Battle For Compact SUV Supremacy: 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan Vs. 2025 Toyota RAV4

The best-selling model in Toyota’s North American lineup is the RAV4. It has significantly contributed to the automaker’s sales portfolio and has gradually become the best-selling SUV in the USA. Since introducing the fifth generation Toyota RAV4, Toyota has seen almost consistent sales figures in the region of 400,000.

However, its hold over the SUV segment may be in danger, with updated models like Volkswagen’s new 2025 Tiguan emboldened by new styling, a new interior, and much more. How does Volkswagen’s best-selling model compare to Toyota’s best-selling model?

Design: Sultry SUV Styling

The fifth-generation RAV4 debuted in 2019, 22 years after the RAV4 nameplate was first introduced in the North American market. It was distinguished from the previous generation by chiseled and pronounced body lines, with the most notable line starting under the scowling headlights and flowing into the wheel arches. Its snout, flanked by the two aggressive headlights and underscored by a horizontal grille that draws inspiration from Toyota’s pickup trucks and pronounced lower radiator grille, is one of the most notable design elements of the fifth-generation RAV4.

Toyota’s fifth-generation RAV4 had a significantly more aggressive model, founded on Toyota’s TNGA-K platform, which allowed Toyota to make the RAV4 more rugged and tougher while lowering it and making it wider than the previous generation. Compared to the fourth generation, the current generation is 57% more rigid, supported by tuned front strut and rear multi-link suspension systems.

Volkswagen Tiguan

While the Toyota RAV4 has a sharper design that strays from the conventional soft styling of most SUV models, the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan does the opposite, now featuring a softer styling than any previous iterations. Now in its third generation, the 2025 VW Tiguan has been completely redesigned on the familiar but evolved VW MQB (Modular Transverse Matrix) platform, which allows for a better use of space. The 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan is characterized by shorter overhangs introduced by a new, bolder nose. The front fascia is distinguished by slimmer headlights connected by an optional LED light bar and illuminated logo.

While the bodywork has been softened, the new Tiguan model retains an athletic silhouette thanks to the curved surfaces above the front fenders, highlighting its pronounced shoulder line. A rear spoiler extends the roofline while aiding aerodynamic efficiency, collaborating with the D-post and air curtains on the front bumper. 17-inch aluminum alloy wheels are fitted to the Tiguan as standard.

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Engines: Four-Cylinder Finesse

The Toyota RAV4 is powered by a larger engine than the Volkswagen Tiguan’s EA888 four-cylinder. A Dynamic Force 2.5-liter inline-four-cylinder engine, attached to an eight-speed automatic transmission, is used across the RAV4 range, including hybrid derivatives. The Dynamic Force engines were introduced in 2016, and according to Toyota, their potential was fully realized through the use of the TNGA platform. At the time of its debut, this new engine configuration was lauded for its thermal efficiency, which resulted in reduced energy loss of components like the cooling system and other pieces of hardware.

In the 2025 Toyota RAV4, this engine consists of an aluminum alloy engine block mated to an aluminum alloy cylinder featuring characteristics like four valves per cylinder, Dual Overhead Camshafts, a Variable Valve Timing-intelligent system (VVT-iE) utilizing an electric motor integrated into the intake camshaft, and a Variable Valve Timing-intelligent system on the exhaust camshaft. It also uses a 13.0:1 compression ratio, has a bore x stroke of 87.5 mm x 103.4 mm, and relies on the Toyota Direct Ignition (TDi) system. The entry-level offering in the 2025 RAV4 range is a front-wheel-drive variant. In contrast, the other variants positioned further up in the range are underpinned by an all-wheel-drive system employing a Dynamic Torque Vectoring system.

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So, what powers the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan?

The new VW Tiguan retrains the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that motivated the previous generation Tiguan, internally referred to as the EA888 engine. This engine is nearly omnipresent in Volkswagen’s range, powering the previous generation Tiguan R and currently used in the Golf 8.5 R. It is mounted transversely in the Tiguan, with its internals sandwiched between a cast iron engine block and a cast aluminum cylinder head. Characterizing aspects of this include a forged steel crankshaft, toothed chain-driven double overhead camshafts, and variable intake valve timing.

