,000 km without any problems. The Bora I previously owned in the UK did around 50,000 miles with no issues, my brother drives a Seat Leon in the UK (VW mechanicals) and has had no problems to date so both brands seem ok. Looking forward to driving the Forester and the Tig.

[Paragon]

Only problem (and one I could not get over, hence I am now on this forum) when test driving the XT for my wife was the 4 speed auto from the 1980s that it came with

[NZTiguan]

maybe the new diesel Forester will be better ? but the drive I had in the petrol Forester didn't impress me one bit and nobody I know of that's driven it and then the Tig has had much good to say (except for ground clearance and boot space) about the Forester. To me it felt lightweight, loose, rough, and the handling wasn't within a mile of the Tig. There may be the odd occasion where the Sub has an advantage but I'd say in 99.9% of your driving the Tig would eat it. In my case it simply wasn't even in the hunt.