2025 Hyundai Santa Fe vs 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan

The 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe, available in Canada in XRT, Luxury, and Ultimate Calligraphy trims, maintained its bold design from its 2024 debut. This three-row SUV featured a chunky, boxy aesthetic with a long wheelbase, flat hood, and snub nose. Its H-shaped LED headlamps, reminiscent of the Hyundai Ioniq 5, added to its distinctive look. The Santa Fe offered vibrant colours like Terracotta Orange and Atlantis Blue, breaking away from the typical greyscale of many SUVs. However, the rear design suffered from mismatched proportions, with pixelated H-shaped LED taillights positioned lower than ideal, affecting the overall visual balance.

Inside, the Santa Fe accommodated seven passengers, except for the Ultimate Calligraphy trim, which featured captain's chairs in the second row. The interior materials ranged from leatherette to Nappa leather, depending on the trim. While the fit and finish appeared solid, some squeaks and rattles were noted during testing. The inclusion of physical dials for HVAC temperature was appreciated, though the fan speed buttons were less intuitive. Overall, the Santa Fe's design and interior offered a mix of practicality and style, with some room for improvement in certain areas.

The 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan underwent a complete redesign, marking the start of its third generation. It adopted a sleek, modern look inspired by VW's electric vehicles, particularly evident in the front with narrower headlights and a plastic trim element reminiscent of the ID.4 EV. The top Highline R-Line trim featured an illuminated VW badge and light bar for added impact. The grille appeared larger, with smaller actual openings and prominent air intakes, which some found overly pronounced. The Tiguan's side profile showcased a sportier tapering hatch, enhanced by a black contrasting roof and dark-tinted windows. Shortened front and rear overhangs contributed to a sportier silhouette, while a sharply creased character line added visual interest.

At the rear, the Tiguan replaced conventional taillights with a single bar spanning the liftgate, mirroring the front's illuminated elements. The interior received a modernization, featuring a tablet-like infotainment display and a digital instrument panel. The dashboard adopted a minimalist design, with climate controls integrated into the central touchscreen. The gear selector moved to the steering column, freeing up storage space. While materials quality was average for the class, the Tiguan's interior offered practicality and a sense of space, with some areas benefiting from improved materials.

The 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe was equipped with a standard 2.5-litre turbocharged engine, delivering 277 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque. In Canada, all-wheel drive (AWD) was standard across the lineup, paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The Santa Fe Hybrid, a separate model, combined a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine with an electric motor, producing a total of 231 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque, also with standard AWD. The Santa Fe demonstrated stability in corners, with firm brake feel and responsive steering. However, noticeable turbo lag and occasional transmission delays were observed during acceleration, requiring patience when passing or merging onto highways.

The XRT trim featured 30-inch all-terrain tires and 21.2 centimetres of ground clearance, enhancing off-road capabilities. The approach angle was 19.3 degrees, departure angle 21.8 degrees, and breakover angle 19.1 degrees, suitable for graded dirt roads but not rugged rock crawling. The gear selector, located on a stalk on the steering column, required some adjustment, as selecting gears involved twisting the stalk's end. Overall, the Santa Fe offered a balanced performance with some quirks in its drivetrain and off-road capabilities.

The 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan was powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, producing 201 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque. This represented an increase in horsepower but a decrease in torque compared to the previous generation. An eight-speed automatic transmission was the sole offering, with Volkswagen's 4Motion AWD standard in Canada. The Tiguan's acceleration was expected to be similar to its predecessor, reaching 100 km/h in approximately 8.5 seconds, which was average for its class. The drivetrain delivered power smoothly and linearly, with fewer surges or slow reactions compared to the previous model.

Braking was confident, with an easy-to-modulate pedal, and the suspension favoured comfort, smoothing over road imperfections. The Tiguan maintained composure in corners, exhibiting minimal body roll. The cabin was notably quiet, even on coarser asphalt roads, contributing to a comfortable driving experience. While not sporty, the Tiguan's performance was well-suited for its target audience, balancing comfort and capability. A more powerful Turbo variant was anticipated for 2026, offering increased output for spirited drivers, along with a teased hybrid powertrain for future consideration.

The 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe XRT trim came well-equipped with features like heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a sunroof, and a 115-volt outlet for powering off-road accessories. The Ultimate Calligraphy trim offered additional amenities, including heated second-row seats, ventilated front seats, and a premium audio system. The Santa Fe excelled in interior space, boasting the most third-row legroom in its class. The second-row seats featured adjustable cushion angles, and both the second and third rows could be folded with the press of a button in the rear cargo area. Folding the third row provided 1,148 litres of space, while folding the second row expanded it to 2,267 litres. With all three rows occupied, there was still 413 litres of cargo space, making it competitive among smaller midsize three-row SUVs.

