Winner: The Grand Vitara V6
The One To Get
Right, the Grand Vitara has bested the Tiguan two out of three times so this decision should be easy, right? Not quite. The Tiguan is one hell of a soft-roader, and probably one of the best on the market today. Yes, it’s a little pricey once you start cramming it full of leather, sat-nav and what-not, but if you can afford the extra coin it’s money well spent.
The VW’s on-road performance is stellar for this segment, and let’s face it: compact soft-roaders generally never stray far from the blacktop. It doesn’t drink much diesel, it looks good, it has a nice interior and it’s exceptionally well engineered, so it comes as no surprise that more and more motorists are rolling around in Tiguans these days.
But, as good as the Tiguan is, the crown must ultimately go to the Suzuki Grand Vitara V6 Prestige. It’s a real jack-of-all-trades and a master of most, with the ability to take the kids to school on weekdays, do the week’s shopping on Saturday and tackle some challenging off-road terrain on Sunday.
Not only that, but the leather upholstery is easy to clean, it’s roomy and comfortable on the inside and if your sticky-fingered kids manage to break something, you’d perhaps be less ratty about it than if they’d tarnished the Tiguan’s nicely-crafted interior.
It was a tight contest between Suzuki and VW, that’s for sure, but the best all-rounder (and thus the most deserving of your hard-earned) is the Grand Vitara.
Suzuki Grand Vitara V6 Prestige
Tony Likes: Huge list of standard equipment, powerful new V6, promising off-road performance, great interior space
Tony Dislikes: Wish it came with a manual option, faux marble trim is a tad cheap, needs a proper locking diff on each axle
Tony’s big statement
“Buyers looking for a small-ish off-roader than can take the family to church just as easily as it takes them to a remote camping site need look no further than the Grand Vitara. It’s an excellent all-rounder.”
Volkswagen Tiguan 103 TDI
Tony Likes: Torquey diesel engine, low fuel consumption, great styling, nice interior, fantastic roadholding
Tony Dislikes: Finnicky clutch, expensive options list, lack of full-size spare and road-biased suspension limits off-roadability
Tony’s big statement:
“The Tiguan is without doubt one of the best handling soft roaders on sale today – if you’re driving on tarmac, that is. Those with a bit more cash to splash and no desire to venture off the beaten track will find the Tiguan to be near-on perfect”
Specifications
Grand Vitara V6 Prestige
| Engine type: | V6 4-stroke EFI petrol |
| Capacity: | 3195cc |
| Bore x Stroke: | 89×85.6mm |
| Compression ratio: | 10.0:1 |
| Max Power: | 171.5kW |
| Max Torque: | 288.8Nm |
| Transmission: | Five-speed automatic, two-speed transfer case, 4WD |
| Economy: | 10.5l/100km |
| Front Suspension: | MacPherson Strut |
| Rear Suspension: | Multi-link |
| Wheels | 17×7 inch |
| Tyres: | 225 / 65R17 |
| Brakes Front: | Ventilated discs |
| Brakes Rear: | Ventilated discs |
| Fuel Tank Capacity: | 66 litres |
| Unladen Kerb Weight: | 1703kg |
| Luggage Compartment Volume: | 398l seats up, 1386 seats down |
VW Tiguan 103TDI
| Engine type: | inline-four, 4-stroke direct-injection diesel, turbocharged |
| Capacity: | 1968cc |
| Bore x Stroke: | 81.0×95.5mm |
| Compression ratio: | 16.5:1 |
| Max Power: | 103kW |
| Max Torque: | 320Nm |
| Transmission: | six-speed manual, 4Motion Haldex AWD |
| Economy: | 7.4l/100km |
| Front Suspension: | MacPherson Strut |
| Rear Suspension: | Four-link |
| Wheels | 16×6.5 inch (cast alloy) |
| Tyres: | 215/65R16 |
| Brakes Front: | Ventilated discs |
| Brakes Rear: | Discs |
| Fuel Tank Capacity: | 64 litres |
| Unladen Kerb Weight: | 1630kg |
| Luggage Compartment Volume: | 395l seats up, 1510l seats down |
Gallery - Suzuki Grand Vitara
GALLERY » suzuki-grand-vitara-vw-tiguan_review
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Grand Vitara wrong blood
Good to hear that finally someone did a proper review of this kind of car including “off-road” use. So many people say that these are rarely taken off-road whereas I come from a Suzuki family where Grand Vitara’s are the only 4wd
There is one part of this review I did not like however; is the exterior looks. The VW to me looks plain and dull and just another european car “wanna-be 4×4″ (if it was a proper 4wd i would be a little nicer) but the new Suzi is a tidy looking rig, neat lines, flat surfaces, aggressive looking headlights and a spare-tyre cover that screams sexy.
Oh and the Suzi is no “soft-roader” mine is stock-standed and I have managed to beat a HiLux up a steep hill (it needed 4000rpm 1st gear low-range) and a LandCruiser in soft-sand. Just goes to show power to weight ratio matters.
But good review - if more cars were involved it would have been more competetive and interesting - perhaps an American “soft-roader” (Cherokee)
With space sapver tyres the tiguan is not an off roader more a city mum’s car.
Fine review & the Zouk is a great little mimi 4×4 but its towing capacity is still only 850 Kg(85 Kg download on ball) Suzuki manual warns that download on ball should be 10% of trailer GVM so math makes a mockery of the claimed towing capabilities claimed ie., up to 2000 Kg.