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?
A rock or a hard place?
Don’t want any of them, but that “Jeep” is vomit inducing ugly, so VW I guess?
It is truly awful. It looks like what would happen if you put Jeep design cues on a Fiat hatchback (because….), and then crashed it.
They also have a reputation as being easy to steal, although I don’t think I could deal with owning a car that ugly even if it was free.
My only frame of reference for these two was Torch’s review of his wife’s maladies with their Tiguan and a manual Renegade that my friend bought at a local auction.
With my Friend’s experience using the surprisingly fun and reliable Renegade as a commute mobile even with high mileage, I’ll go with that
But 2010’s VW vs. FCA reliability is a carnival game I do not want to play
My dad had a Tiguan of this era, and it was completely reliable. When it comes to VWs, sometimes it’s the luck of the draw.
The Tiguana is a decent thing to drive at least,I don’t think I have seen a manual one before. The Jeep I couldn’t care less about. Also the Tiguan has roof bars,which is nice.
No cruise control on the Tiguan. My decision on whether to vote for the Tiguan depends on whether cruise control can be added simply by upgrading the steering wheel.
I owned a Tiguan of this generation and it was a great car, if we totally ignore reliability and repair costs. But Jeeps aren’t impressive in that department either, so it’s a level comparison. My Tiggy SEL had a GTI engine, basically, and a super-stiff suspension. All it lacked was a GTI driver’s seat, to hold you in place while you enjoyed the fun. With twice the ground clearance, you could enjoy that fun is hitherto inaccessible places where Golfs fear to tread.
Two words – hell no!
My wife has a Renegade Sport. It doesn’t hobble horse like a CJ5 but it’s not as smooth riding as a Wrangler 4 door.
I think I’ll walk.
I’m glad to see this is no contest. The Tiguan may be boring, but it’s easy to maintain and parts are cheap, and tbh it’s probably not going to break that much. Also those seats are comfy AF. The Renegade…. is activtely hostile, both to it’s drivers spine, other road users eyeballs, and the wallet of whomever has to maintain it.
Tough call but I trust the vw engine slightly more then the fiat. Plus it’s in that golden era of Chinese vag parts. So anything can be sourced cheaply and probably better then the actual vag part. Plus weird jeep looking panda never really did it for me. Tiguan has always sort of been an ok thing to get around in.
Oh, Momma, I’m in fear for my life from the Jeep I drove to roam.
Car troubles put an end to my runnin’, and I’m stranded far from home.
Oh, Momma, can’t you hear me a’cryin; I’m so scared and all alone.
My engine has completely grenaded on the side of a dang’rous road.
The jig is up!
The Jeep is dead!
It totally failed me!
The Renegade
Stellantis made,
Died right after warranty
Never more to drive the roads
I’ve hit all the failure modes
What a horrible car.
(Normally I’ll try to force myself into a choice but it’s a hard pass on both today)
Have you ever voted for a candidate just because they might do a little less damage than the other? Tiguan.
ICK neither.
Tiguan! This was one of the easiest Showdowns ever…Tiguan vs. a…Renegade?! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Thanks for the laugh. Wow, the front end of the Renegade just looks so awful…oh, the back is horrible too! Actually, the whole thing is bad…
plus what a terrible vehicle. Even though it’s a newer VW (to me), the Tiguan is a million times better comparably, and doesn’t make me want to puke, ha ha. I’ll have fun cruising in the Vdub
I’ve read about Jason’s Tiguan, I’ll roll the dice on the Jeep. At least it might garner a few rubber duckies to give to my daughter. That’s worth something right?
A decade and a half old VW or an almost decade old Stellantis product with a Fiat engine?
Why don’t you include a third choice, like contracting cyclosporiasis five times per calendar year? That’d be my choice.
I’ve driven both of these cars (with automatics) of roughly this vintage. And I’ve owned a lot of water-cooled VWs.
Hard pass on both.
Gun to my head, I’d pick the Jeep, but man, I’d rather spend the rest of ’26 in the can.
I was having a tough time deciding, so I decided to go to FuelEconomy.gov, so with 5mpg better combined and being red I went with the Renegade.
My Tiguan got high 20s in town and up to 32mpg on a long relaxed drive.
I’ve told my story here before. In the summer of 2015 I drove off the lot in a brand new Omaha Orange Renegade Latitude 1.4 turbo manual. Because I liked it and thought it would make a good family car. Knowing it’s genetics I bought a 100k mile warranty and swore to get my project car done before the warranty ran out, so at least I’d have spare wheels.
I did not expect to get 11 years and 190k miles of nearly flawless service from the thing, but that’s what I’ve gotten.
And I’ve enjoyed those miles. The controls work well and are logical. The interior is spacious, airy even. Factory variable – dampening Koni struts at all four corners make the handling much better than it has a right to be. The MultiAir turbo is happiest at Wot, as any 500 Abarth owner will tell you.
Mark is right, the seat fabric has a certain burlap-like roughness to it. However it’s practically indestructible and underneath the surface are seats that you can sit in for hours without getting a case of flat-ass.
I wonder every day how much longer this thing can possibly continue to be this dependable. Will I replace the clutch when it finally goes out? (Yes it’s original). What other major component might finally give up the ghost and be the deciding factor that finally makes me replace the Renegade? The thing’s been paid off since before anyone had heard the word Covid. I didn’t end up needing that warranty at all. This car owes me NOTHING.
So yeah, the little red Jiat (Feep?) gets my vote today.
thats awesome. ive wondered if these were good little kickabouts. ive been looking at the manual 4×4 patriots with about a 2-3″ lift because they seem cheap and plentiful, but theres a local guy here with a rubi renegade on a 4″ lift running what looks like 31×10.50’s and it looks like itd be a hilarious good time.
I had the 2011 Tiguan which is basically the same without the minor facelift.
As a car it was fun, peppy and a nice compact size.
Mechanically it was a nightmare. after 90k all sorts of issues started with fuel pump, water pump, temp sensor, etc. but the biggest was the Wastgate Valve on the turbo is made of plastic and wears out. Its a common issue. You can’t replace the $0.50 part but need to replace the turbo for $2-4k. I didn’t do it and it still drove decent, but sluggish in the summer with the AC on. I just kept clearing the CEL.
definitely get a PPI before buying