This week, we’re seeing what’s available for five grand or less, if you limit your searches to 2010 or newer and manual transmission only. Today, that search has yielded a couple of little front-wheel-drive crossovers. They may not be as sporty as some other body styles, but they are very practical, and that’s never a bad thing.
Yesterday, our choices also included a Volkswagen, alongside a sporty two-door Honda coupe. I’m checking the vote count a little early, since I’m heading out soon to hear a blonde woman named Taylor sing (no, not that one; this one). As of this moment, it’s almost a dead-heat. I’ll check back later to see if one car pulls ahead significantly.
It’s a tough call for me, too, but I think I’ll take the Golf. The hatchback is the deciding factor; I hate the little mail-slot trunk lids of cars like that Civic. That car should be a liftback; there’s no reason for it not to be.
For better or worse, “normal” car body styles, things we’ve been used to seeing on the road for decades, are slowly fading away. Most manufacturers don’t even offer sedans anymore. And coupes? Forget it, unless you want a Mustang or something. In their place is something called a “crossover,” available in various sizes, with car DNA but a sports-utility vehicle shape. The good news is that, whatever you want to call them, they’re pretty useful vehicles. And the smaller ones were available with manual gearboxes for quite a long time. They’re not common, but they’re out there. Today we’re going to look at two of them, one from Volkswagen and one from Jeep.
2012 Volkswagen Tiguan S – $4,495
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.0-liter DOHC inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD
Location: Vallejo, CA
Odometer reading: 132,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Apparently, the name “Tiguan” is a portmanteau of “Tiger” and “Iguana,” which sounds like a terrifying creature. Hey, at least it’s more interesting than the alphabet-soup naming conventions a lot of automakers resort to. Island Of Doctor Moreau name aside, it seems like a pretty neat little crossover SUV. I rented a much newer Tiguan last year and found it a bit boring, but that one was an automatic. This one isn’t.
I’m finding a lot of vehicles from the same few automakers in my search for modern-ish cheap manuals, and Volkswagen is one that keeps coming up. And I’m happy to see it. This Tiguan features a six-speed manual behind its 2.0-liter TSI engine, driving only the front wheels. It puts out 197 horsepower, which seems like a lot for a grocery-getter like this, but better to have it and not need it, I guess? It runs and drives “excellent,” according to the seller, and it just passed a California smog test.
The interior looks decent, though I can’t tell if that’s a wrinkle or a popped seam in the driver’s seat. There are a few other minor signs of wear and tear inside, but nothing worth complaining about. This car looks like somebody took care of it.
The outside looks good too; all I see are a couple of door dings. It has aftermarket cross-bars on the roof racks, which are a handy thing to have, but personally I wouldn’t leave them on there all the time. I had a set for my old Mazda Protege, and the wind noise from them was awful. I don’t know how people put up with leaving them on.
2017 Jeep Renegade Sport – $4,999
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 1.4-liter OHC inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD
Location: Spanaway, WA
Odometer reading: 210,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives, I assume
And here we have a front-wheel-drive, unibody, on-road-only… Jeep? That can’t be right. Yep, it is; love it or hate it, the Renegade is in fact a Jeep, seven-slot grille and all. Yes, it shares its platform with a bunch of Fiats. Yes, it has the ground clearance of a dachshund. But it says “Jeep” right there on the front. And in its favor, I bet it rides a whole lot smoother and gets a lot better gas mileage than your average Wrangler.
Power for this baby Jeep comes from Fiat’s clever MultiAir four-cylinder, which makes 160 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque with the help of a turbocharger. The transmission is a six-speed manual, and while the Renegade was available with four-wheel-drive, this one doesn’t have it. I wish I could tell you how well it runs, but honestly, I don’t know. It’s being sold by one of those dealerships who are more interested in telling you about the financing deal than the condition of the car, so check it over carefully or have a mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection.
This is the base-model Renegade Sport, which still comes with all the stuff most buyers expect, but from the looks of it, cuts corners on materials a bit. I can feel the scratchy texture of that seat fabric through the photo. This is one case where seat covers might actually be an upgrade. It all looks like it’s in decent shape, though, especially given the high mileage.
It’s not a bad-looking little vehicle, I’ve always thought. From the front, anyway. I never understood the Xs on the taillights; are they supposed to look like jerry cans or something? At least it makes it easy to spot in traffic. Oh, and the styled steel wheels on the Sport model came in black from the factory, so you can’t blame a previous owner for painting them. That’s all Jeep’s doing.
These are both officially crossover SUVs, but since they’re devoid of even the slightest hint of off-road ability, all they really are is taller-than-average small wagons. And that’s not a bad thing. They’ve got decent room inside, they should both be fairly fuel-efficient, and the manual transmissions will at least keep you from getting bored. Which one would you pick?
Gun to my head, the ruined Golf. I’d rather just have a Golf though. These things are completely pointless.
