2020 BMW X1 vs Volkswagen Tiguan

What's the difference?

BMW’s X1 won me over mainly because of its raucous engine, signature handling, and suspension characteristics.

It is perhaps a little harsh for some family drivers though, and still has some notable spec omissions this far into its lifecycle. So, keep these factors in mind when considering it against its premium competition, particularly given there are some serious rivals arriving in the coming months.

The Tiguan Allspace is a slick, refined package that justifies its higher-than-rivals entry price with a great list of inclusions.

It’s a bit odd that its hero feature, the extra seating, is one of its least compelling attributes, but the extra internal space makes it one of the most practical mid-sizers you can get your hands on.

From the outside, the X1 totally owns the BMW design language. It somehow comes together so well over the frame of a small SUV, from the traditional BMW double kidney grille, to the chiseled LED headlights, squared-off profile, and cleanly resolved rear.

It’s miles better than its first-generation X1 predecessor, at least from the outside.

I found the inside to be a mixed bag. I liked the seats, steering wheel and multimedia system, but it just doesn’t feel cohesive.

It’s like a bunch of parts have been plucked off the shelf and  shoved together. It has a strangely compact dash cluster from the outgoing 2 Series, but at the same time, the brand’s latest touchscreen, as well as a collection of old-looking controls on a cascading dash which for some reason eats an uncomfortable amount of the front occupant’s space.

It’s been made to work together, but still feels a little chaotic. Like parts and buttons have just been plastered all over. This extends down to the centre console, where BMW gives you the option of controlling the media suite through a dial and buttons.

All the fittings are undeniably quality though, with everything from leather-clad surfaces to switchgear all having a solid, satisfying feeling. The feeling of this car being more expensive for a reason. There’s also an abundance of padded surfaces, and comfortable seats in every position.

The more I spent time with it, the more I appreciated the Tiguan's slick, understated styling. Volkswagen’s design is pleasingly consistent across its range right now, and the Tiguan just looks like a big Golf – in a really good way.

The blending of curves around the edges and strong angles down the sides and roofline is masterful, and the silver highlights delicately sprinkled across the exterior trim add just enough shine to stop it looking too simplistic.

Overall it will be less controversial than the majority of its competition, while also looking decidedly further upmarket.

Perhaps the Allspace's best trick is the way it hides its dimensions. It doesn’t look huge, and you have to look really closely to spot the difference between the Allspace and the regular length car.

Inside it’s mostly great, too. The indistinguishable-from-a-Golf theme continues, but that means decent plastics, leather-trimmed touch points and well-built switchgear.

It’s inoffensive, but also hardly flashy. The fake aluminium trim and odd mix of gloss plastics is nicely put together, but overall a bit plain. The further back you go (seat-wise) the more basic the trim gets. More on that in the practicality section.

The X1’s hidden trick is in how big its interior space is.

It’s voluminous – or as Richard Berry pointed out in his 2018 review of the pre-facelifted X1 – it has more head and legroom than an X3 and almost as much luggage space.

Impressive, right? Especially for something which is quite a bit smaller when it comes to its exterior dimensions.

A lot of that is down to the X1 sharing its platform with space-efficient and predominantly front-wheel drive Minis. But there’s more, too!

The back seats are foldable and on rails, letting you choose luggage over passengers if need be. While this is pretty impressive, the X1’s 505-litre boot space is under threat.

Audi’s new generation Q3 offers 530 litres, while the incoming Mercedes-Benz GLB will offer 570-litres in five-seat form. If it’s boot space (or seven seats…) you’re chasing, it is worth factoring in to your premium small SUV decision making process.

The back seat, as already mentioned, has plenty of leg and headroom, plus dual USB ports and directional air vents on the back of the centre console.

Front seat occupants are pretty well treated, with some cool turbine-design cupholders in the centre, smallish trenches in the doors, as well as a large bin under the armrest. There are a selection of USB ports to choose from as well as a wireless phone charging bay.

Seat comfort is good all-round, although it took me a long time to adjust to the odd upright seating position which seems to be the only ‘right’ way to have everything adjusted, at least for my preferences.

The cabin might be overwhelmingly grey, but it’s a practical place to be. And while the Allspace has its letdowns, it almost makes up for them with some surprises.

Starting with the front seats, there’s plenty of room in the deep foot well as well for arms, and head clearance is excellent.

