Compare the2026 Volvo XC60VS 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan

The XC60’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Tiguan doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the XC60 and Tiguan have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The XC60 Plus/Ultra/Polestar has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Tiguan’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the XC60 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Volvo XC60 offers optional built in child booster seats. They’re more crash worthy than an added child seat because of their direct attachment to the seat. Volkswagen doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the Tiguan. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; XC60 owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the XC60 deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The XC60’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Tiguan’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The XC60 has a standard Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WHIPS allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the XC60. But it costs extra on the Tiguan.

The XC60’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the XC60 and the Tiguan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The XC60’s corrosion warranty is 5 years and unlimited miles longer than the Tiguan’s (12/unlimited vs. 7/100,000).

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the XC60 has a standard 800-amp battery (850 T8). The Tiguan’s 360-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

The battery on the XC60 is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the XC60’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The Tiguan’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Volvo vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen With 43 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Volvo higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Volvo vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Volvo 3 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

The XC60 B5’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 46 more horsepower (247 vs. 201) and 59 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 207) than the Tiguan’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The XC60 B5’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 46 more horsepower (247 vs. 201) and 45 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 221) than the Tiguan’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The XC60 T8’s standard 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder hybrid produces 254 more horsepower (455 vs. 201) and 302 lbs.-ft. more torque (523 vs. 221) than the Tiguan’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the XC60 running on electricity gets better mileage than the Tiguan:

On the EPA test cycle the XC60 running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Tiguan:

The XC60 T8 Extended Range can travel with zero emissions for 35 miles. The Tiguan can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

The XC60 has 4.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tiguan FWD’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The XC60 has 3.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tiguan AWD’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 15.6 gallons).

The XC60 has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system or a tether to prevent losing the cap.

For better stopping power the XC60’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Tiguan:

The XC60’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Tiguan are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the XC60 has larger standard tires than the Tiguan (235/60R18 vs. 215/65R17). The XC60’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Tiguan (265/35R22 vs. 255/40R20).

The XC60’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Tiguan’s standard 65 series tires. The XC60’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the Tiguan’s optional 40 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XC60 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Tiguan. The XC60’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Tiguan.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the XC60’s wheelbase is 2.9 inches longer than on the Tiguan (112.8 inches vs. 109.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the XC60 is 2.8 inches wider in the front and 3.4 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Tiguan.

For better maneuverability, the XC60’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Tiguan’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.1 feet).

For greater off-road capability the XC60 has a 1.5 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Tiguan (8.5 vs. 7 inches), allowing the XC60 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The XC60 has 1.3 inches more front legroom, 2 inches more front hip room, 1.2 inches more front shoulder room, 2.1 inches more rear hip room and .6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tiguan.

The XC60 has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Tiguan with its rear seat folded (63.3 vs. 58.9 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the XC60. The Tiguan doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The XC60’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Tiguan’s (3500 vs. 1500 pounds).

The XC60 has a much higher standard payload capacity than the Tiguan (1196 vs. 949 lbs.).

The XC60 has a much higher maximum payload capacity than the Tiguan (1354 vs. 1014 lbs.).

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors in the Tiguan SEL, the XC60 Ultra/Polestar has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The XC60’s standard Keyless Entry & Drive allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the vehicle, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. KESSY Keyless Access standard on the Tiguan doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the XC60 has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Tiguan only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The XC60 offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Tiguan doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The XC60’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Tiguan offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Volvo XC60 has power folding mirrors that offer unparalleled convenience while maneuvering in tight places or parked. With the mirrors folded it’s easier to walk past and help prevent parking damage. The mirrors can be quickly unfolded when the driver is ready to leave. Power folding mirrors are only offered on the Tiguan SEL.

Compared to the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Volvo XC60 eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its optional integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the rear view mirror.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Volvo XC60, based on reliability, safety and performance.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the XC60 as the 2018 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Tiguan has never been chosen.