2017 Subaru Forester vs Volkswagen Tiguan

What's the difference?

The Forester is a very solid, uncomplicated car. It does a lot of things very well and nothing badly. The range is wide and varied with petrol, diesel and turbocharged boxer fours, but the pick  has to be the 2.5i-S. Equipped with the EyeSight safety system, the engine best-suited to the transmission and an unstressed demeanour, it's got the goods as an excellent family SUV.

The Tiguan 162TSI Highline with the R-Line pack is consistently excellent across the board from value, features and practicality, to ride, performance and handling. The only area where it loses ground to its rivals is in ownership because, going by Volkswagen’s price guide, it may cost you more to service . Still, this is very possibly the best mid-sized SUV on the planet in this price range, and it would certainly be a huge mistake not to consider the Tiguan 162 TSI Highline (and the R-Line package) if you’re hunting for a sporty mid-sized SUV.

More than any other car in the segment, the Forester's exterior design tells the story. A big, boxy unit, the Forester's external dimensions give you a good idea of its generous interior space. Despite its size, it's never an imposing sight on the road.

The Forester's off-road capabilitiy is among the highest in its class. The front bumper sits high off the ground to maximise the approach angle (23 degrees), the rear bumper the same, for 25 degrees, and a 20 degree rampover angle is a result of the 22cm ground clearance. The owner’s manual lists the wading depth as 360mm and says the water “shouldn’t reach the undercarriage of the car”.Lower in the range, the slim side skirts are minimal and fitted to the door (unpainted on some models) to avoid muddy calves.

Inside is a huge cabin, with lofty headroom and lots of glass for a good view out. How many seats? Five, and they're all reasonably comfortable if a bit slippy in cars with leather trim. No Forester has a third row, despite looking like it might fit. Rear legroom is excellent and six footers (and over) are quite happy in the rear. Our interior photos show a big, airy space, with room for people and their things. Avant garde it is not, but it's a practical, easily cleaned interior that's focused on usability.

The driver is almost assaulted with information. As well as the comprehensive dashboard, there's a second information screen higher up, delivering various extraneous information and, of course, an electronic gyroscope for the off-road fans.

The previous generation Tiguan was quite small and curvy. This new one has grown so much in size that it’s been bumped up into the mid-size SUV class. The Tiguan has gone all angular, with crisp paper crease-like lines down that broad bonnet and along its sides.

Show me the dimensions, you say. Okay, the Tiguan is now 4486mm long (60mm more than the old car), 1839mm wide (+30mm) and 1658mm tall. But even then it’s still smaller than the CX-5 (4540mm long) and RAV4 (4605mm long).

You can spot a 162TSI Highline from other Tiguans by its trapezoidal exhaust tips and the darkened head and tail-lights. The R-Line package adds a front bumper with gloss black air intakes and a rear bumper with a diffuser that also gets the same gloss black treatment. The pack also brings side skirts, a rear spoiler, chrome tailpipes and 20-inch alloy wheels.

It’s a handsome, prestigious, solid looking beast, and wearing that 'Pure White' paint with gloss black bits it looks more than just a bit like a storm trooper helmet.

Then there’s all the R-line badging which is not just on the grille but also on the steering wheel, the headrests, and the illuminated door sills. The R-Line pack gives the interior leather upholstery and stainless steel pedals, too. 

This stylish cabin has a high quality feel and the fit and finish outshines even the best of its rivals.

The storage space is protected from prying eyes by a retractable blind, kind of like a tonneau cover on a ute. Luggage capacity starts at 422 litres with the rear seats up and 1474 with them down. While the boot dimensions seem modest, it's a good shape and will take plenty of luggage. In addition to the boot space, you've got roof rails for those awkward extras.

If there are four passengers on board, each will benefit from a cup holder - two up front, two in ther rear while each door will hold a small bottle. The glovebox holds the hefty set of books that come with the car, including the almost inch-thick owner's manual.

The new Tiguan’s 2681mm wheelbase is 76mm longer than the previous one – that’s a decent upsize and means more cabin space. I’m 191cm, which means I shouldn’t dance unless I have sufficient space around me, and also means I can’t sit behind my driving position in many of the cars I test. But I can in the Tiguan with about 3cm of air between my knees and the seat back. I have about the same amount of headroom back there, too.

Storage is excellent – the luggage capacity of the Tiguan’s boot is 615 litres (VDA), which is 200 litres more than the CX-5’s cargo room, and 30 litres more than the RAV4’s. The boot also has built-in plastic tubs on each side for wet clothes; there are similar moulded tubs on the outside seats in the back row, two cup holders in the centre fold-down armrest and two more up front. 

There are gigantic bottle holders in all the doors, a drawer under the front passenger’s seat and a net pocket on that side of the centre console. The driver has a pull-out tray nearest their door on the dash and there’s also the centre console storage bin, two overhead drop-down boxes, and a dash-top bin with a pop-up lid.

There are tray tables with pop out cup holders on the backs of the front seats and map pockets below them. 

There is a spare wheel, but it’s a space saver.