Storage comes in the form of massive bottle holders in the doors, some trick cupholders in the centre console (which can be folded away to make a big storage trench) and a bay under the climate controls which hosts USB, aux, and 12-volt ports.

Bonus storage comes in the form of big roof-mounted boxes, a decent centre console box and a big glove box, too. Ergonomics are great and there a dials for everything! Full marks in the front, then.

In the second-row things are great, too. Again, there are big pockets in the doors, pockets on the back of the seats, a drop-down armrest and in a rare addition, in-flight service trays on the back of the seats. I’m not sure what good they are for eating or typing on… but a cool addition nonetheless.

The second row seats are as comfortable as the first row, and they are also on rails, allowing you to max out legroom, or make fitting child seats easier. Or, if the third row is in use, you can minimize it to help third row dwellers out.

The second row also gets its own climate control zone with controls, adjustable vents, as well as a USB and 12-volt outlet. Great marks for the second row, too!

Sadly, things are less good over in the third row. Despite the clear efforts VW has gone to imake the Tiguan chassis accommodate an extra row, it just hasn’t panned out for passengers.

Thanks to the second row on rails, and the large door aperture, clambering in isn’t too hard, but once you’re there the space is not sufficient for an adult.

Even with the second row moved forward significantly, there seems to be nowhere for my feet to go, seat comfort is best described as ‘basic’ and headroom was not sufficient for my 182cm height.

Children under the age of 15 are perhaps best suited to this scenario. There are no air vents, and the trim around the edges is a bit hard.

The upswing of the Allspace’s extended cabin though, is the gratuitous amount of storage. Even with the third row up, you’ll get a hatchback-sized 230L.

The boot is a whopping 700L with the third row stowed, and rows three and two stowed you’ll get 1775L – or enough for an entire set of six dining chairs, as I discovered on my test.

We had the Tiguan Allspace in 110 TSI Comfortline trim, which is toward the entry-level. At $40,150 it competes with high-end offerings from Honda (CR-V VTi-L - $38,990) and Nissan (X-Trail ST-L $39,300). It will soon also face competition from Mercedes-Benz when its new GLB-Class lands in mid-2020.

Although not the highest-spec Allspace you can get, the Comfortline still punches above its mid-spec weight when it comes to equipment.

Things like an electric tailgate, LED headlights and tri-zone climate control are well and truly premium bits of kit.

Those match well with 18-inch alloy wheels, an 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support as well as built-in nav, auto folding wing mirrors, keyless entry and push start, and a rechargeable torch in the luggage area.

You can even option the front-drive base car we had here with things like leather seats and a panoramic sunroof, although frustratingly, adaptive cruise control is part of a $1600 ‘Assistance Package.'

More on the safety inclusions later in this review.

Regardless, the Tiguan looks and feels like the semi-premium package it should be considering its price premium over rivals. Just be aware it gets expensive quickly when you start ticking option boxes or going after all-wheel drive, for example.

No complaints here. With 170kW/350Nm on tap from a four-cylinder turbo-petrol, you can’t make the argument the 25i needs more power.

BMW has stopped short of saying there will be a faster M version of the X1, and there probably shouldn’t be, what’s offered here is more than enough. BMW claims the 25i will sprint from 0-100km/h in just 6.5 seconds.

The 25i is ‘xDrive’ all-wheel drive only and drives power to the wheels via an eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission.

The entry-level Allspace 110TSI comes with a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine.

It produces 110kW/250Nm which probably sounds a little light-on for such a big SUV (driving section spoiler: it is) although, isn’t too bad considering Honda’s similarly sized CR-V gets by with a very similar powertrain.

This is the only Allspace with a six-speed dual-clutch auto. Higher-spec 2.0-litre all-wheel drive models get a seven-speed instead.

How much fuel you will consume will largely depend on how much the punchy engine will tempt your right foot, but the claimed/combined figure on the X1’s spec sheet is 7.1L/100km.

Despite enjoying the 25i more than I care to admit, my average fuel usage over a fairly representative ‘combined’ week came out as 7.9L/100km. Not bad at all.

The X1 requires mid-grade 95RON unleaded petrol and has a 61 litre fuel tank.

The Allspace 110TSI drinks a minimum of 95RON petrol, with a claimed/combined ] of 6.6L/100km.

