Looking at a 2011 VW Tiguan … thought I needed a 6-cylinder, but am thinking the turbo charged 4 cylinder has equivalent (?) punch. Any thoughts?
If you’re going to use it to haul stuff regularly (like a trailer), then you’ll want the 6. If it’s just a bang around town car (or even a trip car), then the 4 will do just fine.
The 4 has plenty of pep, but gets about the same mpgs real-world as a 6, and required premium.
A friend of mine just bought a Tiguan with the turbo 4. It’s got plenty of power (she has to be mindful of driving too fast) but it’s thirsty if you use the power, and it requires premium.
Take a look at a Rav4 with the V6, lots of pep, good mpgs, and regular gas.
You will also find that the 6-cyl has better road manners. It won’t have to work as hard to do the same things the turbo-4 does. That will make it quieter, too, if that matters. Test drive both and see which one you like best. Gas mileage is slightly better in the turbo-4 (20 city/25 highway vs 18/26), but the 1 MPG improvement in average will likely be offset by the extra 30 cents per gallon.