Volkswagon SUVs are not on the same page for fuel economy.
If you are willing to make that sacrifice - I highly recommend getting a 6-cylinder Rav4 - Now that is fun!
VW Tiguan gets 18/26 mpg
V6 Rav4 (Only made until 2012) gets 19/26 mpg
Except for the Golf and Jetta I’d stay away from VWs because of poor reliability. The Touareg and Tiguan have several ‘much worse than average’ years on CR’s reliability ratings.
Much worst than average is anything with higher than 4% problems.
Much worse than average: greater than 4% problems
Worse than average: 3% to 4% problems
Average: 3% to 2% problems
Better than average: 2% to 1% problems
Much better than average: less than 1% problems
Here is an explanation of their rating system:
MSN Autos rates reliability for the 2009 and 2010 Tiguan. There are minimal problems for the 2009. The 2010 has one moderate problem. The fuel injectors fail occasionally. The cost to replace one is $385 for parts and labor. Each additional injector adds $197. The 2009/2010 Tuareg have minimal problems except for the 2010 diesel. The glow plugs are a moderate problem and cost $236 for the first one and $157.50 for each additional one. 2004/2007 Tiguans have minimal problems except for brakes on the 2004. The brake vacuum pump fails (moderate problem) and costs $368 to fix.
Here’s the plot I find informative:
I remember that graph. It is informative. One of the things I notice is that none of the manufacturers have 100 problems per 100 cars until after 7 years. Nissan and Ford don’t get to that level for 8 years. That means after 8 years, there are likely Nissan and Ford owners that have not seen any problems. Yes, Toyota and Honda have the best records. My Accord is 9 years old and I am among the 30% or more that have not had a problem.
For a new or used car, I see opportunity to take advantage of the great reliability of today’s cars. Toyota and Honda have great resale values. But other brands provide great reliability and sell often for quite a bit less. If money is tight, someone can buy a car that is newer if they go for one of those brands with perceived poor reliability and still pay little to nothing in repairs. This has worked for me for years.
Look at the Mazda CX-5 with the 2.5l engine which is rated for 30mpg on the highway while offering an entertaining drive. The 1st year it only came with the 2.0 which was reviewed as fun to drive but could use a little more power. Now if VW would offer the Golf/Jetta TDI in the Tiguan we’d have to talk some more.
How does the dog get into the back? Jump? Or do you have to lift it? Lifting a wiggling wet Labrador might prove problematic. The lower you have to lift the dog, the better. A lower to the ground car like the Honda Fit might be the best choice.
He jumps into the back of my CRV. My problem is that I’m not in love with any of the SUV’s. I guess I’m going to have to get used to being emotionally detached from my car. (I used to have an Altima Hybrid, and I loved it!)
You are a perfect “fit” for a CRV, RAV or Forester. Sorry but they are popular for a reason. They do
fill needs of people like you economically. Being an individual means buying the best cat for your purposes regardless of what others do. You want to take a chance ? Get a Forester turbo. I just wouldn’t stray too far from your needs.
@texases Yes, At 10 years, Volkswagens have a problem rate of 175 per 100 vehicles, while Toyota has a rate of only just over 60, about 1/3 the rate. And each problem in a VW costs much more to correct than in a Toyota.
As I said before, people who trade cars as soon as the warranty runs out can be happy in a wide variety of cars. Their trade-ins will be worth much less than with the more reliable cars.
Over the life time of car ownership, people tend to like their own cars and appreciate them more later in ownership if they are fairly trouble free. It begins to get wearing if your car has problems. I have forestalled other choices that had more appeal just to buy Toyotas. (And Hondas and Subarus)
Most peoples driving whether it be around town, on interstates or daily commuting, seems to put a premium on practicality and not great handling, acceleration or the “look at me” factor. Yes, the initial purchase price may be a little higher for the features you want but generally, dependability costs a little more then a better stereo. For that reason I tend to buy Toyotas and recommend them.
I would rather have some one tell me the car I recommended was boring then it broke down on them and was unreliable. I have never made any claims about the Toyotas, Hondas and Subarus I have owned about being great road cars or especially attention getting. They have all been quite practical, easy to live with and dependable. That’s the way we live our lives and that’s the reasons we use to select cars.
