Long term twin tests: Volkswagen Tiguan vs Volkswagen ID4

Petrol vs electric. It’s the dilemma faced by thousands of new car buyers these days, and both have their merits. Earlier this year, I spent three months with a Volkswagen Tiguan, and now I’m about three months into my time with its electric equivalent – the Volkswagen ID4.

They cost about the same like-for-like, but which is best suited to your life? I’m going to compare their practicality, comfort, technology and running costs to help you decide.

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Volkswagen Tiguan vs Volkswagen ID4: prices and deals

Let’s start by talking about money. My Tiguan was fitted with the most powerful petrol engine, but this isn’t the one I’d choose. It’s around £10,000 more expensive than the basic 1.5-litre engine, and I don’t reckon the extra performance is worth it.

It was also in top-spec R-Line guise, which I’d still have because I like the sporty styling, and I reckon the red paint is also worth the extra £830. This brings the cost of my ideal Tiguan to just over £43,000, and you can save an average of £3,250 on this car through Carwow at the time of writing.

As for my ID4, it’s the mid-spec Pro Match version, and it’s the best one to pick in my eyes. You get 347 miles of range and perky performance for just under £45,000, and you can save an average of more than £3,000 through Carwow at the time of writing.

Volkswagen Tiguan vs Volkswagen ID4: running costs

But what about running costs? After all, this is one of the biggest deciding factors when choosing between a petrol or electric car.

Well, the 1.5-litre petrol engine in the Tiguan will return 45mpg according to official tests, and considering I managed to beat the claimed mpg figure in my 2.0-litre car over three months, I see no reason why the 1.5-litre model won’t do this in the real world. Assuming you cover 10,000 miles per year, it’ll cost you just over £1,500 in fuel at today’s average of 151 pence per litre.

I don’t have an EV charging tariff yet, but I do have a charger at home. That means I’m charging it at around 26 pence per kWh, but that could fall soon once Andy Burnham’s VAT cut takes effect.

The ID4 is averaging 3.8 miles per kWh, which means 10,000 miles will cost me just under £700. That’s less than half the price of fuel in the Tiguan, and once I do get an EV tariff it could cost me as little as £200 per year.

So if you have home charging, the electric ID4 works out a lot cheaper than the Tiguan. But what if you don’t have home charging?

Well, the average cost of a public DC fast charger is currently 79 pence per kWh according to ZapMap, dropping to 54 pence per kWh for slow chargers. Assuming you use a mixture of the two, that’s around 66 pence per kWh on average, so your 10,000 miles will cost more than £1,700.

Volkswagen Tiguan vs Volkswagen ID4: interior and practicality

Running costs aren’t the only thing that matters when choosing a family SUV. It also needs to be practical.

On this front, the Tiguan was a better car. The 652-litre boot is not only over 100 litres bigger than the ID4’s, it’s also more versatile thanks to the sliding rear seats.

The acid test for chez Reid is getting the crate for our labradoodle, Bonnie, into the back. The simple fact is it fits in the Tiguan with the rear seats pushed forward a bit, but it won’t go into the ID4 without folding them down.

That said, the ID4 is a bit better for rear passengers. It has a flat floor, unlike the Tiguan which has a hump in the middle, so there’s more foot space. Weirdly though, the Tiguan has a slot for rear passengers to hold their phones on the back of both front seats, but the ID4 only has one.

As for the interiors themselves, both centre around the same 12.9-inch infotainment system. It’s reasonably easy to use, but the touch sliders for the temperature controls are pretty fiddly.

I prefer the Tiguan’s interior design to the ID4. It looks more interesting with its layered dashboard and tall centre console, and I think the material quality is slightly better as well.

Volkswagen Tiguan vs Volkswagen ID4: driving and comfort

Family SUVs like this aren’t about sporty handling, I’m much more interested in comfort. In this respect, I think the Volkswagen ID4 is a more relaxing car to travel in.

It’s comfortable over bumps and quiet at speed, but so is the Tiguan. What elevates the ID4 is the silent progress and responsive electric motor. One of my biggest gripes with the Tiguan was the jerky power delivery from the automatic gearbox, but I have no such issues in the ID4.

I much prefer the way electric cars drive. They’re nippy around town and relaxing on the motorway. The ID4 may not be quite as fun on a twisty road as the Tiguan, but who cares about that, really?

Volkswagen Tiguan vs Volkswagen ID4: my final verdict

In an ideal world, Volkswagen would offer an all-electric version of the Tiguan. I think that car looks better, inside and out, and it’s more practical than my ID4. However, I much prefer the smooth driving experience and low running costs of the electric alternative.

For me and my family, the Volkswagen ID4 is a better fit. We make a lot of short journeys around town, and this is where an electric car is at its best. I also love charging up at home – I can’t remember the last time I visited a petrol station – and every time I get back into a petrol-powered car it just feels antiquated.

If you have somewhere to charge at home, I’d recommend seriously considering making the switch to an EV.

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