The Tiguan 162 TSI Highline lists for $48,490, the $4000 R-Line package and $2000 Driver Assistance Package bring that up to $54,490, while our car's non-metallic 'Pure White' paint doesn’t cost extra. 

The 'Driver Assistance Package' swaps the traditional speedo and tacho for a virtual instrument cluster, able to transform into your navigation map, among other things. It's as pretty as it is useful.

The pack also brings the excellent adaptive cruise control, which takes care of all the tedious stopping and starting in heavy motorway traffic, as well as rear cross traffic alert and lane keeping assistance.

We’ve been through what the R-Line package brings in our chat about the design of the car including the leather seats with embossed R-Line logos, but looks aside it also adds 'Adaptive Chassis Control' which is normally only on Volkswagen’s GTI and R models.

Being the top grade, the 162TSI Highline has pretty much Volkswagen’s entire inventory of features thrown at it. There’s the 8.0-inch touchscreen with the top of the range 'Discover Pro' media unit with voice control. It’s also ready for Apple Car play and Android Auto, plus there’s an excellent eight-speaker sound system. 

Add in a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, auto parking, an automatic tailgate with kick open function, three-zone climate control, proximity unlocking, LED headlights and DRLS, and tinted rear windows.

The Forester is available with a range of horizontally opposed four-cylinder units, a lovable Subaru (and Porsche) quirk that gives them their unique sound. The engines vary in size, type and fuel - a 2.0-litre, a 2.5-litre, a 2.0-litre turbo petrol and a 2.0-litre turbo diesel. Every one of your choices is all-wheel drive (or, depending on how you were brought up, 4x4), meaning no front-wheel drive or 4x2 versions.

The 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four produces 110kW at 6200rpm and 198Nm at 4200rpm and is paired exclusively with the manual. Moving up to the 2.5-litre, the ratings improve to 126kW at 5800rpm and 235Nm at 4100rpm, but it's CVT only. Both of these engine specfications run on standard unleaded and feature stop-start.

Next up is the diesel, producing 108kW at 3600rpm. The torque specs are the eye-opener here, with 350Nm available from 1600rpm to 2400rpm. A diesel particulate filter ensures a clean exhaust even under load.

At the top of the range is the 2.0-litre turbo petrol in the XT pair - 177kW at 5600rpm and a diesel-equalling 350Nm, but delivered at 2400-3600rpm.

You won't be tossing up between auto vs manual on all Foresters - only the 2.0-litre petrol or 2.0 diesel have a six-speed manual transmission option. Subaru is not a fan of a "normal" automatics, preferring to fit a continuously variable transmission, or CVT. Depending on driving style, the CVT impersonates a six-speed or seven-speed auto.

Also not available are EV or plug-in hybrid versions (no room for a battery) or LPG. 

The gross vehicle weight is rated at a tick over two tonnes, with a further tonne added when towing.

Oil type is dependent on which type of fuel the engine drinks. The question of timing belt or chain is an easy one - all of them have a low-maintenance timing chain for for improved durability, and to avoid the reliability issues related to unserviced rubber-belted engines.

A scan of the usual internet forums yielded little in the way of diesel-engine problems.

Towing capacity differs between the naturally-aspirated and turbo models. 2.0 and 2.5 petrols can drag 1500kg with a braked trailer and 750kg unbraked while the 2.0 turbo diesel and 2.0 turbo in the XT can pull 1800 braked and 750kg unbraked.

Performance figures differ across the range. The 2.0i does the 0-100 sprint in around 10.6 seconds, the 2.5i slightly quicker at 9.9, with the XT dropping below eight seconds.

The gross vehicle weight is rated at a tick over two tonnes, with a further tonne added when towing.

The 162TSI Highline is powered by a 162kW/350Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine. That’s a lot of power - as much as a 5.8-litre Ford Falcon V8 from the 1970s. This is the same engine which is in the current Golf GTI (although the new GTI, due here by the middle of 2017, will have a smidge more power).

It’s an excellent engine, and even though the Tiguan is about 300kg heavier than the Golf GTI it has the same 0-100km/h time of 6.5s, which is quick for a hatch, and unmatched for a mid-sized SUV in this price bracket.

The most powerful engine in Mazda’s CX-5 range is 138kW/250Nm 2.5-litre four, while the best a petrol RAV4 can do is 132kW/233Nm. The 162 TSI would leave both in its rear vision mirror. 

The transmission is a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, called a DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) by VW.

Oh, and it’s all-wheel drive.

The R-Line package doesn’t add any extra grunt, but it does give it better handling.

Fuel-consumption figures are important to many buyers. Each Forester has the same tank capacity of 60 litres.

The 2.0i's combined figure is listed at 7.2L/100km, while the 2.5 returns a claimed 8.1L/100km. Peter Anderson's long-term 2.5i-S is returning 10.2L/100km in mixed driving, diving to 9.0L/100km in highway running.

Stepping up to the turbo petrol, the combined consumption nudges to 8.5L/100km, probably to do with the fatter torque figure. Our most recent run in the XT saw a return of 11.4L/100km. 

