# Tiguan or Atlas?



## Phil37 (Jul 5, 2015)

My wife and I own a 2017 Golf Sportwagen. We absolutely love it. It is an excellent car for our family of 4. Now that we are planning on another child, we’ve come to the conclusion that we would need a third row. We are considering both the Atlas and the Tiguan. We have test driven both and both are really nice. Money not being a factor, we would actually take both. 

We’re leaning towards the Tiguan for the better fuel economy and better styling. The third row is small but we wouldn’t have children over 10 years old back there. Having that said, the Atlas can fit 7 adults 6 ft each comfortably while the Tiguan can’t. We don’t anticipate ever having a need of such. We just need a vehicle that could fit my wife and I along with our teenager our preschooler and perhaps 1-2 more future children. 

If any of you have 3,4 or 5 children and have a Tiguan, I would love to hear your thoughts and /or if there’s any regrets for not going for the Atlas instead. We’re minimalist and really don’t want to go full Atlas if the Tiguan can serve our needs.


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## Savvv (Apr 22, 2009)

Consider available space when everyone is in the car. You’re not gonna have much of anything in the Tiguan when all seats taken. Meanwhile, in the Atlas, if you have the bench middle row you can put kids across, fold the third row flat and have a ton more room for stuff. Third, since small kids are all who will fit in the back of the Tiguan, that presents a problem. We have our oldest go into the back seat because she can buckle herself. This makes it easier putting the babyseat buckles on in the middle row. My Tiguan is more a work vehicle and I’m not always transporting the whole family. My wife’s Acadia (will be changing to an Atlas early 2019) is the family car. If your family is growing I think you’ll find the Atlas much more accommodating. While the Tiguan may be ok for the time being, you’d soon be investing in a cargo box roof rack and complaining about reaching into the third row to buckle the youngin’s


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## lgbalfa (Nov 18, 2018)

If you can afford it, get the Atlas.

There is much more room.

This should not even be a debate.

Good luck.

Thanks


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## Crappie man (Nov 22, 2018)

I agree. Family that size Atlas is no brainer in my opinion


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## castlecraver (Feb 8, 2007)

I have a 3 month old and we recently went on a 4 day trip with the Tiguan and it was packed full. Not a single inch left in the cargo area and stuff was stored on the floor of the backseats. There were a couple of times during the trip I thought "man I should have looked more seriously at the Atlas." At the time the plan was to trade in the Tiguan on a Atlas in 3-4 years. I would say with the size of your family you should stick to the Atlas.


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## Smokeybeetleman (Aug 13, 2018)

I'm with the others. If you can afford the Atlas go with it. Tiguans are nice, but the Atlas is on a whole new level. I sat in one and wish I could have went for it.


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## [email protected] (Aug 9, 2018)

I’ll say it depends on what you are looking for. I went for the Tiguan as I am small and prefer driving a smaller car. I drove my husbands Explorer a few times, which is the same size as the Atlas and did not like it at all. It just felt way too big for me. With 4 of us in the car, there is plenty of room for out stuff, but when we add extra people in the back, there is little room for stuff. But it was a compromise I was willing to make for a smaller vehicle. I came out of a Passat wagon, so the space is about the same, but with a bonus emergency third row.


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## PZ (May 9, 2002)

As much as you seem to like the MPG on your wagon, stick with the Tiguan. The teenager will be gone soon enough


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## Row1Rich (Sep 11, 2001)

castlecraver said:


> I have a 3 month old and we recently went on a 4 day trip with the Tiguan and it was packed full. Not a single inch left in the cargo area and stuff was stored on the floor of the backseats. There were a couple of times during the trip I thought "man I should have looked more seriously at the Atlas." At the time the plan was to trade in the Tiguan on a Atlas in 3-4 years. I would say with the size of your family you should stick to the Atlas.


I feel the opposite. Why drive a car every day that's much too big just so you can have space for a few trips a year? The tight space forces us to pack lightly and be efficient (less for me to pack and unpack). Rule is (with some exceptions) to pack like we'll be flying with carryon luggage only. 

Went from a minivan to the Tig, about half the avail space.


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## Savvv (Apr 22, 2009)

Row1Rich said:


> I feel the opposite. Why drive a car every day that's much too big just so you can have space for a few trips a year?l


Comfort. 