Our real-life test produced a much higher 9.1L/100km. I expected it to be higher than the claimed figure given the extra weight of the Allspace, but perhaps not that much higher.

The 110TSI also has a slightly smaller fuel tank than the 2.0L versions at 58L.

The X1 drives like a BMW – for better or worse.

There are some great attributes. The steering is a fantastic balance of weight and speed, the internal switchgear is all exactly the same as it is in the 2 Series sedan, and the suspension is firm, letting you feel every bit of the road.

That last one is possibly this car's worst attribute, though. While you’ll have an above average driving experience in the curvy stuff, the X1 is overly harsh for daily family duties.

I mean, seriously. I’m sure the average SUV buyer in this class is hardly going to be taking their kids to school via the Nurburgring every day.

If nothing else it’s a point of difference for the Bavarian SUV, and after a week you’ll be used to it. Those who do will be rewarded with one of the more engaging small SUVs on the market.

The engine proved to be distinctly punchy, impressing with its responsiveness and linear power delivery. It has a lovely (partially artificial) raspy exhaust note, to boot, which makes hopping behind the wheel all the more enjoyable.

It has some other quirks worth noting, too. I couldn’t get used to its oddly high and upright seating position, the front two seats seemed a bit narrow despite familiar BMW leather trim, and there was an undeniable heft to the whole product which made it lose its confidence when really pushed in the corners.

The X1 won me over, though. By the time I was handing the keys back, I did just want one more go…

The Allspace offers up a very VW drive experience – and it’s mostly good.

Many of the main characteristics are just like a Golf or Polo. Accurate steering which is pleasantly light for city-slicking, an overall comfort suspension tune which is great for soaking up potholes, and an impressively quiet cabin.\

What’s not so great is the dollops of turbo lag served up by this engine. It’s more annoying than the same engine in a Golf, because the simple physics of moving such a large object lends itself to a few precious milliseconds of delay.

I found myself pressing the pedal further out of frustration, only to have the front wheels spin when the torque finally arrived a full second later.

It’s no athlete then. Perhaps it doesn’t need to be, but if you want a drive experience without these characteristics you’ll need to shop even further up the price scale to the 2.0L versions.

The six-speed dual clutch is a slick shifter though, and unlike previous iterations of this ‘box it has almost no jerkiness at low speed.

Overall, the suspension tune was good, but there are moments where it feels extra-stiff around the rear.

I’m not entirely sure why I noticed this more over say, a regular Tiguan, but all I can report is the rear seat passengers might notice it on larger potholes.

As a city-slicker, it’s narrow but long body also betrays its size, making it feel hatch-like to navigate around tight streets. Admittedly, this did not quite extend to parking and three-point turns.

Otherwise it’s a quiet ride, and once you’re at freeway speeds one of the best places to be in the segment.

The base car scores active safety refinements which include auto emergency braking (AEB – works at freeway speeds with pedestrian detection), lane keep assist, and park assist.

The Tiguan has seven airbags, with curtain airbags which cover even the third row. The expected stability and brake controls are also present.

The safety offering can be upped by ticking the ‘Driver Assistance Package’ box ($1600 – worth it) which includes blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, as well as ‘traffic jam assist’ (allows the cruise control to stop and go at traffic), and ‘emergency assist’ (will try to alert a non-responsive driver then drive into a shoulder if no response is received).

It’s a good standard set of standard features, but truly impressive with the affordable assistance pack.

BMW insists on a three-year warranty package, going so far as going on the record saying owners don’t want more (really… what kind of owner doesn’t want a competitive five-year warranty?). Regardless, it is the standard for cars in the premium segment, with the exception of Lexus which offers four years.

It would be nice to see premium automakers raise the game a little here, but the X1 is thankfully offered with a capped price servicing program.

Like other premium brands it is offered as a package at the time of purchase and covers five years of services. The 'Basic' program costs $1550, while the 'Plus' program comes in at $4420. The main difference between each program is whether wear items like brake pads, wiper blades, etc, are included.

Volkswagen has updated its warranty to match mainstream automakers at five-years/unlimited kilometres, so it’s on-par with major Japanese rivals there.

Servicing can be packaged up (and bundled in on finance) at the time of purchase, with a three-year package costing $1350 and a five-year package costing $2500.

We’d absolutely recommend sticking to the five-year package if you intend to keep the vehicle for the warranty period. You do legitimately save money on what VW calls ‘servicing RRP.’