2011 Honda CR-V vs US 2011 VW Tiguan

[trd2343]

My mom is going to trade in her van for one of the 2 cars above and I was wondering if revscene could give me some feedback. She's probably going to drive this car for 10 years.

2011 Honda CR-V EX-L - roughly $31000 MSRP after cash and previous year model (when 2012 comes out) discount

2011 VW Tiguan w/ leather - don't know as of now, VW US doesn't sell to Canadian citizen, so I just gave LP Auto a call and they're going to get back to me with a quote

I think VW warranty transfer over but it's a bit different between the 2 countries

Canada
Basic limited warranty - 80,000/4 years

US
Basic limited warranty - 60,000/3 years

My mom likes the Tiguan more, but it's bit more expensive here in Canada. Unfortunately, I haven't bought a vehicle from the US before, nor have I owned an VW vehicle before either, so I'm not sure what to expect or if there's any problems I might run into.

If reliability was the top priority, which one would you recommend? I heard of both good and bad things about VW's recent reliability, so any personal experience would be great.

Also, have anyone dealt with LP Auto before?

[spoon.ek9]

was i the only one who came into this thread thinking someone actually made a video of these two racing on track and thinking "wtf?"

anyways, don't mind me OP. good luck with your decision.

[dark0821]

lol... you werent the only one EK....
I am not sure, but if your mom is going to stick with the vehicle for 10 years, i would just go for jap, because of the cheaper long run maintenance

i mean when it comes down to an euro VW part compare to a jap honda part... you will know which one is cheaper...

[CP.AR]

will your mom actually go off-roading?

if the answer is no,

CR-V

[trd2343]

Originally Posted by Captain Picard

will your mom actually go off-roading?

if the answer is no,

CR-V

Sorry, why should that deter my mom from getting the Tiguan though? My mom likes the interior of the Tiguan, unless there is something bad about the Tiguan.

[SumAznGuy]

My co-worker has had his Tiguan for a year now and it has had a few minor warrenty issues. Bolts coming loose and things rattling. Besides that, nothing major so far.
As for power, the turbo'd motor is way better than the 2.4 NA motor in the CRV. Both vehicles weigh over 3000 lbs.

If you ask me, the Tiguan and CRV are not in the same class. And the CRV is deffinately not worth the $$$ when you can pay a little bit more and get more car out of the RDX, which imo is in the same class as the Tiguan.

[Indy]

GF owns a 2010 Tiguan and the only issue that we have had is that in the winter time, the door lock freezes. The dealership's solution is "Park in a heated garage". That's the only real frustration we've had. Overall the Tiguan has been a great car.

Dunno if the 2011 solved the door lock problem. (almost 0 aftermarket...but I'm sure your mom doesn't care.)

[CP.AR]

Originally Posted by reamemiya

Sorry, why should that deter my mom from getting the Tiguan though? My mom likes the interior of the Tiguan, unless there is something bad about the Tiguan.

My mom has a 2004 CR-V. It's a good, reliable car (well, it's a Honda) However, 4wd traction was horrible from my experience driving it down a dirt road or on snow.

IMO the Tiguan will be much more refined for off-roading, but will be shot down by the CR-V in one blow in terms of reliability.
Friends who own VWs (mostly GTIs and Golfs) say that sure German engineering is good, but the way the stuff is put together is shabby and the electronics fail at least once a week after a bit

[mmmk]

My sister has a 07 CRV. I agree with others when they say that thing sucks ass in the snow!

Besides that, no other major warranty issues. I say go for the CR-V if you're looking for a long term reliable car.

[donjalapeno]

Tiguan.....the TFSI engine is baus sauce with minimal turbo lag however i found that the touch screen isnt responsive enough thats the case for all vdubs though even the premium toureag or passat cc has this issue.

[ilvtofu]

A Day in the Life of an Internet Car Forum - YouTube

An APR stage 1 ECU upgrade would squeeze quite a lot out of a 2.0 TSI

lol jk

IMO 4motion will probably be better than whatever the CRV has just based on historical findings, I haven't driven either so I dont know

The Tiguan uses the tiptronic instead of the DSG, I haven't driven the tiptronic but I am not a fan of the DSG for city driving, I guess it's a little irrelevant though haha.

