2025 Volkswagen Tiguan 4Motion First Test: Standing Still or Moving Forward? How About Both?

After our first drive of the new-generation 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan, we were impressed by VW’s attempt at making its compact SUV better. With improved displays, real buttons on the steering wheel, and other improved tech, the Tiguan seems headed in the right direction after the previous generation had grown long in the tooth. But a short drive can only convey so much about a new vehicle, and we came away from our first Tiguan encounter merely whelmed by the driving experience, so we hauled a new Tiguan into our office for some proper testing to see whether that’s more than a feeling.

What arrived was a 2025 Tiguan SEL R-Line 4Motion model, which in VW speak means a regular Tiguan dressed up in the brand’s sporty R-Line appearance garb and equipped with 4Motion all-wheel drive. (AWD is standard on the SEL R-Line, optional on everything else.) Like every other Tiguan save for the upcoming R-Line Turbo, it’s powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged, Miller-cycle I-4 making 201 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque—newly class-average figures, as this Tiguan generation has gained 17 hp compared to the old Tiguan’s similar engine.

Besides looking more substantial than before and its interior taking a big step forward in materials quality, the new Tiguan enjoys a well-mannered chassis setup. It’s not overtly sporty, but you’ll enjoy the drive. The SUV nicely balances handling and ride comfort, and it puts up typical small-SUV performance numbers.

Around our figure eight, the Tiguan posts a 27.6-second lap time, pulling 0.62 g on average. As a direct comparison, the Honda CR-V EX-L AWD did the same loop in 28.0 seconds and pulled 0.59 g, and the Toyota RAV4 Limited AWD pulled off a 27.6-second time with 0.60 g on average. In terms of pure skidpad grip, the VW’s 0.79 g isn’t exceptional, and it actually trails those two competitors’ performances, but its better figure-eight time indicates that it's accelerating a little harder in between turns.

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As in most other SUVs of this type, the steering setup is tuned for comfort and ease of use, not sportiness. Its responses to inputs are soft, and feedback is numb. If you’re coming out of a GTI, you’ll be disappointed; everyone else will think it’s fine, even if it’s not totally congruent with the sporty R-Line visual treatment. The Pirelli Scorpion Zero All-Season tires (measuring 255/40R20) are adequate for the job they are given, and when they run out of grip, the Tiguan pushes wide with safe, predictable understeer—again, just like most other compact SUVs.

Mostly, drivers will be limited in their hurried driving by the turbocharged engine, which is just powerful enough to help the VW move around and nothing more. The 201 hp on tap contends with just shy of 4,000 pounds of Tiguan, so reaching 60 mph takes 8.1 seconds, and the quarter mile requires 16.2 seconds. That’s quicker than the non-hybrid Honda CR-V and the gas-powered Toyota RAV4, at least, but in practice they’ll all feel just about the same, the VW’s objective quickness being offset in practice by its lethargic throttle response and the transmission’s hesitancy to downshift.

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The Tiguan R-Line’s fuel economy is merely average, rated at 22/30/25 mpg city/highway/combined. The gas-powered all-wheel-drive Honda (26/31/28 mpg city/highway/combined) and Toyota (25/33/28 mpg city/highway/combined) are more efficient, and their hybrid versions even more so.

Range is in the ballpark with those key competitors, at 390 miles compared to the CR-V’s 392 miles and 406 miles from the RAV4, but we think most customers would give up the Tiguan’s barely perceivable edge in quickness (or trade some of its heft) relative to those two lighter-weight SUVs for improved fuel economy.

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As the Tiguan hasn’t grown at all since the last generation—it’s actually slightly shorter in length but shares its 109.9-inch wheelbase with its predecessor—its cargo-carrying abilities have changed.

With the second-row seats up, the Tiguan has 26.5 cubic feet of cargo room which is a drop from its 37.6 cu ft in similar two row seating models. When you fold those rear seats down cargo volume expands to 58.9 cubic feet of space in the 2025 model, but that’s a stark drop from the 73.5 cu-ft of the 2025 version. The RAV4’s numbers are larger with the second-row seats up (37.5 cubic feet) and down (69.8 cubes). The CR-V is the cargo king of the three with its 39.3 and 76.5 cu ft capacities.

Is the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan SEL R-line 4Motion a much-improved vehicle? Absolutely, thanks to its substantial interior and tech upgrades. Performance-wise, it more or less matches its predecessor’s acceleration, braking, and grip numbers while landing midpack among today’s compact SUVs.

Pricing, of course, has risen almost across the board, if only just. Last year’s Tiguan started at $30,305, and this one starts at $30,920. Comparing the range-topping (for now) SEL R-Line 4Motion to the 2024 version, prices open at $40,405, down $775. Again, this price tag is in line with nicer versions of the gas-powered Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, and it’s hardly out of line for the class. If you don’t need the R-Line dress-up bits or features, you can always stick with an entry-level SE and save a bunch of money—it’s mechanically identical to this SEL R-Line.