VW Tiguan or Subaru Forester?

[Sandgroper]

Last night the wife said she liked the look of the CX5, I told her it only came in an auto but she wants to have a drive anyway.

I still wish Mitsubishi had something good out now!

[BrisVegas]

It's amazing how many small/medium SUVs there are on the market right now when you think about it. The traditional Aussie large sedan has died off big time. Small cars, loaded with gizmos and high-riding city SUVs are so popular now.

I have to admit, I've come to enjoy the high seating position of the Pajero and would seriously consider something like an ASX/Dualis/XV etc if we ever got a smaller car. And I've come from a background of low to the ground stuff (Escort, Integra, Accord, Passat, Focus, Fiesta etc..)

[Stevie-Ray]

G'day,

NFI about the VW, never driven one but I did own a Forester for about 5 or 6 years, was the first car I used to go camping etc, was super reliable, never missed a beat and it copped a hard life, thought it was a great car and economical too... Could swallow a surprising amount of gear for camping etc... And the low ratio came in handy too... Would be great in a diesel for economy and touring range...

Cheers,
Andrew

A couple of my mates have Outbacks, one is brand new but the other is older & has been used regularly for camping & touring, & he reckons the low-ratio is invaluable.
My questions are; does the Forester still come with the low-ratio (even though it's not as low as Pajeros, etc.), & does the VW have it?

Steve

[DaveXT]

A couple of my mates have Outbacks, one is brand new but the other is older & has been used regularly for camping & touring, & he reckons the low-ratio is invaluable.
My questions are; does the Forester still come with the low-ratio (even though it's not as low as Pajeros, etc.), & does the VW have it?

Steve

I don't think the turbo petrol or the turbo Diesel forester come with a low range and pretty
sure the Tiguan is the same.
They are both considered soft roaders and they both make a lot of Torque and would probably tear something apart if they multiplied the Torque through a low range box.
BTW I have owned a Turbo petrol forester and My wife currently owns a turbo diesel VW and my vote would go to any Subaru over any VW for the reasons stated in previous posts.

[Bundyk]

I am wondering Sandgroper, since you are concidering the Tiguan, have you looked at the Skoda Yeti? Pretty sure its the same car underneath (same driveline at least) and I am almost certain it has some form of low range as well.

Just a thought.

[Merts]

It's amazing how many small/medium SUVs there are on the market right now when you think about it. The traditional Aussie large sedan has died off big time.

I've had a 2002 petrol auto X-Trail from new. After having it, I wouldn't even consider a 'normal' aussie sedan or wagon (falcon/commodore) after having the Nissan.
The "SUV" is....

• More versatile for load carrying.
• Shorter and easier to park.
• Easier to get in and out of.
• Way more ground clearance.
• Better for towing.
• Surprisingly capable for 'moderate' off-road work.

The new 2WD X-Trail would tick most of the boxes for a lot of people, and they cost a fair bit less than either the ford or holden wagons.

[Sandgroper]

I am wondering Sandgroper, since you are concidering the Tiguan, have you looked at the Skoda Yeti? Pretty sure its the same car underneath (same driveline at least) and I am almost certain it has some form of low range as well.

Just a thought.

Yes we had a look at the Yeti and Octavia Scout. I got the " Are you serious " look from the wife with the Yeti, they really are that ugly. The Scout is like an AWD Passat but the interior quality of both are well short of VW. The price difference isn't as big as I thought it would be either.

[MTN-KAT]

Hi Sandgroper, does the space saver spare wheel in the Tiguan not bother you?
It appears there is only about $380 spread over five years the difference in servicing costs for 6 month servicing of both. This 12 month servicing interval is just a marketing ploy IMHO. The additional cost for the Tiguan to extend to 5 year warranty over the Forester is a blow, and why is it so much more expensive?
The established credentials of Subaru are hard to dismiss. See a Forester everyday on the road. Good luck.

[Sandgroper]

Hi Sandgroper, does the space saver spare wheel in the Tiguan not bother you?
It appears there is only about $380 spread over five years the difference in servicing costs for 6 month servicing of both. This 12 month servicing interval is just a marketing ploy IMHO. The additional cost for the Tiguan to extend to 5 year warranty over the Forester is a blow, and why is it so much more expensive?
The established credentials of Subaru are hard to dismiss. See a Forester everyday on the road. Good luck.

As much as I liked the VW I am just not confident in the long term reliability of it. As I said earlier we will keep the Pajero for another five years and the new car for ten years and replace the Pajero in five more years and repeat the cycle.

I'm hoping to have a drive in the CX5 today and see how my wife goes with the auto. The Forester is really quite dated now and is due for replacement at the end of the year. In saying that I am confident it will last 10 years. The new diesel Outlander might be out in January but I'm hearing different reports on that.

The more I look around the more I see just how good the Pajero is. Yes it's been face lifted for a decade but it's solid as a rock and is still nice to drive.

[Sandgroper]

Update.

We looked at the CX5 but never drove it, front looks ugly and the headrest angles forward so much my wife didn't even want to drive it. Rear visibility looked terrible too.

We then looked at the Forester again and my wife didn't like the look of it either and with a brand new model coming out at the end of the year that put us off too.

I hadn't really looked at the Outback because we wanted a smaller car and the Outback sits between the Forester and Pajero. My wife liked the look of it so we test drove it and she liked it. It has the same mechanicals as the Forester so I'm confident it'll last the 10 years we want to keep it. Also the interior is nicer than the Forester, it's just been updated. As an end of financial year special they are $39990 drive away making them cheaper than the Forester.

We signed on the dotted line today and it'll be ready at the end of the week. Finance was good too at 5.78%.

So we ended up with pretty much what we wanted; diesel, manual and all wheel drive.

Thanks for all the comments guys, very appreciated.

[BrisVegas]

Well done! You can't go wrong with a Subaru, and the Outback is a classy vehicle. Appreciably bigger inside than the Forester too.

[Simone]

The dealer said it has been pushed back to at least the first quarter of 2013, maybe later.

Hey Sandgroper, I'm Simone, Mitsubishi's Community Manager. I just came across this conversation and and thought it would be worth letting you know that the new Outlander will actually arrive in Australia in December 2012. It's only the plug-in hybrid that will be following in mid 2013.

Cheers, Simone

[MTN-KAT]

Hey Sandgroper, congrats. You both have arrived at a decision you are both happy with and a good choice IMHO. This will be ever so more evident to you in five years time! Enjoy.

[Bundyk]

Update.

We looked at the CX5 but never drove it, front looks ugly and the headrest angles forward so much my wife didn't even want to drive it. Rear visibility looked terrible too.

We then looked at the Forester again and my wife didn't like the look of it either and with a brand new model coming out at the end of the year that put us off too.

I hadn't really looked at the Outback because we wanted a smaller car and the Outback sits between the Forester and Pajero. My wife liked the look of it so we test drove it and she liked it. It has the same mechanicals as the Forester so I'm confident it'll last the 10 years we want to keep it. Also the interior is nicer than the Forester, it's just been updated. As an end of financial year special they are $39990 drive away making them cheaper than the Forester.

We signed on the dotted line today and it'll be ready at the end of the week. Finance was good too at 5.78%.

So we ended up with pretty much what we wanted; diesel, manual and all wheel drive.

Thanks for all the comments guys, very appreciated.

Congrats on the new car mate! Im sure you guys will love it, and it should have no issues at all in lasting the 10 or so yrs you are wanting to keep it.

[HSV Rangie]

outback is a great car.

High riding lib.

enjoy, Subs are great.

Michael.