The Santa Fe's rear opening was notably wide, with a liftgate width of 127.5 cm and a height of 81 cm, facilitating the loading of bulky items. Most trims could tow up to 1,587 kilograms (3,500 pounds), while the XRT trim increased towing capacity to 2,040 kilograms (4,500 pounds). Overall, the Santa Fe offered practicality and versatility, with ample cargo space and towing capabilities.

The 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan returned without a third row of seats, which improved second-row legroom by nearly 4 centimetres. This change provided more space for passengers, while headroom remained sufficient for average-sized adults. The elimination of capacitive-touch buttons was a significant improvement, as traditional controls were more user-friendly. The steering wheel reverted to old-style controls, enhancing usability without distracting the driver. Outward visibility was comparable to other small SUVs, with narrow front roof pillars and a sufficiently sized rear window.

The centre console offered increased storage, with two cupholders, a smartphone slot, and a deep armrest bin. Large door pockets accommodated additional items, including larger water bottles. The Tiguan's cargo capacity behind the first-row seatbacks was 1,668 litres, though capacity behind the second row was not finalized. The angled liftgate hatch limited loading of bulkier objects, but deep pockets behind the wheel humps provided convenient storage for smaller items. The Tiguan featured remote seatback releases and a power liftgate, enhancing practicality and ease of use.

In Canada, the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe featured a 12.3-inch touchscreen for infotainment and a digital gauge cluster of the same size. The base Preferred trim, hybrid-only in Canada, did not include the digital instrument cluster. The infotainment system was user-friendly, with clear graphics and quick response times. Navigation was built-in only on the Luxury and Ultimate Calligraphy trims, but standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compensated for this. Multiple 27-watt USB-C ports and a wireless charging pad, capable of accommodating two phones in the Ultimate Calligraphy trim, ensured convenient device charging.

The Santa Fe offered a digital key feature, allowing users to unlock and start the car with their phone or Apple Watch, and share the key with up to three trusted individuals. The Ultimate Calligraphy trim included a digital rearview mirror and a head-up display. Standard Bluelink app connectivity allowed for remote climate control, location and speed alerts, and surround view monitor snapshots. Over-the-air updates ensured the latest vehicle software was always available.

The 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan came standard with a digital instrument panel and a 12.9-inch infotainment touchscreen, with a 15-inch display and native navigation system on the top trim. Standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto made built-in navigation less essential. The wireless phone charger in the centre armrest bin featured a spring-loaded clip and a cooling fan, ensuring efficient charging and wireless projection. Capacitive-touch sliders adorned the infotainment screen frame, but a new volume knob on the centre console simplified use.

The standard audio system included seven speakers, with a 12-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio system available on the top trim. VW's Car-Net system offered remote monitoring and control, enhancing convenience and connectivity.

The 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe offered a comprehensive suite of standard safety features, including adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, front and rear parking sensors, forward collision avoidance assist with pedestrian, cyclist, and junction turning detection, lane keeping and lane following assist, a driver attention monitor, and safe exit assist. Additional features like rear parking collision avoidance assist, side park distance warning, and Highway Drive Assist were available on higher trims. The Highway Drive Assist feature combined adaptive cruise control and lane following assist, though it occasionally exhibited abrupt braking and acceleration in heavy traffic.

The top trim included a blind spot avoidance feature and the Blind View Monitor, displaying a video feed of the blind spot in the gauge cluster. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) awarded the Santa Fe a four-out-of-five-star overall safety rating, while the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rated it "Good" in most sections, with "Acceptable" scores in the headlight and LATCH categories.

The 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan's crash test results were not yet available from the NHTSA or IIHS. Standard advanced safety features included forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, a blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keep assist, safe passenger exit warnings, parking sensors, and automatic high beams. The Emergency Assist system automatically slowed the vehicle to a stop and activated hazard lights if the driver was incapacitated. Post-collision braking reduced the likelihood of secondary impacts.

The Highline R-Line trim added a head-up display, surround-view camera system, and a traffic sign reader. During testing, all safety and driver assist features functioned as expected, with no false alarms or oversensitivity issues. The lane-keep assist provided a sensible amount of steering wheel pull, alerting the driver to lane drift without being overly intrusive.