If I could choose any car to get, I’d probably get a previous gen 4 series Gran coupe, which is a liftback (basically sedan, but with a fully opening trunk, not to be confused with short boxy hatchbacks) and which offers a premium feel, great handling and practicallity all in one.
However because of my short garage (5m total length) with a steep ramp, I can only get short hatchbacks (which I always had and am bored with) or smaller SUV’s. X3 sized cars are way too long and 3 series touring, even if it would squeeze by length, doesn’t have a high clearance to go over the steep ramp.
So, my main two contenders are the Tiguan and X1 F48, which of these is better and why?
I’d say that they are relatively similar and belong in the same class between economy cars like the Ford Kuga/Renault Captur and more luxury ones like the X3/XC60
Used they cost around the same and can be found in loads of engine and spec configurations
While the X1 F48 gets a lot of hate in the BMW community for being FWD, as someone who prefers fwd and lives in a place where it snows, that’s only a big plus for me.
Another complaint about the F48 is that it shares the interior with the previous gen 1 series and isn’t as polished as the higher class SUV’s, but then again the 1 series is probably the most premium car in it’s segment, so I don’t see why that should matter. It looks nicer than economy alternatives and sound insulation is as good as in any other car in the class.
The Tiguan has a somewhat larger cargo space, but at the cost of being a bit heavier, longer and taller
Performance and consumption wise they seem about equal, with the X1 being a little bit more economical probably due to it being shorter. I guess it’s the same thing with handling.
…so based on these assumptions, I guess that an X1 would be a better choice…or did I miss something?
Don’t know much about the BMW. Have had a Tiguan SEL premium since 2018. No complaints. Handles better and cleaner than my wife’s Rav4. Not that spry off the line but the turbo engine gives it some great torque when needed at speed, especially when you click it into sport mode which is just a tug on the stick.
Super comfortable for rear passengers with tons of legroom.
Tons of bells and whistles that you’d have to compare it side-by-side with the BMW.
Not trying to be difficult, but have you looked at the Subaru Forester? Would it fit? I’m on my second Forester, and love it, and my cousin bought the BMW X1 and sold it after a year to get a Forester instead. He is completely satisfied with the Forester and says it’s much better than the BMW.
I have no dog in this fight as I haven’t driven any of these, but as person who likes superficial things, I’ve always thought the Mazda to be a very handsome car, more than the X1 and considerably more so than the Tiguan and the Forester. Look at those curves!
Yeah, after I concluded my research, the Mazda CX-5 and the Subaru Forester were neck and neck. The Honda CR-V actually rated a hair higher than both but I do not like the look of it.
I test drove the Mazda and was sold. Did not even make it to the Subaru dealer (although that probably would have impressed as well).
As I’m from east Europe, here both Mazda and especially Subaru’s are much rarer, the service network is also much less developed and parts are more expensive, while VW, BMW and German cars are everywhere, they are cheaper to fix and they are generally cheaper as is.
There’s 295 Tiguan’s on ads vs like 14 CX-5’s, of which most are new from dealers and just one has a sub 2.0 engine, 2.1 and above here mean more than double the yearly tax (equialent to two monthly salaries), so no one buys those except rich people, everyone goes for 2.0’s and smaller.
In other words, CX-5’s are out of reach, Foresters are also very limited, there’s literally one newer gen Forester and it looks very cheap inside, I suppose it’s just a basic package one. I’m looking for something that will give me as much of a premium feel and safety/parking/comfort features as I can get in that price range.
XC40’s for whatever reason cost more than 10k than Tiguan’s and X1’s, but if they didn’t, I’d probably look at them too. I’m also looking at Seat Ateca’s, which are essentially rebadged and slightly cheaper Tiguan’s with pretty much the same features, and even though it’s a different body type, I’m also looking at F31 touring’s. They cost almost half the price of Tiguans, but offer a similar (if not better?) quality, great handling, loads of space, but since I have a very steep garage ramp, I wouldn’t be able to park it in the garage, while all others I mentioned have a high enough clearance to pass the ramp without getting stuck.