Btw, “true love” happens over time often with a person( or car ) that has proven dependability, loyalty and devotion.
@dagosa; Well said.
I just had a new Ford Focus and after a few months of ownership, the quality was not there. The dealership was useless (this is not news to me). The car was having issues that my 9 yr old Toyota with 120K miles has not had-yet. The car was fun and had a lot of “features”, but those pale when the underlying basics are not working properly. I came to the conclusion that actually boring could be good. I drive 20K miles a year and can’t afford frequent visits to the shop even if it were to be free and covered under warranty.
Yes, the Focus does seem to have a lot of irritating problems, especially with the infotainment systems and the transmission, but other things, too. They aren’t necessarily big problems, but they need fixing and Ford doesn’t seem to have figured out how. Such a shame, as the Focus is an attractive car and reportedly fun to drive. I hope they eventually get it sorted out, but it is taking too long for me to have any confidence in any other Ford products. I really like the looks and roominess of the C-Max, but it also has problems that aren’t being fixed.
@MarkM; I thought I had done all my research and bought a 5 speed Focus without the My touch system, only the Sync. The Sync was fine, but I had a noisy clutch bearing (when cold) from day 2, a clunky front suspension (again when cold) and an engine performance (semi-stalling) issue when the AC was on in over 90 degree temp. Looking on the forums, all these are commonly known issues and no proper fix for them.
It makes me wonder how the Focus could be the best selling car in Europe, I guess they have lower expectations.
@galant You are right; Europeans are not obsessed with quality and reliablility. there is no equivalent to Consumer Reports. A friend in Europe buys a new Ford every 4 years; he does not drive enough to have quality issues.
Frenchmen only drive 7000 miles per year, so Renaults have “adequate” quality and reliability for them. We rented a Peugeot 5 on our recent vacation. It was a nice comfortable car, but the rubber window trim was already peeling off.
Europeans regard Toyotas as expensive and not good value for money since they have fewer gadgets for the same price a local cars. To British and German drivers, handling is the most important; to French drivers comfort and gadgets.
Korean cars are now gaining ground since they off all the gadgets at a competitive price.
It’s also hard to compare a Focus made for Europe with one made for the US even when they are superficially the same. The Focus of the last couple of years is pretty much the same car in both markets, but made in different factories and sometimes buying parts from different suppliers. Earlier Focuses were more different than the current one. The one made 3-6 years ago (approx) had no European equivalent. We had a mildly restyled version of the previous Focus (which had been engineered by Mazda) and the Europeans at the same time were driving a completely new car. The first Focus looked a lot like the Euro Focus of the same years, but the drivetrains offered were quite different. In all cases I’d look up info on whatever US model you’re getting to remove as many variables as possible.
As others note the Europeans drive differently than we do and have different expectations. They usually drive far fewer miles so maintenance scheduled at 7500 miles might be needed less than once per year. They seldom keep cars to 150k or more miles as there is a healthy demand for such cars from Eastern Europe and most Western European cars would be 20 years old before they got that many miles. Peoples’ needs have usually changed sooner than that. The single person has married and needs a family car or the parents are now empty nesters looking to downsize. Far fewer households there have multiple vehicles so whatever they have has to meet their needs. Only the wealthy have hobby cars. Except for farmers (the few) not many Europeans own trucks to tow or carry trash to the dump. Licensing is typically expensive and may be based on vehicle or engine size, so keeping an old truck or van around could be expensive, unlike here where licensing is often based on vehicle worth.
@MarkM you’ve pretty much got it right, the 1st generation of the Focus to come to the U.S. was the same design as the euro market with only the changes they had to do to comply with our regulations including slightly different suspension which was supposed to feel the same as the euro model on our roads and a different choice of engines. The next generation Focus shared design work with the Mazda3 and the Volvo S40 but we in the U.S. only saw the Mazda and the Volvo while ford made changes to the original here. Various makes and models are made all around the world for different markets and sometimes you wouldn’t know unless you decoded the VIN. A certain number of BMW 3 series come to the USA from South Africa and a number of years ago your Honda CRV could have come from the Honda plant in the UK. The U.S. did seem to have more problems in the first years with the Focus that I don’t believe was the case everywhere.
“there is no equivalent to Consumer Reports”
Ever heard of Stiftung Warentest
It is the German equivalent of Consumer Reports