Simple as that. And, not sure how old your kids are (if you have any) but last thing any sane parent will wanna do is put a 5, 3, and 2 year old side by side by side across the backseat of a Tiguan for more than an hour. The argument then that you can buy one with a 3rd row now means you’ve decided to sacrifice cargo room for sanity. Finally, the Tiguan for our family means that’s pretty much all who will fit. Having the Atlas gives us more options for bringing more or bigger people with us instead of needing extra vehicles.


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## n0thing (Mar 30, 2014)

castlecraver said:


> *I have a 3 month old* and we recently went on a 4 day trip with the Tiguan and it was packed full. Not a single inch left in the cargo area and stuff was stored on the floor of the backseats. There were a couple of times during the trip I thought "man I should have looked more seriously at the Atlas." At the time the plan was to trade in the Tiguan on a Atlas in 3-4 years. I would say with the size of your family you should stick to the Atlas.


There's your problem. The amount of stuff you have to bring along for a baby is insane. We went through the same issue. When you don't need strollers, boxes of diapers, changing tables, toys, etc. it's not a problem. With a 4 year old we've regularly taken multi day road trips in my 2017 GTI and we've filled up all of the hatch but still have extra capacity in the back seat if necessary. In our Tiguan it's like we hardly brought anything there's so much space left over.

I wouldn't want a Tiguan with 2 grown kids and an infant. Utilizing that third row and still having to account for a child seat doesn't sound very fun at all. I vote Atlas if it has to be in the VW family but recommend a minivan because they're unbelievably practical when it comes to hauling multiple children around.


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## lgbalfa (Nov 18, 2018)

I would have preferred the Atlas but my wife felt more comfortable driving the Tiguan.

Thanks


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## RedHotFuzz (Nov 16, 2015)

castlecraver said:


> I have a 3 month old and we recently went on a 4 day trip with the Tiguan and it was packed full. Not a single inch left in the cargo area and stuff was stored on the floor of the backseats. There were a couple of times during the trip I thought "man I should have looked more seriously at the Atlas." At the time the plan was to trade in the Tiguan on a Atlas in 3-4 years. I would say with the size of your family you should stick to the Atlas.


You don’t need a bigger vehicle. You just need a cargo box for the roof or a trailer hitch and cargo tray for those rare times you need the extra space for gear.


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## RedHotFuzz (Nov 16, 2015)

Having owned a 2010 Sportwagen TDI, I thought my dream vehicle would be a Sportwagen with a 3rd row for occasional use. Now VW actually makes such a thing: the Tiguan. Now that our three kids are teenagers and my oldest will be off on our own soon, we’ll be downsizing to a Tiguan from our current Durango (and Pilot before that). I’m looking forward to the improved MPG and driving dynamics.


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## BTDUBS (Jun 30, 2009)

My wife and I are having this very debate. I am pro Atlas, she is pro Tiguan. We are both very tall and I think the Atlas fits us better. That said, she says that the driver side seatbelt digs into her hip in the Atlas. Has anyone else had this issue? Is there a fix?


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## Row1Rich (Sep 11, 2001)

BTDUBS said:


> My wife and I are having this very debate. I am pro Atlas, she is pro Tiguan. We are both very tall and I think the Atlas fits us better. That said, she says that the driver side seatbelt digs into her hip in the Atlas. Has anyone else had this issue? Is there a fix?


I'm 6'4", would have been fine in the Atlas, but the wife is 5'6" and happier in the Tig. I'm fine in it, pretty roomy if you ask me. I can put it in places that would have been an issue with an Atlas, so overall I'm happy with our decision. Get the 3rd row seats though! For those few times we need them, they've been great.


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## jimothy cricket (Jul 9, 2008)

RedHotFuzz said:


> ...we’ll be downsizing to a Tiguan from our current Durango. I’m looking forward to the improved MPG and driving dynamics.


Is your Durango a V8? If so, I highly recommend test driving a Tiguan first. Power is far less than any N/A V8 or even V6...will take some getting used to.


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## rkfast (Jun 28, 2018)

We are a family of four and I opted for the TIGUAN. We are smaller people, Im only 5'5" and my wife is shorter. Two young kids and bike racks on the top of the vehicle. 