I used to have a VW circa 2001. It was nice, felt solid. It felt like I was spending $200 a month on window regulators. It had a weird intermittent shudder at idle. I swore I wouldn’t own another VW. But today, I’m voting for the VW. I just really don’t like the Jeep.
Can’t spell Renegade without Grenade. The Tiguan, reluctantly.
Yesterday was hard but no-brainer for me today. In AWD with the 2.4 I could be tempted to go Renegade because they are surprisingly capable off pavement in that format, and I’d put that to use. But in FWD spec, it’s VW all the way. It’s much nicer inside, has a much better engine, better utlility, a better shifter, and only 2/3rds the miles. I don’t expect either of these to be without headaches, so I may as well choose the one I’d enjoy driving.
At 210,000 miles, that Jeep’s only mission is to hold together long enough for the dealership to repossess it after one out of the first three payments is late. The VW might actually beat the odds and live a bit longer. I voted for the Ford Tempo.
VW again. I would actually enjoy driving that. The Fiat looks OK, but high miles and black wheels can’t be ignored.
The VW with reservations. Get ready for some wrenching. The “Jeep” I just can’t.
Tiguan.
It’s a tall VW GTI, before it got fat.
Back in an era when the Forester was just a tall Impreza.
I like the exterior styling of the Renegade but that’s not enough.
Really I’m just here to eat some popcorn and watch as the commentariat battles it out for these two.
In one corner we’ve got a Volkswagen, which as we all know will explode at any moment because someone’s uncle had one and it was always at the dealer. Rumor has it he spent $375,000 keeping that Tiggy running for reasons unbeknown.
In the other corner we’ve got a “Jeep”. A Stellantis product with a Fiat engine, and a dashboard that looks like it was lifted from a random Power Wheels. But it’s red so it’s got that going at least.
It’s the EA888.
It won’t “explode”, but there are known failure points and parts will cost you a penny. But it’s otherwise a solid vehicle.
A Stellantis/FCA/Jeep?Fiat product will never be good.
Not many people drive foreign cars (read – cars not made by F*rd, GM, or RAM/Dodge) in my neck of the woods. I have, however, seen about a million of those little Renegades. Many of them seem to have had lousy exhaust systems, as they’re pretty loud when they drive by and must be rusting apart.
Not a fan of the comic-strip-dead-person taillights, but I voted for the Renegade solely based on local parts availability. I’ve never even seen a Tiguan before.
Tiguan, but reluctantly. i’ve been burned by VW before, so little wary there. That’s really a Fiat playing dress up, so I’ll skip it.
$5k/stick/2010 newer really limits the selection pool. It can’t be easy to find those.
And hey, since Saab never loses, how about a whole week of Saabs?
In truth neither. I’m a never again former VW owner and I had a Renegade as a rental and it was a pretty miserable car.
That said the Tiguan is an objectively better deal. It is a larger and more powerful car with low miles for a good price. The perfect car to teach people why they should never buy a VW. Better to learn that lesson with a $5,000 car instead of a $50,000 one.
There sits the Autopian’s next DT Jeep project. Build that crappy Renegade into a proper offroader to take to Moab. It’ll bankrupt Ebay and turn DT into a shadow of himself.
So it’s VW vs. Fiat today. I’ll take the lower mileage Tigger. Never owned a 6 speed manual but it should keep me busy.
I’m not huge on the VW. But it’s up against a Jeep Renegade. So I guess I pretend I’m married, upper-middle-class, and managed to negotiate a 3-pedal with my partner. And not single, blue-collar, and a car nerd.
Tiguan by default, it’ll be a nicer place to wait for the tow truck than the Renegade. A lot of us have read Jason’s stories of his wife’s one’s thirst for frequent repairs. And the Jeep is an FCA product with all that entails plus the added “bonus” of 2wd. Not as bad as the RWD XJ with its’ potential embarrassment of getting stuck on wet grass in a Jeep, but close.
Have you tried Iguana Stew?
Tastes like chicken, but lots of bones.
No idea what Tiguan would taste like – but I definitely would not to sample the Italian Renegade with black wheels.
At least the Tiguan is from CA – so it’s likely gluten-free.
I’ll take that with a side of AAA.
Take the worst bits of Jeep and combine them with the worst bits of Fiat, and build something out of that.
I’m actually being quite unkind, but really if I’m going to put up with crude, loud and slow then I’m going to sign up for a Wrangler, or a 1980s Grand Wagoneer. None of this rebadged Cinquecento XL BS.
Ugh. VW again.
Probably going against the odds today, but I’ll take the Jeep. That interior looks exactly like my GF’s Fiat 500X and she’s got 175K on that thing and it’s still running. Albeit with a few noises I don’t like.
Plus it’s red, not another boring silver.
Let’s get Tiggy wit it!
Yeeeeaaaahh, I’m no longer cool.