The diesel vs petrol argument is unlikely to be settled on horsepower or torque but by diesel fuel economy - the oil burner delivers a claimed 5.9L/100km (manual)/6.6L/100km (CVT) .

The 162TSI Highline is the most powerful Tiguan and also the thirstiest. Volkswagen says it will need on average 8.1L/100km. After a week, according to the car’s trip computer it was sucking 95 RON premium unleaded at an average rate of 13.6L/100km. I do drive like I eat though, and I wolf my food down… it’s not pretty.  

A stop-start system will also save you fuel, although it is quick to kill the engine, and that takes a little getting used to.

First impressions of the naturally aspirated Foresters are good. The electric power steering is light, but weights up in the corners for that bit of extra feel. The car isn't afraid to roll, but it's well-controlled.

While you wouldn't call them all-terrain tyres, the Foresters standard rubber will contribute to reasonable off-road performance, if not the quietest when it comes to noise. There is good grip available on road - the all-wheel drive certainly helps there - but when you're on the slippery stuff, the tyres come into their own.

When you're entering challenging terrain, the 2.5i cars and up have an X-Mode switch. Rather than a traditional diff lock, X Mode controls the behaviour of the various diffs to handle mud and moderate rock-hopping. You can activate at speeds of up to 40km/h.

Manual cars - and there are very few of those - have Subaru's traditionally firm clutch.

With the exception of the XT, none of the Foresters offers startling acceleration figures, but once you're up to speed, there's enough pulling power to keep things calm on the freeway. The surge of torque in the turbo seems to occasionally overwhelm the CVT, which is much happier in the 2.0 and 2.5 cars.

You'll see plenty of Foresters hauling trailers and we've certainly filled the 2.5i-S long-termer with all manner of things, and its load capacity continues to impress.

On the move, the Starlink system is blessed with a snappy interface, but unfortunately the software itself isn't too flash. The sat nav that comes with Starlink is basic but perfectly usable.

Despite its all-wheel drive and larger wheel sizes, the turning circle is 10.6m, which will let you get away with a U-turn in most suburban streets.

Lower in the range, the front seats aren't particularly comfortable on long drives - they're really flat in the base and don't have much support, particularly in corners. Even the "luxury pack" XT Premium doesn't have particularly sporty seats, so if you get a bit ambitious, you might have to hang on.

The reversing camera is handy, but without rear parking sensors, you won't know what's out of the camera's radius.

I put more than 350km on the clock of our test car and spent hours at a time in the driver’s seat, and here’s want I learnt. 

The 255/40 R20 Pirelli Scorpion Verde tyres on our car are far more cushioning than the 235/55 R18 Continental ContiSportContact 5 rubber on the 140TDI I tested recently, even though they’re much lower profile. 

Combine this with well sorted suspension and you’ve got a comfortable and composed ride, that feels reassuringly firm and not floaty.

Handling is excellent for a mid-sized SUV in the price bracket, thanks to the MQB chassis and the R-Line package’s drive modes which allow you to firm up the suspension. It’s agile and changes direction superbly, but cornering at higher speed does reveal a bit of body roll, and with that comes some tyre squeal. But that's normal for an SUV, which has a high centre of mass and suspension with more travel than a 'normal' car.

Forward and rear visibility is excellent, although the window sills in the back row are too high for my toddler in his car seat to see out.

The front seats could be more figure hugging – and if at 80kg and 191cm I’m moving about a bit in the corners, somebody leaner and littler would definitely not be supported much. 

The all-wheel drive system is spot-on. Some of the roads I tested this SUV on had a worrying amount of moss making a home on them and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have made it through those bends in the same controlled fashion if there wasn’t a computer adjusting traction and drive to the four wheels. 

Steering is light in Comfort mode and is given more weight in Sport mode. There’s such great feel and communication through the steering wheel. The steering wheel itself is small and fitted my hands perfectly. 

A quiet cabin with almost no wind or road noise finding its way in tops off a driving experience which is well above the norm in this segment.

The Tiguan has the maximum five-star ANCAP rating. AEB is standard on all Tiguans, but the Driver Assistance package on our test example brings adaptive cruise control, 360 camera, blind spot warning with lane changing assistance, and rear cross traffic alert.

There are three top-tether anchor points and two ISOFIX mounts for child seats. 

Foresters come with a three year/unlimited kilometre warranty and one-year roadside assistance. An extended warranty is available occasionally during promotions. It won't be difficult to convince a dealer to sell you one, but it may not be a Subaru factory warranty.

You can keep your maintenance costs in check with capped-price servicing across the range. All the details are published on the Subaru website.

Resale value appears reasonable - trade-ins seem to fetch arond half of the orignal purchase price, with private sales fetching over 60 percent of the new-car price.  

Again, a good look across the internet failed to uncover any common faults, problems, complaints or issues. Similarly, reports of suspension problems and gearbox issues are few and far between.

The Tiguan 162 TSI Highline is covered by a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. 

Servicing is recommended at 15,000km/12 month intervals with the first costing $417, the second will be $606, the third is $674, the fourth is $1183, and the fifth is back to $417.