This past Summer, on our road trips the car was pretty damned full. Not insanely so, but virtually all open space was taken. That said, Im still good with the Tig because I didnt want a huge SUV for the 345 days a year Im not on some kind of road trip and need to get to/from work. Id rather just have a smaller vehicle, if I can.

So it depends on so many factors.....how many people? How physically large is everyone? What are your personal tastes in terms of car size and even how do you all pack? Some people bring suitcases of crap for a weekend away, some people pack a duffel bag for a week away. And where do you go? Skiiing,camping or biking trips require a significantly larger amount of gear than a week at a beach resort, typically.


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## RedHotFuzz (Nov 16, 2015)

jimothy cricket said:


> Is your Durango a V8? If so, I highly recommend test driving a Tiguan first. Power is far less than any N/A V8 or even V6...will take some getting used to.


Yes, I have the R/T with the Hemi V8. Power is fantastic (as is the exhaust rumble), but I’m tired of putting fuel in it. We test drove the Tiguan and are fine with the power (or lack thereof).


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## jimothy cricket (Jul 9, 2008)

RedHotFuzz said:


> Yes, I have the R/T with the Hemi V8. Power is fantastic (as is the exhaust rumble), but I’m tired of putting fuel in it. We test drove the Tiguan and are fine with the power (or lack thereof).


:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## underscore (Nov 27, 2018)

*quite happy with the Tiguan (now)*

I'm 6'3", and we are a family of five (newborn, plus two young elementary school aged kids) and are quite happy with the Tiguan (SEL-P 4motion). Normally the kids fit across the 2nd row (two boosters with rear-facing child seat). On occasion when family or friends are visiting, the two children (eagerly) go in the 3rd row and we still have room for two adults.

We live in the city, and I'm glad to have a smaller car that's easier to park (it's not always easy to find a space, much less a large space). Additionally, we have a particularly shallow garage where even though an Atlas would just barely fit, we would not be able to walk around the back or open the lift gate with the garage door closed. The Tiguan is just short enough where both are still possible.

My biggest complain is the default throttle mapping (time-based) and the starting vibration reduction "feature" that made the car behave in a way that I originally perceived as a lack of power. While it's not the fastest car 0-60, it's not a concern for me as it's a family car and used to shuttle kids around. What I had a big problem with was on the odd occasion where I had to stomp on the gas, the car would proceed to do nothing for a second or so then launch excessively. This behavior seemed dangerous to me and I had started to regret getting the Tiguan.

After much research and trying a bunch of things, I am now pretty happy with the car drives. FYI, I ended up getting OBDEleven to change the throttle mapping to direct (position based) and disabling the starting vibration reduction. Initially I had installed a Neuspeed power module (increases the turbo boost, i.e. hp & torque, and also lessen turbo lag) but had discovered that it didn't do much to alter the dead time behavior when stomping on the pedal. I had tried the Sprint Booster (pedal booster), but the results were pretty unsatisfactory and I've uninstalled it and returned it. I think that if I had originally known about ODBEleven and those settings, I may not have gotten the Neuspeed power module. Regardless, now that it's installed, I'm happy keeping it since it does provide a noticeable power boost.

The throttle now behaves in a way that makes sense, and the fuel economy is still good unless I'm heavy footing around.


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## ahealey74 (Sep 12, 2017)

Neither. I know I'm asking to get roasted here, but just get a damn minivan. We are a family of 4 - two relatively tall adults (5'10" and 5'8") and 2 taller kids (12 and 8) plus a medium size dog (35lbs.) I owned a 15 GSW SportWagen TDI that I turned in during the buyback for a 18 Tiguan SEL Premium (5 passenger.) Before that I owned a 2004 Pilot with 3rd row seating. My wife drives a 2012 Honda Odyssey EX-L. 

I like my Tiguan, but it isn't a true family hauler, especially if you throw car seats and baggage into the mix. Furthermore, 3rd row seating isn't all its cracked up to be. The third row in the Pilot was practically useless - we only used it in the most extreme cases where we needed to cram an extra seating position in for a short ride. If you want room and comfort plus good fuel economy, just go with an Odyssey or Sienna. My wife hated the idea of a minivan when we got it and now I can't get her to ditch it for anything.

