Volkswagen Tiguan vs BMW IX3

What's the difference?

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Volkswagen Tiguan
Volkswagen Tiguan

$36,990 - $80,690

2025 price

BMW IX3
BMW IX3

$89,900 - $109,900

2026 price

Summary

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan
2026 BMW IX3
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 4, 1.4L
Electric motor type
Electromagnetically Excited
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol
Vehicle type
Battery Electric
Fuel Efficiency
7.7L/100km (combined)
Electric range
805 km
Energy consumption

18.8 kWh/100km
Battery capacity

108.70 kWh
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Hybrid? Look elsewhere
  • One too many touch controls
  • Ride harsher than expected

  • Light-touch steering takes some getting used to
  • Feels heavy on some roads
  • The native operating system can be clunky and confusing
2025 Volkswagen Tiguan Summary

The third-generation Volkswagen Tiguan is likely to be the most important new vehicle Volkswagen launches in 2025.

The popular mid-sizer has proven to have impressive staying power for the brand, with the outgoing version still impressing buyers despite being nearly a decade old. 

What does this ground-up new version change? Does it have what it takes to maintain the nameplate’s reputation in one of Australia’s most hotly contested market segments? And what are some surprises this time around?

We went to its local launch to find out.

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2026 BMW IX3 Summary

There are a lot of big numbers surrounding the BMW iX3, the German brand’s new-from-the-ground-up EV that acts as the flagbearer for its future-facing Neue Klasse (or New Class) architecture, designed to distil all the ingredients that make a BMW a BMW, and then electrify for them for the post-ICE (internal combustion engine) era.

But the one that really stood out? 805. That’s how many kilometres of driving range the iX3 will deliver, though admittedly in its most efficient and least exciting driving modes. That is bonkers, right?

It’s worth pointing out the first BMW i3, which only launched a decade-or-so ago, delivered more like 150km on what would have been the WLTP cycle, if it had existed then. Talk about leaps and bounds.

A good start for the newest BMW EV, then. But what else does the iX3 have to offer?

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Deep dive comparison

2025 Volkswagen Tiguan 2026 BMW IX3

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