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In fifth-generation guise, the EA888 four-cylinder engine was rated at 184 hp and 224 lb-ft of torque. The fifth-generation VW Tiguan enjoys a healthy increase in its total output to 201 hp (based on European figures), almost exactly on par with the Toyota RAV4. Aiding its performance and acceleration are Volkswagen’s weight-saving efforts that have resulted in the new Tiguan being 140 lbs lighter than its successor, achieved largely due to the implementation of aluminum in the suspension system. Additionally, the Tiguan’s body structure gains high-strength, hot-formed steel that works with the revisions made to the suspension system to improve fuel economy.

Fuel Economy

The 2025 EPA ratings for the 2025 Toyota RAV4 are not available yet. However, Toyota claims that the base model RAV4 has a combined mpg rating of 30 mpg, with its highway rating set at 35 mpg and a city fuel economy rating of 27 mpg. The EPA does have ratings for the 2024 model year Toyota RAV4, with a combined fuel economy rating that is the same as the manufacturer claims for the 2025 model.

The EPA ratings for the 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan are not yet available, but comparing the 2024 model year Tiguan to the 2025 model year RAV4, Toyota was far in the lead. According to the EPA’s ratings, the 2024 VW Tiguan has a combined rating of 26 mpg, with a city rating of 23 mpg and a highway rating of 30 mpg. We only mention these figures because the German automaker has stressed that the fuel economy has improved, which might result in better EPA ratings for the fifth-generation model.

Safety System Swaddling

Both models have expansive safety systems, and driver assistance features that improve the driving experience. The Toyota RAV4’s TNGA-K platform offers exceptional collision protection, while the driver assistance system is intended to prevent collisions.

Toyota’s second-generation Safety Sense system includes a host of systems like a Pre-Collision System, Pedestrian Detection, Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Land Departure Alert with steering assist, Lane Tracing Assist, and Road Sign assist. Systems like the Blind Spot Monitor and a Rear Cross Traffic Brake come standard on RAV4 derivatives like the XLE but are options for the base model. Other safety features of the RAV4 include eight airbags positioned throughout the RAV4, a backup camera, enhanced vehicle stability control, electronic brake distribution, ABS, and Toyota’s Smart Stop Technology.

The 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan will most likely match the systems mentioned above, plus some features VW has not mentioned yet.

Interior and Tech: Prioritizing Passenger Comfort

When it debuted, the fifth-generation RAV4 experienced extensive updates to its cabin, with features like the center console becoming wider and more versatile, the instrument panel layout slimmed down, the rear armest being 1.5 inches wider, rear air conditioning vents being standard of the hybrid models, to name a few. Since then, the interior hasn’t changed, with leather-trimmed seats being a focal point of the entry-level RAV4 alongside the 8-inch infotainment screen, a soft touch dashboard and armrests, a 7-inch digital driver display, and an ash gray fabric-trimmed headliner being the most notable aspects of the RAV4’s interior. The driver would pilot the RAV4 with a urethane 3-spoke steering wheel.

The Volkswagen Tiguan’s interior has undergone extensive changes, like the RAV4 when it was reborn in 2019. Volkswagen has repositioned the gear selector, which sits on the steering column, to create a minimalist center console area. At the same time, a rotary dial used for selecting driving modes or adjusting volume is positioned on the center console. The changes have introduced new cabin elements and elevated the interior’s quality through materials like American walnut wood décor, a double-stitched and wrapped center console, Savona leather throughout the cabin, and cloth seats. Volkwagen’s 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit Pro system is standard, working alongside a new infotainment system with a 12.9-inch display. A 15-inch infotainment screen, including a heads-up, is offered, and a 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system is available.

Price and Winner: Tiguan Might Loosen RAV4’s Segment Stranglehold

The 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan’s price is unavailable and will only be made public closer to its launch. The 2025 Toyota RAV4, however, has a starting price of $30,245 for the entry-level LE model and an MSRP of $38,550 for the range-topping Limited model. The 2024 model year VW Tiguan range began with the Tiguan S, which had an MSRP of $30,305, and the range-topping Tiguan SEL R-Line had an asking price of 40,305.

Considering possible fuel economy, interior layouts, driver assistance features, available options, and a potential price tag within arm’s length of its competitor, the Volkswagen Tiguan comes out on top between it and Toyota’s RAV4.

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