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2025 Volkswagen Tiguan Road Test and Review

Ron Sessions
by Ron Sessions
August 8, 2025
10 min. Reading Time
2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

For 2025, Volkswagen introduces a new third-generation iteration of the Tiguan compact SUV, its best-selling model in the U.S. This year, the Tiguan lineup includes S, SE, SE R-Line Black, SEL R-Line trims. Although tariffs may introduce some price variability for the Mexican-built
Tiguan, current pricing, including the $1,425 destination charge, ranges from $31,670 for the base S with front-wheel drive (FWD) to $41,930 for the range-topping SEL R-Line with 4Motion all-wheel drive (AWD). FWD is standard in all but the SEL R-Line. AWD is standard in the range-topping SEL R-Line and is available at a $1,500 upcharge for all lower trims.

All versions of the 2025 Tiguan offer five-passenger capacity with two rows of seats. Three-row seating is no longer offered.

Among compact SUVs, other top sellers include the Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Bronco Sport, Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Nissan Rogue, Subaru Forester, and Toyota RAV4.

What's New

This year, the Tiguan moves to VW’s MQB Evo platform, the same one underpinning the Golf GTI hot hatch. The 2025 Tiguan updates the slab-sided “Atlas Junior” look of the 2024 model to a more expressive design. As with the facelifted Taos, the new Tiguan gets a bigger, bolder bottom-breather grille, as well as slit-like adaptive LED headlamps, sporty-looking sculpted flanks with more prominent wheel arches, and a faster sloping roof and rear hatch. The SEL R-Line model driven for this road test adds illuminated front and rear VW logos and full-width light bars across the Tiguan’s front and rear. The new Tiguan is nearly two inches shorter nose to tail with shorter overhangs. The half-inch wider body rides on 17- or 18-inch wheels (S), 19-inch wheels (SE), or 20-inch wheels (R-Line).

Aside from the fresh exterior, the 2025 Tiguan gets a refreshed cabin with more upscale materials, nicer seats, larger dash screens, upgraded tech, and more power. 

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

More Luxurious Cabin

Open the door of the 2025 Tiguan and you get the feeling you’ve been upgraded. Especially in the range-topping SEL R-Line trim, the quality of cabin fitments rises to what you might expect in an Audi. Padded, soft-touch materials grace the horizontal midsection of the dash and door trim panels. The two-tone cabin color scheme looks rich, particularly in the SEL R-Line shown here with a splash of Walnut wood trim across the upper dash. A panoramic sunroof (standard in R-Line trims) brightens the passenger space.

The SE and SE R-Line Black trims get new driver-selectable 10-color ambient lighting on the doors and dashboard, while the SEL R-Line gains 30-color ambient lighting and adds backlit accents to the dash and front door trim.

This year, the center console is larger with increased stash space via a pair of open bins and a covered cubby under the height-adjustable center armrest. The console also includes a cooled wireless phone charger. With the transmission shifter relocated to the steering column, the two front cupholders have been moved forward where they are easier to access. Most physical controls have been replaced by digital ones, such as the tricky-to-see and even
trickier–to-operate sliders for climate-control temperature and audio volume adjustment on a narrow shelf under the infotainment screen. The Tiguan does, however, keep hard buttons on the steering wheel for cruise control, audio tuning, driving assistance features, and instrument cluster selections.

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Updated Tech

Ahead of the driver is the 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit Pro display with four driver-selectable views, including the Tiguan’s embedded navigation map. Centered on the dash is a free-standing 12.9-inch MIB4 infotainment display which increases to a large-for-the-class 15 inches in the SEL R-Line. Both available infotainment screens are bright and colorful and offer the ability to keep multiple windows open simultaneously. During the test drive, the AI-enhanced Plus Speech voice-control system, free for the first year of ownership, aced several point-of-interest searches. For those who like to use their cellphone’s maps, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are onboard. Standard is a 7-speaker AM/FM stereo with HD Radio and a 90-day trial of SiriusXM 360L. The SEL R-Line upgrades to an immersive 12-speaker Harmon Kardon premium audio system. In-car Wi-Fi is available by subscription. 

A new feature of interest is the Driving Experience dial on the center console. On the Tiguan S, it functions as a volume control knob; twisting the dial mimics an analog rotary knob proven in auto audio systems for decades. Pressing the button turns it into a drive mode control dial with the usual normal, sport, eco, and individual menu selections. In SE and higher trims, swiping the top of the button wakes up the Tiguan’s “Atmospheres” function, which enables setting a mood with synchronized sounds and ambient lighting.

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Improved Seat Comfort

The Tiguan’s front bucket seats provide generous pelvic and torso bolstering for balanced support and comfort. Heated seats are standard and feature a new function that enables front-seat occupants to manage not only the amount of heating but how that warmth is distributed between the bottom and back cushions. The Tiguan S comes with attractive cloth sat coverings, with the SE upgraded to perforated faux leather and a power driver’s seat, SEL R-Line brings two-tone, double-stitched, perforated and quilted Varenna leather, driver seat memory, and a power front passenger seat. Also included with the SEL R-Line and rare in non-luxury brand compact SUVs are ventilated and 10-point massaging front seatbacks for both driver and passenger.

