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.

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. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. On the other hand, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, BMW X3 offers a marginal difference of 7% more metal.

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Volkswagen does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. That's the official data, 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. The same official information place Tiguan as average reliability-wise, and X3 is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Tiguan rank it on average as 4.5, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.3 out of 5.

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.

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. Anyway, that's the most objective conclusion I could've came up with and it's based solely on the information found on this website. Aspects such as design, practicality, brand value and driving experience are there for you to measure them out. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.