If you are stuck on the SUV I would say go Atlas because a Tig is not build for three kids (just imagine the endless "stop touching me, Bobby's on my side, she won't stop looking at me arguments), but you REALLY should test drive a few minivans before you do. You might be pleasantly surprised.


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## Savvv (Apr 22, 2009)

ahealey74 said:


> Neither. I know I'm asking to get roasted here, but just get a damn minivan. We are a family of 4 - two relatively tall adults (5'10" and 5'8") and 2 taller kids (12 and 8) plus a medium size dog (35lbs.) I owned a 15 GSW SportWagen TDI that I turned in during the buyback for a 18 Tiguan SEL Premium (5 passenger.) Before that I owned a 2004 Pilot with 3rd row seating. My wife drives a 2012 Honda Odyssey EX-L.
> 
> I like my Tiguan, but it isn't a true family hauler, especially if you throw car seats and baggage into the mix. Furthermore, 3rd row seating isn't all its cracked up to be. The third row in the Pilot was practically useless - we only used it in the most extreme cases where we needed to cram an extra seating position in for a short ride. If you want room and comfort plus good fuel economy, just go with an Odyssey or Sienna. My wife hated the idea of a minivan when we got it and now I can't get her to ditch it for anything.
> 
> If you are stuck on the SUV I would say go Atlas because a Tig is not build for three kids (just imagine the endless "stop touching me, Bobby's on my side, she won't stop looking at me arguments), but you REALLY should test drive a few minivans before you do. You might be pleasantly surprised.


This is what I’m talking about. Glad you get it. I’m all for a Chrysler Pacifica as we rented one for vacation one year. Had some goodies, had some power, etc. The wife isn’t having it yet. We’ll be getting an Atlas within the next 6 months and see how that goes. We’ve been in an Acadia for the past 2.5 years and been fine.


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## RedHotFuzz (Nov 16, 2015)

ahealey74 said:


> Neither. I know I'm asking to get roasted here, but just get a damn minivan.


Some people don't like minivans. Some people want/need AWD, which AFAIK is only available on the Toyota Sienna. And even then gives you minimal ground clearance if you live in a snow zone.

Some people would buy a minivan if only there were a stylish one on the market.

My wife won't touch a Sienna/Odyssey/Pacifica. What can you do. Frankly I've been waiting for YEARS for a new VW Microbus. When the electric one finally comes out, we may end up with one. Of course, our kids will be nearly moved out by that point and the ideal years for vanhood will be behind us, but I still appreciate the pure utility of a minivan. However, I'd like one with some semblance of "cool" to it, a requirement none of the current market offerings meet.


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## Savvv (Apr 22, 2009)

RedHotFuzz said:


> Some people would buy a minivan if only there were a stylish one on the market.


Dude. Which movie was it...Game Night with Jason Bateman? They were rolling around town in a top trim Chrysler Pacifica? It’s definitely one of the most stylish front ends on a minivan currently.


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## RedHotFuzz (Nov 16, 2015)

Savvv said:


> Dude. Which movie was it...Game Night with Jason Bateman? They were rolling around town in a top trim Chrysler Pacifica? It’s definitely one of the most stylish front ends on a minivan currently.


Based on my experience with my ‘16 Durango (lease ends next month), I won’t be going back to the Chrysler family anytime soon.


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## ahealey74 (Sep 12, 2017)

RedHotFuzz said:


> However, I'd like one with some semblance of "cool" to it, a requirement none of the current market offerings meet.


If you are hauling around 3 kids, cool is but a distant memory. Hahahahahaha


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## RedHotFuzz (Nov 16, 2015)

ahealey74 said:


> If you are hauling around 3 kids, cool is but a distant memory. Hahahahahaha


My 7-passenger Durango R/T is pretty cool. Unfortunately it also has a tendency to self-destruct.


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## jimothy cricket (Jul 9, 2008)

Savvv said:


> Dude. Which movie was it...Game Night with Jason Bateman? They were rolling around town in a top trim Chrysler Pacifica? It’s definitely one of the most stylish front ends on a minivan currently.


I agree....untill you come around to the backend where it's uglier than all hell.


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## Savvv (Apr 22, 2009)

jimothy cricket said:


> I agree....untill you come around to the backend where it's uglier than all hell.


True, but that’s every single minivan on the market haha.