If you can get them for a similar price by buying the tiguan through LP auto I'd go with the tiguan

[!Aznboi128]

if you want it for 10 years with minimal costs get the cr-v

I had couple of vdubs in the family and get friends with them almost everyone has issues. the Passat all the power windows wont work, coolant keeps leaking. The jetta door locks were messed up ( 2 years )

No hating on vdubs, but they could be made better.

the Cr-v would give you less headaches overall, however like said above the rdx is wonderfull to drive and quite fun.

edit: forgot to mention Tiguan and RDX will require 91 cr-v will run 87

[godwin]

To the OP

If you get the car in the US, you will have to make sure the warranty is transferrable into Canada. (so your warranty comparison is comparing apple with oranges)

Tiguan has xenon as option.. which is a god send when the weather is horrible. (The wavelength of the HID lights up road signs and anything with reflectors attached eg cyclists much further down the road than normal halogen).

Reliability of a particular car honestly is a crap shoot. Even if you pick the most reliability brand, the most reliability year (the only crunch the data AFTER the MY is over) AND the reliability of the model range.. you can still end up with a lemon. It is better than buying lottery tickets but it is still statistics and probability.

If you get the Tiguan, get it in Canada because service (not just warranty) is included in Canada for the first few years.. also think about leasing it.. You take the outlay and put it in an investment eg Gold, you pocket the difference.. considering interest rate is so low right now and will be for the considerable future. Most manufacturer's lease rates are sub 2% lower if you are a returning customers etc.

[haulin oats]

VW warranty DOES NOT transfer to canada when buying a US vehicle effective 2009MY.

Tiguan all the way.

[trd2343]

Apologies all, it looks like Canada does not honor the warranty from US cars since MY2009 (thanks for pointing it out haulin oats). Last time I checked it was transferable, so I assumed it still was.


My mom doesn't like the other SUVs (not because of brand, she doesn't like styling, drive, etc.)

I'll definitely take a look at RDX as someone pointed out, but RDX starts at $40k, and right now, CR-V is $30-31k with rebates, so that's a huge difference, at least for me.

godwin, I went to a VW dealership, and they said since Tiguan isn't a mass-produced car like CR-V, it's hard to get discounts for them even when buying previous year models. The sales said max of $2k discount, so we're still looking at roughly a $4-5k difference between the CR-V and Tiguan.


Anyhow, looks like it will be the CR-V. I'll probably pick up a set of winter tire, so traction shouldn't be a big problem. Thanks all.


Lastly, is there any Honda dealership I should stay away from?

[Evolutionian]

Originally Posted by reamemiya

Apologies all, it looks like Canada does not honor the warranty from US cars since MY2009 (thanks for pointing it out haulin oats). Last time I checked it was transferable, so I assumed it still was.


My mom doesn't like the other SUVs (not because of brand, she doesn't like styling, drive, etc.)

I'll definitely take a look at RDX as someone pointed out, but RDX starts at $40k, and right now, CR-V is $30-31k with rebates, so that's a huge difference, at least for me.

godwin, I went to a VW dealership, and they said since Tiguan isn't a mass-produced car like CR-V, it's hard to get discounts for them even when buying previous year models. The sales said max of $2k discount, so we're still looking at roughly a $4-5k difference between the CR-V and Tiguan.


Anyhow, looks like it will be the CR-V. I'll probably pick up a set of winter tire, so traction shouldn't be a big problem. Thanks all.


Lastly, is there any Honda dealership I should stay away from?

I dunno which dealership you went to, obviously if you pay cash there are more room than that, also if you want, you can come visit me at Cowell VW in the automall, maybe Ill be able to get you a deal.

[nack]

do you have to buy them brand new?

if not, wait a bit and buy it used

[cococly]

My family bought the Tiguan. It drives better, has a more refined engine, and slightly more power than the CRV. =]