Compact crossover SUVs are a tough nut to crack
Before we start with anything, let’s play a little game. Drive to your local mall, grocery store, Walmart, Target, or Costco and count how many Toyota RAV4s, Honda CR-Vs, Subaru Foresters, Hyundai Tucsons, Ford Bronco Sports, and other similarly sized compact crossover SUVs you encounter. Without a chance, you would run out of fingers on your hands.
Years ago, compact crossover SUVs were a cute niche, but these days, the segment is a crowded and cutthroat market full of models that are hotter commodities than hotcakes and Pop Mart Labubus. Last year, Honda sold more than double the number of CR-Vs than Accords, and for VW, its Tiguan outsold the Jetta by about 20,000 units in 2024.
James Ochoa
The Volkswagen Tiguan may have been the German automotive giant’s bestseller for quite a while, but the term “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” can only go so far in today’s AI-backed, technologically obsessed, digital landscape. During my experience driving Vee-Dub’s bestseller in and around lovely Bozeman, Montana, I found that the new Tiguan’s laundry list of brand-new features and fresh sheet metal may be enough to sway some buyers from the Japanese and Korean establishment and into Das Auto.
Built for the tech-savvy American buyer, outside and inside
The Volkswagen Tiguan is now in its third generation, and for 2025, it gets quite the well-deserved ‘glow-up,’ as well as some new tricks that keep the old dog thriving in an ever-competitive game.
For starters, the new Tiguan gets some new sheet metal that significantly changes the exterior appearance from the outgoing model. The fresh, new design is marked by a raised hood line and a few inches shaved off the rear, which mimics the shape of some of its crossover competition. Additionally, it gets a new Golf R-style face with redesigned headlights and an optional LED light bar, making the Tiguan look much bolder and sportier than the RAV4, CR-V, or Forester standing next to it in traffic.
James Ochoa
However, much of the VW’s party tricks and clever American-market tailoring are inside the cabin, where the German automaker has raised the bar by packing premium features and tech in nearly all of its trim levels.
Like most offerings from mainstream manufacturers, a giant infotainment screen is smack dab, front and center, on the dashboard. The 2025 Tiguan gets a 12.9-inch display featuring VW’s MIB4 infotainment software alongside a 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster. During my time with the car, I didn’t connect my phone to the standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but with a bit of practice, I found the VW’s iPad-like menus easy to navigate. Some features were relatively hard to get to, though, save for some essential functions.
The rest of the interior packs a punch for first impressions, as premium materials make the most of the cabin even in lease-special lower trim levels. The base S trim has cloth seats, but the bamboo yarn makes it feel like sitting on expensive gaming chairs or pricey Herman Miller office furniture.
James Ochoa
More expensive variants get leatherette or leather surfaces, but no matter the trim, VW uses the fabric and leather on surfaces beyond the seats, including key places on the door cards. Plastic is used on some of the surfaces, controls, and other parts of the interior; however, compared to contemporaries from Honda, Toyota, and Hyundai, it still retains a much more “premium feel.”
Notably, the VW Tiguan loses the third row for 2025, but in return, you get some well-deserved interior space. I am 5’7“, but even with the driver’s seat set to my relatively “tall” driving position and the front passenger seat set for maximum legroom, I found the legroom in the back fairly adequate for myself and possibly lounge-like for smaller children.
James Ochoa
Speaking of children, the rear 60/40 split bench seat has some couch-like properties that would be beneficial on longer car rides and road trips. In addition, the lack of a third row adds a generous amount of cargo space behind the seats for grocery and Costco runs meant to replenish pantries and fridges for some very hungry kids.
In the SEL R-Line that I spent the most time in, VW packs in some premium features that feel more at home on cars with four rings on the steering wheel, including American Walnut dashboard trim, quilted two-tone leather power seats with massaging functions, Harman Kardon audio, a bigger 15-inch infotainment screen, and 30-color ambient lighting.
Volkswagen
The Tiguan doesn’t handle its size
Though the new Tiguan loses a third row, it adds more oomph under the hood. VW’s renowned EA888 turbocharged 2-liter inline four-cylinder powers all trims, making 201 horsepower and 207 lb-ft of torque in front-wheel-drive models and 221 lb-ft in 4Motion AWD models. The previous Tiguan’s four-cylinder made just 184 horsepower; however, a new turbo, fuel injection system, and revised cams help up the power past the 200 mark.
VW’s ol’reliable powertrain is strong, but it doesn’t exactly ‘haul ass’ in the way these engine upgrades would suggest. On the twisty, rural roads outside Bozeman, Montana, I found the throttle response from the pedal to be smooth, but not exactly giving from the turbocharged powertrain. I felt as if I was begging “please, may I have some more” out of the motor at times when it would be most enjoyable. However, it delivered enough power around town and on the highway to move from a standstill and overtake triple-tractor-trailers on the interstate.