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## cp678 (Jul 5, 2014)

Phil37 said:


> My wife and I own a 2017 Golf Sportwagen. We absolutely love it. It is an excellent car for our family of 4. Now that we are planning on another child, we’ve come to the conclusion that we would need a third row. We are considering both the Atlas and the Tiguan. We have test driven both and both are really nice. Money not being a factor, we would actually take both.
> 
> We’re leaning towards the Tiguan for the better fuel economy and better styling. The third row is small but we wouldn’t have children over 10 years old back there. Having that said, the Atlas can fit 7 adults 6 ft each comfortably while the Tiguan can’t. We don’t anticipate ever having a need of such. We just need a vehicle that could fit my wife and I along with our teenager our preschooler and perhaps 1-2 more future children.
> 
> If any of you have 3,4 or 5 children and have a Tiguan, I would love to hear your thoughts and /or if there’s any regrets for not going for the Atlas instead. We’re minimalist and really don’t want to go full Atlas if the Tiguan can serve our needs.


Alright, I've owned the Tiguan SEL P R-Line with 3rd row for about 3 days. I wanted one without the third row, but in my area there were no options so I was willing to compromise with the next shipment date being April '19 in my area.

With that said. You need the Atlas. The biggest frustration I have with the Tiguan... it is NOT built for a 3rd row. At all.

The boot does not have any room to take on the 3rd row seat. It elevates the boot about 4in. While it doesn't sound like much, but it's cumbersome enough to notice when you compare to a Tiguan without the 3rd row. Also, when you actually 'activate' the third row it's not at all functional. Only 25.2in of legroom.

Second, the worst part, it pushes the second row seats up. It basically eliminates any room in the rear of the vehicle. From 48.2in to 46.2in ... definitely enough to notice. I also thought the second row seats (with the Third Row option) makes the seats more upright. 

Bottom line, Volkswagen should *not* have even considered this an option for the new Tiguan. As someone without kids, I'm going to give it 6 months with this new vehicle. I'm slightly regretting the compromise I had to make...

Atlas has my vote for your specific scenario.


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## n0thing (Mar 30, 2014)

cp678 said:


> Alright, I've owned the Tiguan SEL P R-Line with 3rd row for about 3 days. I wanted one with our third row, but in my area there were no options so I was willing to compromise with the next shipment date being April '19 in my area.
> 
> With that said. You need the Atlas. The biggest frustration I have with the Tiguan... it is NOT build for a 3rd row. At all.
> 
> ...


Whaaaaaaaat? We have a 3rd row. We didn't buy it because we wanted it, we bought it because it was the best deal. We can reverse face a car seat behind the passenger seat and not even move the passenger seat forward. I can sit cross legged in the seat behind the drivers seat with it in my position (5 foot 10, 210lbs) and it's not a problem.

You lose room over the two row version but eliminating any room in the rear if the vehicle is far from the truth. There's still plenty. I suggested minivan earlier and I still stand by that statement however because older kids aren't going to fit in the third row.


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## cp678 (Jul 5, 2014)

n0thing said:


> Whaaaaaaaat? We have a 3rd row. We didn't buy it because we wanted it, we bought it because it was the best deal. We can reverse face a car seat behind the passenger seat and not even move the passenger seat forward. I can sit cross legged in the seat behind the drivers seat with it in my position (5 foot 10, 210lbs) and it's not a problem.
> 
> You lose room over the two row version but eliminating any room in the rear if the vehicle is far from the truth. There's still plenty. I suggested minivan earlier and I still stand by that statement however because older kids aren't going to fit in the third row.


Maybe I'm just being particular, but here are the specs from VW on the space lost:

*2nd Row leg room:
*
48.2in without 3rd Row
46.2in with 3rd Row

*3rd Row Leg Room:
*
25.2in 

*Boot space:
*65.7 cu. ft with 3rd row
73.5 cu. ft without 3rd row

https://newspress-vwusamedia.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/original/9078-2019TiguanTechSpecs.pdf

Dealership did not disclose the 2nd row loss to me. I'll add, I took the third row option because their was a major defect with my first Tiguan SEL P RLine. When they were looking for replacements in the colors I wanted, only 3rd row options were available. 

With that said, I'm glad to hear the Tiguan is working for your needs! Just for me in particular, if I needed a 7-passenger vehicle, I wouldn't be going for the Tiguan.


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