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

No More Third Row

The 2025 Tiguan ditches the tiny third-row seating of previous front-wheel-drive models which had checked the third-row and seven-passenger boxes in theory... but was useless for anyone save for pre-teens to access, much less try to sit back there. While VW was busy rejiggering the passenger compartment, it gave rear seat passengers more legroom as well. As with most compact SUVs, the Tiguan’s 60/40 split-folding rear bench seatbacks recline and include a flip-down center armrest with a pair of cupholders. No individual rear captain’s chairs are offered.

The biggest takeaway is how comfortable and luxurious the outboard seating positions of the rear bench are. Like the front buckets, the rear seats have more sculpturing and offer generous bolstering that’s almost as butt- and mid-torso hugging as the Tiguan’s excellent front bucket seats. The outboard rear seat cushions are heated in the SEL R-Line trim as well.

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Cargo Considerations

Since the 2025 Tiguan is nearly two inches shorter in overall length, reduced cargo capacity is collateral damage. That said, the elimination of the third row in FWD versions of the Tiguan means that even with the rear seat up, there’s 26.5 cubic feet of cargo space available. Capacity increases to nearly 59 cubic feet with the rear 60/40 split seat folded flat. While not quite as roomy back there as in the Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V, the Tiguan has plenty of space for most cargo needs. In addition to the flat floor, there are deep wells at the rear of the cargo bay that are great for toting gallon jugs of your favorite beverages and additional hidden storage for small valuables under the cargo floor around the spare tire. SE and SE R-Line Black trims get a power liftgate, and the SEL R-Line adds a hands-free function that can open up the cargo bay with a foot kick under the rear bumper.

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

More Power

The 2025 model year ushers in some changes under the hood. Courtesy of a larger turbocharger, more boost, and tuning enhancements, the output of the Tiguan’s 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder increases about 9 percent from last year’s 184 horsepower to 201 hp for 2025. Oddly, torque drops a bit on FWD versions to 207 pound-feet, but AWD models keep the same 221 lb-ft rating as the 2024 model. Performance of the new engine is ample if not invigorating and feels about the same as last year’s model, albeit with a slight initial lag when accelerating from a stop. Mash the gas pedal and the 2025 Tiguan can hit 60 mph from rest in about 8 seconds, which is comparable to non-hybrid versions of the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4. The new engine is no laggard once underway, so merging onto fast-moving freeways and overtaking slower vehicles isn’t a problem.

One benefit of the engine update is better fuel economy, at least for FWD versions. With official EPA estimates of 28-29 mpg combined for FWD (a 2 mpg improvement) and 25 mpg combined for AWD, the 2025 Tiguan’s numbers still trail those for the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 gas models, albeit by a smaller margin. VW doesn’t yet offer a hybrid variant of the Tiguan, either. For those buyers looking for a Tiguan with a bit more juice under the hood, Volkswagen has announced an SEL R-Line Turbo model coming in 2026 with 268 horsepower on tap, 27 more than that offered in the current VW GTI hot hatch.

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

On the Road

There’s a widely held assumption that German cars are always engaging to drive, and the new Tiguan doesn’t disappoint. Aside from a split-second pause if the accelerator is matted from a standing start and transmission downshifts that can sometimes take longer than expected, the Tiguan proves to be a pleasantly responsive machine on the open road. There’s an organic quality to the way the Tiguan drives. Firm but not harsh, the VW’s suspension tuning nicely balances ride quality and handling precision. Despite its low-profile Pirelli Scorpion Zero 255/40R20 all-season tires and conventional dampers, our SEL R-Line test vehicle managed to communicate road surface input without exciting the body structure. The cabin was quiet over freeway tar strips as well as the high-aggregate road surfaces on the rural highways west of Bozeman, Montana. The Tiguan’s variable-boost steering delivers just the right heft and a direct feel at highway speeds, while lightening effort for easy maneuvering when parking. Confidence builds behind the wheel thanks to strong brakes that respond crisply to driver input. The Tiguan’s strong binders build confidence with crisp responses to driver inputs.

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Updated Safety and Advanced Driver Assistance

In addition to increasing the number of airbags to 10, all versions of the 2025 Tiguan now come with IQ Drive, VW’s comprehensive suite of advanced driver assistance technology. IQ Drive includes forward collision warning with auto emergency braking, lane-keeping with counter steering, an active blind-spot monitor with counter steering, rear cross-traffic alert with braking, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, emergency assist for an unresponsive driver, and Travel Assist which combines adaptive cruise control with lane-centering.

All Tiguan models also get automatic high beam control, a backup camera with a washer to clean the lens of dirt, an exit warning system, and front and rear ultrasonic parking sensors. Moving up to the SEL R-Line trim adds a dynamic road sign display, upgrades to a surround-view backup camera, and adds Park Assist Plus. The latter helps the driver find a parking space and then automatically handles gear changes, steering, throttle, and braking for successfully pulling into and out of parallel and perpendicular parking spots. Superior to most systems, the blind spot monitor has thumb-drive-sized lights in the mirror housings to warn of vehicles in the driver’s blind spot.

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Verdict

The freshly redesigned 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan is just the right size to fit into the most-popular compact SUV segment. It leaves three-row seating for the much larger U.S.-built Atlas. While it does not quite match many of its Japanese or Korean-brand competitors in terms of fuel economy, hybrid powertrain availability, or cargo capacity, the Tiguan delivers upscale fitments and roomy comfort for five passengers and European-inspired driving dynamics in a stylish and sporty package at a very competitive price.

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・  Photo by Ron Sessions

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan ・ Photo by Ron Sessions


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