While it isn’t big on power, the Tiguan is fun to drive around corners. VW says that by eliminating the third row and adding new aluminum components and other lightweight elements, it saved 170 pounds from the outgoing model, which you can feel from behind the wheel. It may be no performance car, but on the twisties and turns outside Bozeman, the light and easy steering, the predictable throttle and suspension output make a relaxed drive in the Tiguan feel like “Gran Turismo” even at road-legal speeds.
Some ‘refinements’ complicated the driving experience
Volkswagen
Though the Tiguan has much to praise, a few uncanny flaws prevent me from calling it perfect; specifically, a few items in the interior that complicate the overall user experience. First, and most notably, Volkswagen has shifted from using a traditional center console-mounted gear lever to one behind the steering wheel like the one in the ID.4 or ID.Buzz. While this does add some utilitarian cupholder space and additional easily accessible cubbyhole storage space in the center console, I felt that it solved a problem by creating another one.
By sacrificing the gearstick for cupholder space, you get complicated behind-the-steering-wheel controls. Not only does the left stalk control the turn signals and brights, but it also controls the front and rear wipers. The “gear stick” may be on the right, but it doesn’t operate like a traditional column shift; you have to twist the tip of the gear forward to go into drive, and twist it toward the back to go in reverse.
Though I adapted to it after spending time with the car before my scenic drive through the southern Montana countryside, the complicated behind-the-wheel controls were very intimidating for my driving partner. I worried if the other non-auto journalists on my drive got the hang of it, especially since we drove on a slightly rainy day.
James Ochoa
In addition, I felt that one of the added interior features, the so-called Driving Experience Dial, could have been omitted. While it is positioned in a way that feels fairly ergonomic, it is tasked with way too many controls for it to feel useful. The DED not only controls the volume but also controls the driving mode selection, as well as the ‘Atmospheres’ feature in the SEL R-Line I drove, which handles the ambient lighting and sound inside the car.
Toggling through its functions requires the user to push down the dial, but the only way to know whether the DED controls the appropriate function is through a tiny screen in the middle of it. Even throughout my extended time with the car, I failed to memorize the sequence of ‘dial pushes’ that determine which function is which. Given the potential learning curve, which requires a bit of staring at another screen [while driving], I feel that space could have been better used for a ‘dial-a-gear-knob’ or a compact gear selector.
Speaking of knobs, I feel that the dashboard could have benefitted from some additional knobs or even some rockers for the climate control and the volume up near the infotainment system. All you get are some touch-capacitive sliders that, like the DED, are not entirely tactile and can unnecessarily take your eyes off the road.
James Ochoa
Final thoughts
As of this writing, these vehicles are already available at VW dealerships for $29,495 to $39,755 before a $1,425 destination fee.
Despite the small quirks, I think that the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan is a dark horse in today’s crowded compact crossover SUV segment. It’s clear that Volkswagen is going for a “bang-for-your-buck” value by providing a smattering of essential features to buyers in the segment for an über-competitive price against rivals like the CR-V and RAV4. It has more horsepower and a bigger screen than those that come standard on RAV4 and CR-V, while comfort and convenience features like heated front seats and wireless charging come standard on the Tiguan’s base trims.
Compared to the CR-V and RAV4, which offer hybrid powertrains in their more expensive variants, the Tiguan’s clear caveat is its fuel economy. Front-wheel-drive Tiguan S models get an EPA estimated 26 miles per gallon in the city, 34 on the highway, and 29 combined, while FWD SE and SE R-Line models get a respective 25, 32, and 28 mpg, and all-wheel-drive models get 22, 30, and 25 mpg, respectively.
Despite this, I find the top-of-the-line SEL R-Line I drove to be a heck of a package at $39,755 ($41,180 with destination). At that price, it could steer some reasonable and value-minded buyers away from the Q5—at least it would for me. They are different cars aimed at different customers, but I think that VW’s efforts to bring as many premium features to the people as possible reflect the spirit in its name (The name Volkswagen in German roughly translates to “people’s car.”)
Though the Tiguan isn’t primed to be a performance car, the adrenaline junkie inside of me wants to wait for the 2026 Tiguan SEL R-Line Turbo, which dials up the power in the EA888 engine from 201 horsepower to a eye-watering 268; more powerful than the one in the Golf GTI. Please show me a CR-V or a RAV4 that can do that.
Disclosure: Volkswagen invited and flew out James Ochoa to experience the new 2025 Tiguan out in Bozeman, Montana, where he was fed and put in a hotel on their dime.
