Overview

Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the suv segment and utilize the same 5-door suv body style and the 4 x 4 wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 150hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 150hp engine designed by BMW.

Safety

The first thing to look into here would be the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests performed on the two cars. Good thing is that both vehicles got tested, with the Volkswagen being a slightly better choice apparently. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? On the other hand, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, BMW X3 offers a marginal difference of 7% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Volkswagen does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Volkswagen with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the BMW badge with 4.1 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Tiguan 29% below average, and X3 21% below the first one. Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as Tiguan rank it on average as 4.5, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.3 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Volkswagen is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 2.2 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 192 kilometers per hour, 6km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Tiguan, averaging around 8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (35 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 13% difference compared to BMW X3.

Verdict

Volkswagen appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Tiguan offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Volkswagen offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Volkswagen. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.