Compare the2025 GMC AcadiaVS 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan

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 Acadia 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.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the GMC Acadia achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Volkswagen Tiguan has not been tested.

The Acadia’s optional 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 Acadia and the Tiguan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and front parking sensors.

The GMC Acadia weighs 701 to 1133 pounds more than the Volkswagen Tiguan. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The GMC Acadia achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2025 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated moderate overlap front crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Tiguan has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.

GMC’s powertrain warranty covers the Acadia 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volkswagen covers the Tiguan. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Tiguan ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 3 times as many GMC dealers as there are Volkswagen dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. With 40 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks GMC higher than Volkswagen.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen With 61 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks GMC higher than Volkswagen.

The Acadia’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 127 more horsepower (328 vs. 201) and 119 lbs.-ft. more torque (326 vs. 207) than the Tiguan’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The Acadia’s 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 127 more horsepower (328 vs. 201) and 105 lbs.-ft. more torque (326 vs. 221) than the Tiguan’s optional 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

The Acadia FWD’s standard fuel tank has 4.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tiguan FWD’s standard fuel tank (19.4 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 6.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Tiguan AWD’s standard fuel tank (21.7 vs. 15.6 gallons).

The Acadia 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 traction, the Acadia has larger standard tires than the Tiguan (255/55R20 vs. 215/65R17). The Acadia Denali’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Tiguan (275/45R22 vs. 255/40R20).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Acadia has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Tiguan. The Acadia Denali’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the Tiguan.

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Volkswagen Tiguan only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Tiguan doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Acadia’s wheelbase is 11 inches longer than on the Tiguan (120.9 inches vs. 109.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Acadia is 5.6 inches wider in the front and 5.8 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Tiguan.

For greater off-road capability the Acadia AT4 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Tiguan (7.8 vs. 7 inches), allowing the Acadia to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The front grille of the Acadia uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Tiguan doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Tiguan doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Acadia offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the Tiguan can only carry 5.

The Acadia has 3.1 inches more front headroom, 4.1 inches more front legroom, 4.8 inches more front hip room, 5 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear headroom, 1.3 inches more rear legroom, 5.1 inches more rear hip room and 6.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tiguan.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Acadia’s middle row seats recline. The Tiguan’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the Tiguan.

The Acadia’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Tiguan’s (5000 vs. 1500 pounds).

The Acadia’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Tiguan does not have an oil pressure gauge.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Acadia 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.

The Acadia’s optional 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 Acadia has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Tiguan SEL.

Compared to the Volkswagen Tiguan, the GMC Acadia 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 infotainment system.

The Acadia has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Tiguan doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Consumer Reports® recommends the GMC Acadia, based on reliability, safety and performance.